Future Perspectives and Policy Recommendations

Sangaralingam Ramesh ()
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Sangaralingam Ramesh: University College London and University of Oxford

Chapter 7 in The Political Economy of the Indigenous Peoples of the World, Volume II, 2026, pp 313-389 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter develops a forward-looking agenda for Indigenous economic justice by moving from structural diagnosis to institutional and policy alternatives. It argues that meaningful transformation requires more than recognition within existing state frameworks; it requires the reconfiguration of legal, economic, educational, and governance systems so that Indigenous self-determination is materially supported rather than symbolically affirmed. The chapter reviews the promise and limitations of existing policy instruments, including international declarations, domestic recognition regimes, and participatory governance mechanisms, showing how implementation gaps often reproduce dependency and administrative control. It then outlines policy pathways centred on land restitution, resource rights, access to capital, educational reform, labour inclusion, support for Indigenous entrepreneurship, and protection for language and cultural institutions. Comparative examples from the Americas, the Nordic region, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Bolivia illustrate both the possibilities and the limits of reform. The chapter also stresses the importance of free, prior, and informed consent, stronger Indigenous institutions, and substantive participation in decision-making. Linking these proposals to wider debates on sustainability and democratic renewal, it argues that Indigenous futures are inseparable from broader struggles over regenerative development, plural governance, ecological balance, and collective survival.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-24129-0_7

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24129-0_7

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