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A
Tracing its diverse meanings and practices across history and political movements, rather than a single notion, autonomy emerges as plural — encompassing struggles that challenge capitalism, industrialism, western modernity, and patriarchy. Distinguishing autonomy from individualist libertarianism and state-centric socialism, this entry focuses on autonomic movements that prioritize collective self-governance and radical democracy. Drawing from Indigenous, feminist, and anti-capitalist struggles, these movements go beyond formal democracy, seeking to dismantle the state while constructing grassroots power based on the principles of ''Mandar Obedeciendo''. Autonomy also challenges economic society’s premise of scarcity, replacing it with sufficiency, and disassociates from western modernity’s values, embracing pluralism and relational understandings of personhood. Feminist autonomies center care, dignity, and life itself. Highlighting examples such as the Zapatistas and Mexico’s National Indigenous Congress, the essay presents autonomy as a global, ongoing process of reimagining social, political, and economic life from the ground up. +
B
El Buen Vivir, concepto con raíces en las cosmovisiones de los pueblos originarios del Abya-Yala, propone una forma de vida basada en la armonía, el equilibrio y la relacionalidad entre personas, comunidades, otros seres vivos y la naturaleza, priorizando la reproducción de la vida sobre la acumulación de capital. No es un modelo único, sino una pluralidad de “buenos convivires” que integran reciprocidad, complementariedad y solidaridad, inspirados en diversas tradiciones comunitarias globales (como el ubuntu, swaraj o convivialidad). Frente a la crisis del “progreso” y el “desarrollo”, plantea alternativas postdesarrollistas que descolonizan saberes, rechazan el extractivismo y construyen sociedades solidarias, diversas y sustentables desde las comunidades. Implica repensar la economía, la política y la cultura en clave comunitaria, con una ética de lo suficiente, reconociendo que las transiciones deben gestarse sobre todo desde abajo para abrir un horizonte civilizatorio más allá del capitalismo. +
D
Democratic confederalism is a societal organization ideology rooted in the autonomy of communes, which are the smallest social units, such as neighborhoods or villages. These communes are interconnected in a confederate structure, allowing them to address larger issues collectively. This concept emerged from the Kurdish freedom movement, which, after the Soviet Union's collapse, recognized that true freedom could not be achieved through traditional state structures, historically linked to societal exploitation.
The ideology is built on three core principles: women's liberation, social ecology, and radical democracy. Women's liberation is seen as essential, as historical exploitation began with the subjugation of women. Social ecology emphasizes the need for a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature, asserting that ecological balance is vital for a dignified future. Radical democracy extends beyond political systems to encompass personal relationships, advocating for respect and humility among individuals. Democratic confederalism has been implemented in various regions, notably in Rojava, where approximately 5 million people engage in self-governance without state intervention. The model has also inspired Kurdish exiles in Europe and other communities worldwide, promoting cooperative solutions to social, economic, and political challenges. +
E
Eco-territorial internationalism is a concept and a praxis that emerges from the convergence of social, ecological, and territorial struggles across borders. It articulates experiences of resistance and transformation—such as democratic energy, agroecology, food sovereignty, workers’ control, and housing justice— by connecting local roots to a global horizon of systemic change. These are not isolated or merely “local” efforts; they embody a global sense of place and foster transnational solidarities grounded in justice, autonomy, and care. In the face of green colonialism, ecological imperialism, and systemic polycrises, this new internationalism reclaims the radical legacies of anti-imperialism while expanding the political imagination toward just transitions and ecological expressions of sovereignty. It challenges the dominant models of extractivist development and resists greenwashed capitalist transitions that reproduce sacrifice zones, particularly in the Global South. Eco-territorial internationalism does not abandon the state but goes beyond statist approaches, promoting multiscalar articulations and a biocentric politics of scale—from the body, to rivers and ecosystems. It is already in motion, through networks that articulate grassroots movements and resistances confronting the root causes of the crisis and shaping pluriversal futures. +
Las energías comunitarias en América Latina constituyen una práctica transformadora que busca garantizar la vida digna y la permanencia en los territorios frente a los impactos del modelo energético dominante, marcado por exclusión, despojo y dependencia. No se reducen a la electricidad ni a la técnica, sino que abarcan una visión integral de la energía como tejido social, cultural y político. Su origen está en comunidades, principalmente rurales, que han respondido a las secuelas de proyectos extractivos e hidroeléctricos, creando alternativas descentralizadas y respetuosas con la vida. Estas iniciativas se basan en principios como la solidaridad, el autoconocimiento, la desprivatización del saber y el buen vivir, promoviendo autonomía, salud y mejores condiciones de trabajo. En la práctica incluyen tecnologías y saberes diversos: biodigestores, sistemas solares, agroecología, bioconstrucción o mingas. Más allá de métricas técnicas, su alcance radica en forjar un modelo energético justo, sustentable y popular capaz de enfrentar la crisis civilizatoria y climática. +
La palabra eutopía proviene del griego eu (bueno) y topos (lugar), y significa literalmente “el buen lugar”. A diferencia de la utopía (ou-topos, “no lugar”), que remite a una promesa futura e inexistente, la eutopía alude a lugares reales, ya existentes, donde se prefiguran formas de vida alternativas al orden dominante. En esta entrada, inspirada en el pensamiento de Jean Robert, se desarrolla la eutopía como una experiencia encarnada de ruptura con la modernidad capitalista, visible en prácticas autónomas, vernáculas y comunitarias que resisten la guerra contra la subsistencia, la desmesura tecnológica y el vaciamiento del lugar por el espacio abstracto. Retomando conceptos como la contraproductividad, el pensar con los pies y la crítica a los monopolios radicales —en diálogo con Ivan Illich—, se afirma que la eutopía no es un plan o una meta, sino un compromiso cotidiano con formas de habitar que sostienen la vida desde el arraigo, la reciprocidad y la proporción. Lejos de ofrecer un futuro ideal, la eutopía invita a redescubrir los fragmentos del mundo bueno que aún persisten en medio del colapso de la modernidad. +
J
Jineolojî, meaning “science of women” in Kurdish, is a revolutionary approach to knowledge production that places women’s liberation at the heart of building a free, ecological, and communal society. Emerging from over four decades of the Kurdish women’s freedom struggle and introduced by Abdullah Öcalan in 2008, it challenges patriarchal, positivist, and Eurocentric scientific traditions, redefining womanhood as a social, political, and historical identity beyond biological determinism and emphasizing the reconnection of women, society, nature, and life. Drawing on the Kurdish Women’s Movement, ancient communal traditions, and global histories of women’s resistance, Jineolojî seeks to rewrite history from women’s perspectives, collect and share women’s wisdom, and serve as a guiding science for a women’s revolution that transforms gender relations and fosters communal living. In practice, it operates through grassroots education, research, and organizing—linking local working groups, municipal policies, and autonomous women’s structures in Kurdistan and beyond—using methods such as popular education, historical research, cultural revival, and political participation. Since 2015, it has grown into a network of academies, research centers, publications, and public programs, confronting state repression, militarized occupation, and the co-optation of feminist theory, while insisting on structural transformation over integration into exploitative systems. In a world marked by patriarchal violence, authoritarianism, and ecological crisis, Jineolojî offers both a methodology and a political horizon for liberation, communal life, and democratic ecology. +
K
In a time of climate crisis and ecological collapse, kaitiakitanga — an Indigenous ethic of care rooted in whakapapa (the genealogical ties linking all beings back to a shared origin), reciprocity, and intergenerational responsibility– offers a way forward. More than “guardianship,” it is a living practice that binds people, lands, waters, and skies in mutual obligation. Written together by mana whenua (peoples whose whakapapa binds them to this land as its first guardians, carrying inherited responsibilities to protect its mauri. ) and tangata Tiriti(those peoples who journeyed here under the promise of Te Tiriti, invited into relationship, sharing in the duty of kaitiakitanga alongside mana whenua), this piece weaves origin, practice, challenge, and possibility: from iwi-led restoration projects to the tensions of commodification, tokenism, and extractive economies. We explore how kaitiakitanga, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori authority, can be honoured in policy, education, and daily life — in Aotearoa and across the pluriverse. At its heart lies a simple truth: “kia tupu, kia hua, kia puaawai te whenua, ka ora te tangata” — when the land is well, the people will flourish. +
Kotahitanga is the heartbeat of collective life in te ao Māori—unity woven not from sameness, but from the strength of many threads moving as one. Rooted in whakapapa –the genealogical ties linking all beings back to a shared origin–, it binds people, whenua, waters, ancestors, and the unseen in a web of reciprocity and care. From Tāwhaki’s sacred ascent, sustained by ancestral guidance, to the Tainui waka’s ocean crossing, kotahitanga has guided survival, resistance, and renewal. It lives in the Kīngitanga’s call to stand together, in Dame Whina Cooper’s 1975 Land March, and in the 300,000 voices who opposed the 2024 attempt to weaken Te Tiriti o Waitangi. +
L
Since emerging on social media in 2018, Land Back has grown to become a robust concept embedded in North American Indigenous people’s political organizing. Although relatively ‘new’, the concept has its origins in a long history against settler colonialism in North America. At its core, the idea, bolstered by its use in Indigenous cultural and scholarly productions, aims to restore material gains into Indigenous hands—whether that be territory, money, authority, or several other sites of restitution. Land Back can be mobilized in many ways, including reoccupation of lands, asserting Indigenous law, or returning stolen goods. The way Land Back manifests in terms of direct action organizing continues to evolve and grow in popularity.
While Land Back has many promising elements to it—including its democratic and accessible use—there are growing concerns that non-Indigenous people and settler state actors may take up the term Land Back in ways that diminish its original intent and salience. Still, Land Back continues to serve as a prominent political framework for many Indigenous people and breathes new life into an age-old belief: Indigenous people have a right to their territory and a right to conduct life on those territories in ways they see fit—whether or not non-Indigenous people agree. +
M
Masling is a special word used to praise the soundscape of waterfalls and the swarming of honeybees—sounds that inspired the legendary group singing Pasibutbut of the Bunun Isbukun people. Over time, it has come to serve as a unique metaphor and symbol for the highest inner qualities of a person: an unconditional calm and creativity that reframes difficulties into potential solutions, and the capacity to turn a world vision into action—transforming an unjust world order while sustaining dynamic balance and dialectical harmony. +
R
Eco-swaraj, or Radical Ecological Democracy (RED), is a community-centered framework for just and sustainable well-being that challenges state- and corporate-dominated models. Rooted in grassroots initiatives in India yet resonating worldwide, RED integrates ecological resilience, equity, radical democracy, economic self-reliance, and cultural plurality. It emphasizes commons, sufficiency, diversity, and non-violence, while rejecting top-down ideologies in favor of evolving, participatory praxis. Examples range from Indigenous self-determination in India to the Kurdish Rojava movement, Zapatistas in Mexico, and the Amadiba in South Africa. Through processes like Vikalp Sangam and the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, RED fosters pluriversal pathways of autonomy and ecological democracy. +
This entry explores relationality as a concept, practice, ethics, and politics that challenges the dominant modern ontology of separation underpinning capitalism, colonialism, and state power. Rooted in Indigenous cosmovisions and expanded by activist and scholarly debates, relationality posits radical interdependence among humans, non-humans, and earth-beings as the foundation of reality. Drawing on examples such as Ausangate in Peru and the Atrato River in Colombia, the article examines how environmental conflicts emerge as pluriversal contact zones where divergent ontologies—state, corporate, environmentalist, and Indigenous—collide and negotiate. These encounters highlight tensions between extractivist temporalities and relational worlds grounded in reciprocity, ritual, and ecological continuity, as seen in the struggles of the Wayúu against wind energy projects. By advancing relational and pluriversal perspectives, the article argues for ecosocial transitions that move beyond cultural change toward ontological transformation, envisioning pluriversal futures built on coexistence, autonomy, and the healing of the web of life +
S
Salugpungan, meaning “unity” in the Talaingod Manobo language, is both a philosophy and a practice that guides the Lumad peoples of Mindanao in their struggle for land, life, and self-determination. Rooted in collective farming, rituals, schools, and everyday acts of cooperation, salugpungan reflects how survival and resistance are inseparable. Catherine “Katkat” Dalon recalls learning unity as a child in Lumad schools, where lessons combined literacy with communal practices like sharing food, planting seeds, and caring for children. Historically, the term also names the movement born in the 1990s against logging corporations and state militarization, when Lumad leaders and communities organized to defend the Pantaron Range and their ancestral territories. From this struggle emerged community schools that wove together education and resistance. Despite repression, closures, and the loss of teachers and leaders, salugpungan endures as a moral and political force: a reminder that victory is certain when strength is united. +
Social ecology is a holistic theory dealing with social history, the human species, and our role in the natural world. Its proponents advocate for a restructuring of society from the bottom up, replacing hierarchy, exploitation, and homogenization with communal autonomy, interdependence, and radical ecological humanism. Social ecology is distinctive for its argument in favor of direct democracy as an expression of ecological politics; that direct democracy is “ecological” both in function and form. In this way, social ecologists ultimately view political revolution and ecological evolution as one and the same process. The 20th-century thinker Murray Bookchin dedicated himself to cultivating this perspective for many decades, incorporating elements of dialectical Marxism, classical anarchism, anthropology, urban studies, technology studies, ecological design, and political philosophy. The following entry introduces the background, key themes, and practical examples of this philosophy and then points to several emerging tensions, limits, and opportunities. +
Sociocracy is a governance system designed to guide collective and individual decision-making through shared power, non-coercive processes, and alignment with an organization’s purpose. Originating with Dutch engineer Gerard Endenburg and influenced by Quaker decision-making, pacifism, natural systems, and cybernetics, sociocracy’s core principle is that those doing the work should make the related decisions. Its structure relies on autonomous, interconnected “circles” that hold decision-making authority over specific domains, ensuring that the division of labor aligns with the division of governance. Practices such as double linking between circles and consent-based decision-making create a distributed, non-hierarchical system in which all voices are heard and power is balanced. +
This article examines Stokvels (South Africa), Susu (Ghana), and Mukando (Zimbabwe) as forms of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) that have long provided financial resilience in African communities. Far more than informal savings clubs, these associations embody the philosophy of Ubuntu, emphasizing reciprocity, solidarity, and collective vitality. Historically rooted in women’s cooperatives, they have supported farming, education, health care, social obligations, and small-scale entrepreneurship, while also strengthening collective bargaining power and food security. Their adaptability is evident in the wide variety of stokvels in South Africa and in the integration of susu collectors with formal banking in Ghana, bridging informal and formal economies. By pooling risks and resources, these groups function as community safety nets that empower women, build resilience, and sustain livelihoods. As they expand and interact with financial institutions, questions arise about how to preserve their community-driven ethos while scaling their transformative potential. +
T
Ta Madok Maka (The Indigenous Karen’s Concept and Praxis of Reciprocity)—translated as “I help you, you help me”—is a core philosophical and moral principle of the Indigenous Karen (K’nyaw) people, embodying reciprocity, mutual respect, and interconnected wellbeing among humans, nature, and the spirit world. Rooted in ancestral belief systems, customary institutions, and livelihood practices, Ta Madok Maka underpins Karen cultural life through acts of solidarity, empathy, and collective care. It extends beyond human-to-human relationships to encompass balanced and harmonious coexistence with sacred lands, waters, forests, wildlife, and guardian spirits, reinforced by complementary values such as Ta Kwamoo Kwakheh Hlotha (“caring for each other for collective survival and wellbeing”). This principle is expressed in rotational farming, cultural ceremonies like Lar Ku Ki Sue, and the protection of spiritual territories such as Day Por Htu (umbilical cord forests) and Htee Meh K’lar (water mirrors), which integrate ecological stewardship with spiritual obligations. +
Timuay refers to a traditional governance system of the Teduray and Lambangian peoples in Mindanao, Philippines, highlighting its communal, collective, and pluralist foundations. Rooted in the term timu—to gather—the Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG) system embodies Indigenous philosophies of relationality, equality, and peace through collective leadership, community participation, and stewardship of nature. The article traces its historical resilience against colonial and state suppression, its clandestine survival during conflicts, and its revival through Indigenous movements and legal recognition under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). Confronting the erosion of communal values under capitalism, TJG emerges as both a critique of individualist, profit-oriented systems and a living alternative grounded in communal ownership, ecological guardianship, and pluralism. By restoring and strengthening Timuay practices, the article argues, Indigenous communities not only reclaim self-determination but also offer a vital vision of justice and sustainability for contemporary society. +
U
This entry reclaims Ubuntu/Botho as a revolutionary Afrikan philosophy rooted in justice, liberation, and epistemic sovereignty. While widely invoked in global ethics and post-apartheid discourse, Ubuntu/Botho has been misappropriated and depoliticized through colonial mistranslations and liberal interpretations such as “I am because you are.” Drawing on Afrikan cosmologies—Hunhu, Ukama, Seriti, and Ma’at—the entry situates Ubuntu/Botho within a broader constellation of relational, spiritual, and ecological worldviews emphasizing cosmic balance and communal flourishing. It exposes how Western and white South African scholars have sanitized Ubuntu into a discourse of reconciliation and corporate branding, perpetuating epistemic injustice. Engaging with Black Consciousness, Liberation Theology, and Afrikan feminist and womanist interventions, it argues that Ubuntu/Botho is not a passive communitarian ethic but an insurgent, justice-oriented ontology of being. The paper concludes that reclaiming linguistic and philosophical integrity is essential for restoring Ubuntu/Botho as a decolonial framework for Afrikan futures. +