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Citizen science and sustainability science promise the more just and democratic production of environmental knowledge and politics. In this review, we evaluate these participatory traditions within the context of (a) our theorization of how the valuation and devaluation of nature, knowledge, and people help to produce socio-ecological hierarchies, the uneven distribution of harms and benefits, and inequitable engagement within environmental politics, and (b) our analysis of how neoliberalism is reworking science and environmental governance. We find that citizen and sustainability science often fall short of their transformative potential because they do not directly confront the production of environmental injustice and political exclusion, including the knowledge hierarchies that shape how the environment is understood and acted upon, by whom, and for what ends. To deepen participatory practice, we propose a heterodox ethicopolitical praxis based in Gramscian, feminist, and postcolonial theory and describe how we have pursued transformative praxis in southern Appalachia through the Coweeta Listening Project.

*Full article is in Spanish

English abstract: The popular demonstrations triggered by the so-called Arab Spring can be explained by a combination of the multiple reasons of political, social, cultural, and economic orders. But previous mobilizations become relevant as a precedent to the Arab Spring protests given their scope; in several countries in recent years, an unusual intensification of the protest was experienced. The massive character of the protests would not have been possible without the intervention of certain experienced actors that served as catalysts and facilitators of these dynamics. Regardless of their achievements and singularities, the 2011 demonstrations have to be regarded as part of a protest continuum, being the inheritors of previous resistance, and protest movements, as well as of preceding organizational experiences and constituting a turning point in collective action. This continuum goes on.

Spanish abstract: Las movilizaciones populares que desencadenaron las llamadas “primaveras árabes“ se explican por la combinación de múltiples razones de orden político, social, cultural y económico. Pero las dimensiones adquiridas por las protestas ponen de relieve cómo éstas tenían antecedentes; en varios países en los últimos años se vivió una intensificación inusitada de la contestación. El carácter masivo de las protestas no hubiera sido posible sin la intervención de determinados actores que contaban con experiencia y que lograron actuar como catalizadores y facilitadores de esta dinámica. Independientemente de sus logros y de sus singularidades nacionales, las manifestaciones del 2011 se inscribieron así en un continuum contestatario, siendo herederas de experiencias de resistencia, protesta y organización previas, y constituyeron un punto de inflexión en el proceso. Este continuum prosigue en las transiciones políticas en curso.

French abstract: Les mobilisations populaires déclenchées par les dénommés “printemps arabes“ s'expliquent par la combinaison de multiples raisons d'ordre politique, social, culturel et économique. Mais les dimensions atteintes par les protestations mettent en relief leurs antécédents; dans plusieurs pays, durant ces dernières années, a eu lieu une intensification inusitée de la contestation. Le caractère massif des protestations n'aurait été atteint sans l'intervention de certains acteurs qui comptaient avec de l'expérience y qui purent jouer un rôle de catalyseurs et de facilitateurs de ce e dynamique. Indépendamment de leurs réussites et de leurs singularités nationales, les manifestations de 2011 se sont ainsi inscrites dans un continuum contestataire, étant héritières d'expériences de résistance, de protestation et d'organisations antérieures, et elles constituèrent un moment d'inflexion dans le processus. Ce continuum se prolonge dans les transitions politiques en cour.

This article illustrates the interconnectedness of science and politics through a case study of old-growth forest conflict in Finnish Upper Lapland. It demonstrates the ways in which “traditional science“ has failed to settle the decades-long conflict between state forestry and traditional Sámi reindeer herding, and discusses the potential of democratization of science through more inclusive forms of knowledge production. The analysis, which is based on qualitative interview data, shows that a traditional science focus on biological indicators and mathematical modeling has provided only a partial account of the reindeer herding-forestry interactions by ignoring the local, place-specific practices that are equally important in understanding the overall quality of pasture conditions in Upper Lapland. It concludes that an inclusive inquiry, structured according to the principles of joint fact-finding, could create a more policy-relevant, and also more scientifically robust, knowledge basis for future forest management and policy decisions.