In many places around the world, the continuing expansion of agricultural land into forested areas is a context which urgently needs transformative change towards more sustainable pathways. Defining and implementing such transformations requires critical reflection to avoid reproducing business-as-usual practices. Transformative alternatives need to be capable of challenging detrimental power structures underlying social injustices and environmental degradation. Implementing such alternatives therefore needs a deeper and plural understanding of the historical processes underpinning the interrelation between social and environmental dynamics. In this paper we focus on the northeastern Nicaraguan agricultural frontier to analyze the historical emergence and consequences of a dominant cattle-based territorial pathway and to unveil local actors’ practices and perspectives on possible transformative change. We thereby aim to enrich the debates on Transformations to Sustainability and the identification ofalternatives capable of challenging hegemonic dynamics.Our methodological contribution lies in adopting an original mixed-methods strategy based on the joint use of agrarian diagnoses and Q-method. First, our results provide an in-depth understanding of the historical evolution of agricultural practices and processes of social differentiation, and how these processes relate to techno-economic conditions influencing farmers' strategies. Second, we identify four perspectives within a specific network of actors regarding the processes of social-environmental change and analyze the perceived opportunities and limitations of actual and imagined alternatives. Based on these insights, we show that certain alignment of practices and motivations generally reinforces the dominant cattle-based territorial pathway. We also indicate that the most commonly promoted alternative strategies (often by external organizations) tend to reinforce the incumbent pathway rather than addressing the related social and environmental concerns. Yet, we also identified a subaltern niche of perspectives and practices from which a bottom-up actor coalition could emerge, addressing power imbalances and re-assembling ideas and practices towards transformative change.

中文翻译：

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主导领土路径内转型变革的利基：尼加拉瓜农业前沿的实践和观点


在世界许多地方，农业用地不断向森林地区扩张，迫切需要进行变革，迈向更可持续的道路。定义和实施此类转型需要进行批判性反思，以避免重复一切照旧的做法。变革性替代方案必须能够挑战社会不公正和环境退化背后的有害权力结构。因此，实施此类替代方案需要对支撑社会和环境动态之间相互关系的历史进程有更深入和多元化的理解。在本文中，我们重点关注尼加拉瓜东北部农业边境，分析以牛为基础的占主导地位的领土路径的历史出现和后果，并揭示当地参与者对可能的变革的实践和观点。因此，我们的目标是丰富关于可持续转型的辩论，并确定能够挑战霸权动态的替代方案。我们的方法论贡献在于采用基于农业诊断和 Q 方法联合使用的原始混合方法策略。首先，我们的研究结果提供了对农业实践的历史演变和社会分化过程的深入理解，以及这些过程如何与影响农民策略的技术经济条件相关。其次，我们确定了特定参与者网络中关于社会环境变化过程的四种观点，并分析了实际和想象的替代方案的感知机会和局限性。 基于这些见解，我们表明，实践和动机的某些一致性通常会强化以牛为基础的主导领地途径。我们还指出，最常推广的替代战略（通常由外部组织）往往会强化现有路径，而不是解决相关的社会和环境问题。然而，我们还确定了一个底层的观点和实践，从中可以出现一个自下而上的行动者联盟，解决权力不平衡问题，并重新整合思想和实践以实现变革。