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Contribution short abstract

This presentation examines the RTSN as a political claim and exercise of popular power. It explores how states invoke sovereignty to legitimise extractivism, while territorial movements contest it through life-affirming practices of refusal, autonomy and self-determination.

Contribution long abstract

This presentation examines the right to say no as a political claim that exceeds the liberal grammar of rights within the paradigm of multiculturalism. Drawing on a genealogical analysis of the concept of sovereignty, I reflect on how modern states invoke sovereignty to legitimise extractivism, while territorial movements contest it through life-affirming practices of refusal, autonomy and self-determination. Based on empirical experiences in Putumayo and Cauca, both in southwestern Colombia, I reflect on the Right to Say No as an exercise of popular power mobilised through legal and extra-legal strategies of collective action.