Presentation short abstract

This study examines how state formation shapes grassroots collective action. Historical analysis reveals that agricultural frontier expansion systematically displaced communities and undermined collective management, creating institutional legacies that constrain food sovereignty.

Presentation long abstract

Grasslands and savannas cover 37% of terrestrial land and sustain diverse agricultural livelihoods, yet remain underrepresented in research on land governance and food systems. This study examines how national governance structures and historical state-building processes have shaped—and often constrained—the possibilities for grassroots collective action in managing these landscapes. Using Argentina, Colombia, and Paraguay as comparative cases, we analyze how different state configurations condition the capacity of rural communities to assert control over land use and production decisions. We apply historical institutional analysis, examining both formal governance structures and the political and administrative techniques through which states consolidated territorial control. Our methodology combines systematic literature review with triangulation through complementary data sources and validation with local stakeholders, reconstructing key stages of institutional development and their impacts on grassroots organizing. Our findings reveal that agricultural frontier expansion systematically displaced rural communities across all three countries and supported agro-industrial extractivism: through Argentina's agroindustrial consolidation without land redistribution, Paraguay's export-oriented model with highly unequal land tenure, and Colombia's state-sponsored colonization amid armed conflict. These processes transformed landscapes and undermined forms of collective land management and peasant autonomy. While contemporary policies sometimes create openings for community-led initiatives, they operate within institutional legacies that privilege large-scale production and centralized decision-making over grassroots-controlled food systems. Understanding these historical dynamics is essential for recognizing both the structural constraints facing grassroots collective action and the limited space that remains for building governance frameworks supporting community autonomy and food sovereignty.