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Autogestión (self-management) refers to the collective and horizontal organization of social, economic, and political life without hierarchical authority or external control. Rooted in principles of mutual aid, direct democracy, and autonomy, it emphasizes that communities, workplaces, and associations should be directly managed by those who participate in them, rather than by states, bosses, or bureaucracies. Autogestión rejects capitalist and statist forms of centralization, seeking instead to create federated networks of self-organized groups where decisions are made through assemblies and consensus. As both a practice and a political horizon, it embodies the anarchist vision of a society based on equality, freedom, and solidarity. +
'''Autonomy embodies a radical break from hierarchical systems of power and control, emphasizing self-determination and communal governance.''' +
B
Bioregionalism is an ecological, political, and cultural philosophy that argues societies should organize their economies, governance, and ways of life around bioregions—areas defined by watersheds, landforms, climate, ecosystems, and the human cultures that have adapted to them—rather than by arbitrary nation-state borders. It promotes “reinhabiting” places: learning the limits and possibilities of a specific life-place, strengthening local food and energy systems, revitalizing Indigenous and local knowledges, and fostering forms of self-governance that emerge from the ecological and cultural particularities of each region. +
D
Degrowth weaves together ecological economics, political ecology, feminist and post-development thought to question growth as a supposedly universal measure of progress; it insists on situated, plural notions of prosperity, foregrounds biophysical limits and entropic processes, and treats care, commons, and autonomy as central categories for knowing and organizing economies beyond capitalism and the growth imperative.
Degrowth is an ecological, economic, and political project that calls for the deliberate, democratic downscaling of production and consumption—especially in wealthy countries—so that human societies stay within planetary limits while improving equity and well-being. Rather than simply “less growth,” degrowth is a critique of the ideology of economic growth and of the belief that GDP can be indefinitely “decoupled” from resource use and emissions; it argues that beyond a certain point growth becomes socially unjust and ecologically destructive, and instead promotes shorter working hours, stronger commons, care-centered economies, and more localized, convivial forms of life. +
Influenced by social ecology, libertarian municipalism, Middle Eastern history and general state theory, Öcalan presents the concept as a political solution to Kurdish national aspirations, as well as other fundamental problems in countries in the region deeply rooted in class society, and as a route to freedom and democratization for people around the world. The term refers to a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization with the features of a confederation based on the principles of autonomy, direct democracy, political ecology, feminism ("Jineology"), multiculturalism, self-defense, self-governance and elements of a cooperative economy. Influenced by social ecology, libertarian municipalism, Middle Eastern history and general state theory, Öcalan presents the concept as a political solution to Kurdish national aspirations, as well as other fundamental problems in countries in the region deeply rooted in class society, and as a route to freedom and democratization for people around the world +
E
When combined, "ecoterritorial internationalism" suggests a movement or doctrine that seeks to address ecological and territorial issues on an international scale, emphasizing cooperation between different regions and nations to manage shared environmental resources and land-based concerns. +
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. 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 autogobierno, 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. +
Thomas More coined the word utopia in 1516. Ou-topos literaly translates as "no place" highlighting the unlikelihood of a truly perfect society. The term "eutopia" on the other hand means a good, achievable place. +
H
Harambee is a Kiswahili word often translated as “all pull together” or “let us all pull together,” and it names a long-standing East African—especially Kenyan—tradition of community self-help, where people voluntarily mobilize labour, money, and resources for collective projects such as schools, clinics, or local infrastructure. It became a central political and cultural principle in Kenya after independence in 1963, when Harambee was adapted as a national motto, calling on communities to work together to build the new nation. +
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. +
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. +
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. +
Minga (also spelled minka or minga comunitaria) is an ancient Andean organization of collective work in which community members voluntarily come together to carry out a task that benefits the whole group or a particular household—building houses or communal infrastructure, harvesting crops, repairing paths, etc.—usually framed by strong norms of reciprocity, solidarity, and celebration (food, drink, and festivity often accompany the work). +
N
Nakba (Arabic: النكبة, al-Nakba, “the catastrophe”) is the term used primarily by Palestinians to describe the mass displacement, dispossession, and destruction of Palestinian society that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel in 1947–49. It refers above all to the expulsion or flight of roughly 700,000–750,000 Palestinians from their homes, the depopulation or destruction of more than 400 villages and urban neighborhoods, and the erasure of “Palestine” from the political map, events many historians analyze as a form of ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism, while many Israeli officials and some historians instead frame the same period as a war of independence and deny this characterization.
In contemporary Palestinian discourse, “the Nakba” also names an ongoing condition: exile, statelessness, refugeehood, land confiscation, and military occupation, sometimes referred to as the “ongoing Nakba.”
The Lebanese historian Constantin Zureiq is generally credited with first using it in this sense in his 1948 book Ma‘na al-Nakba (The Meaning of the Disaster), after which the term was taken up by Palestinian writers and activists and later institutionalized in commemorations such as Nakba Day on 15 May.
Epistemologically, “Nakba” functions as a foundational narrative and analytic lens in Palestinian historiography and memory: it names a collective experience of loss and violence, structures claims to the right of return, and frames the conflict in terms of dispossession and settler colonialism, while also being contested, minimized, or legally constrained in Israeli state discourse (for example through the 2011 “Nakba Law”). +
P
Pakikibaka emphasizes that struggle is not an individualistic act but one that arises from a deep sense of belonging and interconnectedness among Filipinos. It reflects the nation's history of fighting for freedom, dignity, and social justice against colonizers and oppressive regimes. The term encompasses not only physical uprisings and revolutions but also the moral and ideological battles faced by Filipinos. +
The pluriverse is a concept that challenges the idea of a single, universal world defined by Western modernity, proposing instead a vision of many worlds coexisting in dignity and difference. Rooted in decolonial, Indigenous, and postdevelopment thought, it affirms that no single worldview, ontology, or system of knowledge can claim universality. Rather than a fragmented relativism, the pluriverse emphasizes interconnectedness, reciprocity, and the coexistence of multiple ways of being, knowing, and organizing life. It has become a key concept in political ecology and radical alternatives, encapsulated in the Zapatista expression “a world where many worlds fit”, and serves as a framework for imagining and enacting alternatives to capitalism, colonialism, and extractivist development. +
R
The term "radical ecological democracy" combines radical democracy, which advocates for the fundamental rethinking and expansion of democratic processes, with ecological principles, emphasizing the need for societies to live within planetary limits and respect nature's integrity. It emerged from critiques of the dominant "development" model, calling for decentralized governance, localized economies, respect for cultural diversity, and a focus on human well-being and ecological resilience. The phrase also reflects the collective search for sustainable alternatives to current economic and political systems, drawing inspiration from grassroots movements and Indigenous communities. +
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. +
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. +
Terms like 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. +