Revisiting the Agrarian Question: Seed Commons, Peasant Resistance(s), and the Reproduction of Capital Accumulation in International Law

What is the role of international law in agrarian transformations, and how do peasants encounter and engage with it in their everyday lives?This thesis seeks to answer this question by conducting a case study into the ways that Colombian seed networks have utilized strategies and tactics from within and outside the law to push back against the growing seed monopolization and expansion of intellectual property rights.Drawing upon methods of digital ethnography, legal ethnography, and document analysis, as well as bringing together critical agrarian studies and Marxist and Third World Approaches to International law, I demonstrate the various ways that international law has played a central role in fostering the ongoing dispossession of peasants, restructuring property and social relations, engendering ecocide, and reproducing capital accumulation.By examining the resistance to international law "from below," legal scholars can better understand its materialization, limits, and contradictions. H1 iii AcknowledgmentsThe purpose of this section is to be concise with brief notes of thanks, but even while writing this, I am reminded again of the beautiful community I am surrounded by, which made this all possible.I have never been good at keeping things short; if anything is long and drawn out, I want it to be this section.This section offers only a small glimpse of those who have supported me endlessly over the past years, acknowledging and honouring the sacrifices made by many so that I could live out this dream of having this project come to life.First and foremost, I want to thank the Algonquin Anishinaabe peoples and Nation.I completed this thesis as an uninvited settler on these unceded and unsurrendered lands, and this degree would not have been possible otherwise.I thank them for sharing their knowledge and cosmologies with us.I thank them for the Seven Grandfather Teachings.I have incorporated these into my work and into my life.This thesis reaffirms the urgency for landback and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples across Abya Yala and beyond.Second, I thank the workers around the world who made this degree possible.The paper this was written on, the battery of my computer, the janitorial staff who ensure the study rooms and lecture halls are clean for us to learn, and the farmers and migrant labourers who bring the food to our tables.It is never lost on me that I am the one who could write this degree inside the belly of the beast of empire, telling your stories, at the continued expense and implication of the reproduction of capitalism; most of the labour within it is unseen.This degree will not be in vain.Third, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Ania Zbyszewska.I could have an entire section dedicated to her, but I will keep it short.Ania's grad school course on regulating the labouring body was the precursor to this thesis.The course and her careful selection of readings and themes allowed me to see the connections between labour and ecologies, the need for feminist engagements, and the broader processes of capital accumulation down the line.I wish everyone could take this course, and it is an understatement to say that it changed the trajectory of my life.Over the past two years, she has been the best supervisor I could have ever asked for, spending many, many hours reading drafts and reading my work to offer the most generous feedback.Even more of these hours were spent on affective labour, being patient, listening to me, and offering a mentorship and comradeship that allowed me to write this.Even more, through the many struggles and barriers I encountered, she always reminded me that I could finish this work and to take breaks to enjoy things.It is not an exaggeration to say that I would have dropped out long ago had it not been for her.The many meetings, emails, and words of encouragement kept me going, and I cannot believe how lucky I am to have one of the brightest minds and kindest humans in my corner.Dr. Ania not only teaches and shares her deep knowledge of feminist politics with those around her, but she embodies it.One of the many examples of this was during the March 2023 strike when we grad students were in the middle of burnout and so exhausted; Dr. Ania showed up on the picket line every day for us (even bringing her classes), emailed us words of encouragement, and was so determined to help us achieve any gains.This is one of the hundreds of examples of her praxis.I will deeply miss all of these H1 iv meetings and conversations.Although this final copy is a testament to the collective labour from peoples past and present, it is also a bittersweet moment marking that these wonderful days of working together have also slowly drawn to a close.Not everyone can be a great mentor, and certainly not everyone is a comrade.But for whatever reason, the stars aligned, and I was able to gain both.So, in short, thank you endlessly for this help: our department is lucky beyond measure to have you, and if the academe is worth salvaging in any way, it is because of people like you.To my second reader, Dr. Umut zsu: your incredible feedback and guidance on the drafts of this thesis were important beyond measure.You are a scholar I have admired for years and whose work has been so instrumental to my own.Your contributions to international law, history, and Marxism are valued by so many of us around the world.I could have honestly never imagined that you would help me with my own journey in this domain.I am eternally grateful for your close readings, your many wonderful suggestions, and your willingness to see through many (very bad) drafts while understanding and believing in

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