To what extent has the struggle of Brazilian indigenous peoples for their citizenship rights been affected by the country's democratization process? In my research, I respond to this question by comparing indigenous peoples' rights during the military rule (1964-84), during the process of transition to democracy (1985-1990), and during the process of democratic consolidation (1991- present). I argue that, between 1985 and 1990, indigenous peoples carved significant spaces within the country's political and legal systems and thus have been able to guarantee important rights. These conquests were mostly the result of three factors: the indigenous peoples' growing understanding of the Brazilian political system and their willingness to work within it; the emergence of a domestic coalition of advocacy groups committed to indigenous rights; and the political and material support of international human rights and environmental groups. Yet, since 1994, there have been significant attempts to reverse indigenous peoples' conquests.  
 
 
 

What role do local communities play in international initiatives to promote environmentally sustainable development? The literature in International Environmental Relations (IER) does not answer this question. Most studies in IER emphasize the role of nation-states in promoting environmental sustainable development. When the literature departs from this path, it overvalues the role of international environmental non-governmental organizations. My research contributes to IER theory by highlighting the link between international and local efforts of non-state actors to promote sustainable development. This is accomplished by refining the concept of Environmental Protection Issue Networks (EPINs) and by identifying conditions for their effectiveness. EPINs are networks of local, national, and international non-state actors whose goal is to promote local environmentally sustainable development. I argue that there is a positive correlation between the level of an EPIN’s effectiveness and the strategic capacity of its local membership base. My study of a World Bank-funded development project, the Planafloro (1993-1999), implemented in the Brazilian Amazon, will either support or refute this argument. This project drew the attention of a coalition of environmentally-concerned local and international non-state actors, the Planafloro EPIN, whose activism, particularly its local membership base, led to a major restructuring of the project. I will compare the Planafloro’s environmental record before and after its 1997 restructuring. The improvement of Planafloro’s environmental performance after 1997 will support the arguments that EPINs are important instruments for the promotion of local environmentally sustainable development, and that their effectiveness increases as a function of its local members’ strategic capacity.