This proposal describes a multi-scale research project investigating the social, cultural and political issues relating to governance and Indigenous Peoples. Recent international mobilization has led to a major shift, culminating in the adoption by the UN of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007. This highly symbolic and moral document is expected to induce changes and to combat discrimination. Indigenous peoples have acquired visibility, as models of sustainability and for their ecological knowledge. Yet their place in constitutional orders, their participation in decision-making, and their development practices have not been consistently studied. Crucial issues include their emergence as political actors, the role of transnational networks, and convergences in two sectors of global concern - human rights and the environment. The UNDRIP opens room to consider the various modalities of self-determination. A comparative approach will help get rid of simple dichotomies, while putting at the centre of the scientific debate the modernization of the Western discourse and the post-colonial theories. With the PI, a team will study the changes that international norms induce through the development of programs, EU initiatives too, and the response at local levels. The research will focus on arenas in which indigenous communities are confronted by modern policies: education, land management, political representation, legal systems and the expression of culture. 10 comparative studies will be undertaken, in Southern Africa, South America, Asia and Oceania. Key findings will be discussed through thematic and regional workshops; dissemination done through seminars and publications. The UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues has repeatedly requested the academic sector to provide analysis on the translation of universal discourses to situated practices. However, to date, no such research has been done on a comparative scale