Development and culture: Transnational identity making in Bolivia Robert Andolina a, * , Sarah Radcliffe b,1 , Nina Laurie c,2 a Department of Political Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY 14456, USA b Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, England, UK c Department of Geography, University of Newcastle, Daysh Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, England, UK Abstract This article analyses ethnic identity making in contemporary Bolivia by combining insights from constructivist political science, human geography, and other disciplines. It shows how transnational discursive frameworks and spatial imageries shape local ethnic identities through the practices of mixed actor networks that operate at local, national, regional, and international scales. Focusing on indigenous peoples in the Bolivian highlands who mobilise around the Andean ayllu (community), we argue that redefinition of indigenous identities includes the representation and validation of subjects and actors within transnational discourses cohering neoliberalism and multiculturalism. As indigenous movement platforms and concepts are increasingly institutionalised in official agencies and policy frameworks, their demands for culturally appropriate government and development are in practice implemented as governmentally and developmentally appropriate culture. These changes have therefore enabled and constrained the ayllu movement’s ability to define its own identity and its access to political and economic resources. This case is emblematic of increasingly common * Corresponding author. Tel.: C1 315 781 3176; fax: C1 315 781 3422. E-mail addresses: andolina@hws.edu (R. Andolina), sar23@cam.ac.uk (S. Radcliffe), nina.laurie@ ncl.ac.uk (N. Laurie). 1 Tel.: C44 1223 333383; fax: C44 1223 333392. 2 Tel.: C44 191 222 6346; fax: C44 191 222 5421. 0962-6298/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2005.03.001 Political Geography 24 (2005) 678e702 www.elsevier.com/locate/polgeo