Sansinukuban 3: International Studies from Mindanao: Urban and Transnational Dynamics: Centering Mindanao's Agency, Cities, Networks

Amid increasing global interconnectedness where discourse remains confined to state-to-state interactions, sub-state spaces emerge as critical sites where global interactions are forged, negotiated, and institutionalized. Within the Philippine context, Mindanao is frequently overlooked in national political, cultural, and economic narratives. Yet this marginality becomes a space where urban and transnational networks intersect, redefining power structures and local agency. This volume approaches Mindanao through the concept of Sansinukuban-Tagalog for "universe" or "cosmos"-which views the world as a space of intersecting processes and relationships. Mindanao emerges not as a distant periphery but as a dynamic site that bridges the local and the global. Mindanao's agency, cities, and networks operate not as isolated elements but mutually reinforcing that collectively shape the production of International Studies beyond the traditional Western-centric frameworks. The individual, collective, and structural agency of Mindanaoans is exercised by diverse actors-indigenous peoples, women, local governments, entrepreneurs, and epistemic agents-who shape Mindanao's relations with foreign entities. Supporting these dynamics are the urban centers of Mindanao, which have become vital sites where personal, local, regional, and international processes intersect across politics, economics, and socio-cultural aspects. These cities serve as hubs for diplomacy, trade, knowledge exchange, and interpersonal interactions that extend beyond traditional state-to-state relations. Centering Mindanao, therefore, allows it to be understood not merely as a recipient of international processes, but as an active >The five studies in this book provide a nuanced exploration of how Mindanao, as a region, and the Mindanaoan people play a role in international relations, and how, in turn, the international system, its institutions, players, and dynamics influence the region and its people.

Pagina's: 201, Paperback, Independently published