Inner dimensions, outer change: exploring the transformative potential of leadership in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a critical livelihood activity across the Global South, but it remains enmeshed in environmental degradation and governance deficits. In Madre de Dios, Peru, government-led formalization efforts have failed to resolve these complex issues. Drawing on qualitative interviews with ten leaders from mining collectives and ten key informants, we apply a value-oriented leadership framework to explore how leaders’ inner dimensions, such as individual values and leadership types, are associated with outer dimensions, such as practices within the collective and institutional strategies associated with change in a context of fragile agency and broader structural constraints. Our findings suggest that leaders may hold values distinct from those of the collective, including ethical relations with nature, compliance, unity, and dialogue. In combination with specific leadership orientations, these inner dimensions can create openings for change, while remaining constrained by challenges related to legitimacy, identity, trust, recognition, influence, and power imbalances. These dynamics are reflected in efforts to strengthen coordination and promote cleaner practices within collectives, build external trust, and engage state actors to co-produce context-sensitive arrangements, including a regional federation promoting more inclusive and environmentally responsible policies. Our findings contribute to ongoing debates on the role of local leadership in collective action among artisanal and small-scale miners, transformative pathways towards more responsible mining, and participatory governance within formalization processes.