This is the Research blog of the The Open Society Hub for the Politics of the Anthropocene (OHPA). Here you will find our latest articles, newsletters and summaries of our events. Stay tuned for our updates and don't forget to share!
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Reluctant Decarbonization and Militant Petrostates Workshop: Part II - Europe
The OHPA hosted its first workshop entitled “Reluctant Decarbonization and Militant Petrostates” on May 27, 2024. The workshop was divided into three thematic panels: ‘Global’, which you can read here, European and the upcoming Case study panel.
Here is the tenth issue of The Open Society Hub for the Politics of the Anthropocene weekly newsletter. In addition to producing our own articles regarding important climate issues, we will be releasing a compiled list of interesting resources relevant to issues in climate politics and economics.
Is Green Politics Right or Left: the Debate
The answer is: it is both, nobody owns it, and this politics should be consensual. The survival of humanity is too serious a thing to entrust it to the radical or conservative politicians. All reasonable people, politicians among them, should in good faith fight for the quick, smooth and effective transition from the waste- and emissions-generating economy to the green, renewable and sustainable way of satisfying human needs within the limits of our planet. They should reach this consensus, but they have done it. It is not even close, of course. Instead of the joint, enlightened Climate Action we see wars, disinformation, open-ended debates and ever-growing emissions. Ideological differences play their role in this crisis. In this issue of our Newsletter, we are publishing two passionate essays that claim the ownership the green transition by a certain kind of politics, right or left. If our students cannot agree on this issue and are playing a tug of war about it, it means that the humanity has not grown up to the required consensus. Please read both essays, compare and contrast them, and think about the way forward.
Reluctant Decarbonization and Militant Petrostates Workshop: Part I - Global
The OHPA hosted its first workshop entitled “Reluctant Decarbonization and Militant Petrostates” on May 27, 2024, in which an array of scholars formed interdisciplinary panels to discuss their individual research and how it relates to broader issues of Petroaggression and Decarbonization in international climate politics. The workshop was divided into three thematic panels: Global, European and a Case study panel.
A Polycrisis refers to the phenomenon of multiple crises existing independent of one another, yet through temporal symmetry they influence and often exacerbate one another (click here to read Dr. Nicoli’s lecture at the OHPA on this subject). The Climate Crisis, created by humanity’s manipulation and abuses of the natural world, represents an existential threat and thus a danger to virtually every aspect of human existence. Climate change exists as the primary crisis in this context, further worsening and expanding secondary existing crises which existed previously, including (but not limited to) immigration, global health security and resource conflicts.
Is there any chance for a Green Russia?
One of the primary functions of a state is to provide security. Тoday the notion of security has evolved to encompass a multitude of complex and often conflicting factors. Security is no longer solely defined by territory protection; it also has expanded to encompass the capacity for sustainable development and resilience. It is widely acknowledged that countries with democratic regimes possess a distinct advantage in this regard. However, it is often more intuitive to examine the quirks of rogue states, where seemingly illogical solutions often find, or at least seek, their logical explanation. And what if we add the Anthropocene to the equation and observe the failed transition from paleomodernity to gaiamodernity, as authroritarians tend to prioritize the security of their regimes rather than the security of their people or the environment.