Eco-nationalism
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Eco-nationalism (also known as ecological nationalism or green nationalism) is a synthesis of
Definitions and tenets
According to Jane Dawson, eco-nationalism is the rise of
One of the first instances of eco-nationalism was in the 1980s in the then
Eco-nationalism as defined by anthropologists often manifests in the adoption of nature as an entity outside of culture that must be protected in its pristine and untouched state whenever possible.[3] In subaltern studies and cultural anthropology, eco-nationalism refers to the iconification of native species and landscapes in a way that appeals to a nationalist sentiment.
Ethnic Eco-nationalism vs. Civic Eco-nationalism
When discussing eco-nationalism, many writers have noted it is important to understand the difference between ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism. Ethnic nationalism believes that the nation-state should be constructed primarily around a single ethnicity, whereas civic nationalism believes that the nation-state should be constructed around a diversity of people who all share common values, beliefs, and culture. The former tends to be insular, isolationist, nativist, and typically right-wing, while the latter is open, egalitarian, multicultural, and typically more left-wing. Whether ethno nationalist or civic nationalist, when a nationalist group adds an environmentalist dimension to their ideology, they believe the nation-state and its citizens have a duty to protect the environment of the country.[4][5][6]
Bioregionalism
Ecotourism and cultural eco-nationalism
Eco-nationalism can manifest in ecotourism, which can enrich local economies but has garnered criticism from a variety of perspectives.[8][3][9] Artistic works that extol the virtues of a nation's natural phenomena, such as the poetry of William Wordsworth[10] or the paintings of the Group of Seven,[11] are another expression of eco-nationalism.
National examples
Africa
Nigeria
The struggle of the
Asia
India
The struggle of the practitioners of the
Taiwan
Some scholars have suggested that Civic Eco-nationalism is a distinct feature of Taiwanese politics. Similar to countries in the
Another area in which Taiwanese environmentalism and eco-nationalism can be seen demonstrated is in the politics of Taiwan's indigenous population. A persistent critique in Taiwan is that land traditionally held by indigenous Taiwanese has been transformed by the state into mines and national parks, while the indigenous have been prevented by the state from using the same land for homes or for hunting. In 2018, a member of the New Power Party stated that 80% of Taiwan's 217 mining areas were located in aboriginal territories. This situation has led to the ongoing Indigenous Ketagalan Boulevard protest, which began in 2017. Another example of the environmental burden placed on indigenous Taiwanese has been the issue of nuclear waste dumping practised in secret by the state on the largely indigenous Orchid Island. The discovery of this nuclear dumping led to mass protests in 2002. The sentiment that the price of Taiwan's industrial development has unfairly fallen on indigenous communities has led to the growth of Eco-nationalism in Taiwan, with Eco-Nationalists arguing that the struggle of the indigenous must be tied to environmentalism and that there must be environmental justice for the indigenous.[13]
Another cited example of a merger of Taiwanese nationalism and environmentalism is in the increasing environmental aspect of the "huan-dao"; the huan-dao is an emerging Taiwanese tradition in which a Taiwanese citizen cycles the entire length of the country along Taiwan Cycling Route No.1. Considered both a coming-of-age ritual as well as an act of Taiwanese patriotism, a developing aspect of the huan-dao is for travellers to collect and dispose of waste along the route as a patriotic act.[13]
Europe
Baltic nations and Ukraine
As noted above, some of the first instances of eco-nationalism were observed in
Scotland
The centre-left, civic nationalist Scottish National Party has been described in some sources as eco-nationalist; Espousing Scottish nationalism, the SNP has accused the Westminster government of being a "negligent landlord" that tosses its waste and pollution in Scotland.[6] The SNP is noted for a longstanding willingness to work alongside environmental activists.[6] In 2019 the SNP-led Scottish government was one of the first countries in the world to officially declare a climate emergency and followed this up with the radical Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019.[14] The act was subsequently praised by the UN as "an inspiring example of the level of ambition we need globally to achieve the Paris Agreement".[14] Following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP and Scottish Greens entered into a ruling coalition together.[15] Like the SNP, the Scottish Greens favour independence from the United Kingdom.[16]
Spain
Republican Left of Catalonia, a center-left Catalan nationalist party, has been described as eco-nationalist. In 2017 they passed a climate emergency declaration through the Catalan parliament that would have taken radical actions such as banning fracking, planning a closure of all nuclear facilities by 2027 and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 27% at a minimum by 2030. However, the Spanish supreme court vetoed the act after deeming it to be unconstitutional because it exceed the scope of powers granted to regional parliaments in Spain.[14] In addition to their work in the Catalan parliament, the ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) have been praised by the Climate Action Network for their work in the European Parliament, where between 2014 and 2019 ERC were deemed to have a pro-climate voting record even better than Spain's main green party, Greens Equo, and were ranked amongst the best performers on green issues of any party sitting in the entire European Parliament.[14][17]
The left-wing Galician Nationalist Bloc has also been called eco-nationalist. The party has called for laws that would provide protection to the landscape and ecosystems while addressing issues of mobility, waste, energy, mining and water management. In 2019 the party asked for the creation of a crisis cabinet at the regional level in Spain to act on the climate emergency, as well as to tackle the threat of invasive species as a threat to water management and biodiversity.[14]
France
In 2014, the nationalist leader of the
Hungary
The Hungarian political party
Russia
The new age religious movement
Germany
German intellectuals from the 19th century like, Wilhelm Riehl, and Theodor Fontane, espoused ideals such as German nationalism and rootedness, in terms of the land as a food source and being German ground.[23] German soil and German blood are nearly synonymous, or at least very closely related, in these contexts. This agro-romanticism was also popularized amongst Nazis because German cities were “Jew-ridden,” according to Adolf Bartels, a National Democratic Party and journalist.[24]
German magazine Umwelt and Aktiv has been identified as a potential “camouflage publication” for the National Democratic Party.
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand
Patriotic pride in the country's landscape and environment is particularly visible in countries such as Australia[8] and New Zealand,[3][26] which are known for their unique animal life. Eco-nationalism is also marked by national pride in natural wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef or Mitre Peak, extensive conservation efforts towards iconic species such as the kākāpō and largetooth sawfish, and the creation of National Parks in order to protect these species and areas.[8][3] While beneficial for conservation efforts, eco-nationalism has been criticized as an extension of colonialist dichotomies and ontologies[3] and rarely addresses Indigenous ecological knowledge.[8]
The Oil Free Wellington group and its sister projects in other areas of New Zealand, a movement that campaigned against deep-sea drilling for oil off the coast of New Zealand because of the damage it was doing to the nation, has been described as another example of New Zealander Eco-Nationalism.[27]
Notes
- ^ "Justice" here may refer to both environmental justice and social justice
See also
References
- ^ S2CID 144853362. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- . Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ JSTOR 30131222.
- ^ Lieven, Anatol (2020). Climate Change and the Nation State: The Realist Case. London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Seaton, Lola (August 2020). "Painting Nationalism Green?". New Left Review. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Margulies, Morgan (2021). "Eco-Nationalism: A Historical Evaluation of Nationalist Praxes in Environmentalist and Ecologist Movements". Consilience:The Journal of Sustainable Development (23): 22–29. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ S2CID 144300916. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0868408905.
- ^ Service, UN-NGLS Non Governmental Liaison. "Voices from Africa". www.un-ngls.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
- JSTOR 44087561.
- ^ Bingham, Russell. "Group of Seven". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
- ^ Kukreti, Ishan (10 December 2020). "Sarna Dharam Code: Of Adivasi identity and eco-nationalism". Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ S2CID 239420835.
- ^ S2CID 234853239. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "SNP and Greens agree new power-sharing deal". BBC News. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Scottish independence: Greens join Yes Scotland campaign". BBC News. 6 October 2012. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Defenders, Delayers, Dinosaurs. Ranking of EU political groups and national parties on climate change". Climate Action Network. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ a b Neslen, Arthur (2014-12-18). "French National Front launches nationalist environmental movement". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- . Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ Skibsted, Jens Martin (21 May 2014). "Foreign Climate: Why European Right-Wingers Should Be Tree Huggers". Huffington Post. Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Lubarda, Balsa (9 February 2021). "When Ecologism Turns (Far) Right: the Hungarian Laboratory". Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- . Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ JSTOR 42588238.
- ^ Nicolaisen, Peter. “The Southern Agrarians and European Agrarianism.” The Mississippi Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 4, 1996, pp. 691-695.
- ^ a b c Connolly, Kate. German far-right extremists tap into green movement for support. The Guardian. 28 April 2012.
- ^ "In New Zealand, climate change is driving an eco-nationalist revival". 17 January 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- S2CID 152166742.
- Dawson J. I. Eco-Nationalism: Anti-Nuclear Activism and National Identity in Russia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. - Duke University Press Books, 1996. - 240 p.
Bibliography
- Dawson J. I. Eco-Nationalism: Anti-Nuclear Activism and National Identity in Russia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. - Duke University Press Books, 1996. - 240 p.
- Efremenko D. Eco-nationalism and the Crisis of Soviet Empire (1986-1991) // Irish Slavonic Studies. – vol. 24. – Dublin: IARCEES, 2012. – pp. 17–20.
- Josephson P., Dronin N., Mnatsakanyan R., Cherp A., Efremenko D., Larin A. An Environmental History of Russia. – New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. – 341 p.
- Neslen, A. (2014, December 18). French National Front launches nationalist environmental movement. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk
- Carroll, B. (2017). A Role for Art in Ecological Thought. Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 43(1), 145–164.
- Skibsted, J.M. (2014). Foreign climate: Why European right-wingers should be treehuggers. Huffington Post.