Capitalist anti-ecologies and authoritarianism in the Global South (II)
Channel: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Date: 2022-09-15

With: 
Sabrina Fernandes (Ecosocialist Communicator and Researcher at the University of Brasilia, Brasil, IRGAC)
Markus Wissen (Fellow at the Institute for Critical Social Analysis, Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation, Germany)
Erika Mendes (Environmental and Social Activist, Justicia Ambiental, Mozambique)
Moderation: Boaventura Monjane (Activist and Researcher at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, IRGAC

This conversation deals with the environmental collapse connected to capitalist development in the Global South and how authoritarian practices are used to advance these interests. The dynamics of development and underdevelopment have pushed entire regions in the Global South into sacrifice zones, where communities suffer from mega-projects, militarism, and a rhetoric that treats them as obstacles to progress. Developmentalism and Extractivism are seen as main motors for these economies and it often comes with territorial dispossession, direct violence against indigenous and peasant communities, and is connected to a stream of international deals where multinational corporations and states collaborate to access resources in a global commodity chain. The standard practices connected to this process are deep into environmental racism, involve the use of force (state or paramilitary) as well as political and military interventions from foreign states.

The panel was part of the conference "Contesting Authoritarianism: Perspectives from the South" (Berlin, May 16 - 21, 2022). Further information on the conference and on the International Research Group on Authoritarianism and Counter-Strategies can be found at https://irgac.org/