Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The enduring coloniality of ecological modernization : Wind energy development in occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights

Alkhalili, Noura LU ; Dajani, Muna and Mahmoud, Yahia LU (2023) In Political Geography 103.
Abstract
The dominant narratives on how to confront climate change are often presented as neutral proposals concerned with the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. The main objective of this article is to exemplify how concepts like Ecological Modernization and Sustainable Development are used in the name of energy transitions to prolong illegal military occupations in two territories, namely occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. By combining first-hand and secondary data from our cases, we also expose the enduring coloniality of such concepts that have been critiqued not only for their lack of neutrality but also for their contribution to the denial of basic human rights such as self-determination, sovereignty,... (More)
The dominant narratives on how to confront climate change are often presented as neutral proposals concerned with the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. The main objective of this article is to exemplify how concepts like Ecological Modernization and Sustainable Development are used in the name of energy transitions to prolong illegal military occupations in two territories, namely occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. By combining first-hand and secondary data from our cases, we also expose the enduring coloniality of such concepts that have been critiqued not only for their lack of neutrality but also for their contribution to the denial of basic human rights such as self-determination, sovereignty, and the right to resourcehood. We argue that renewable energy projects, in the two settings studied, are a manifestation of an ecological modernization that ignores aspects of justice and self-determination. Although touted as a solution to mitigating climate change, wind energy development in these two cases violates international law and the principle of self-determination. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ecological modernizationEnduring colonialityWind energy developmentOccupied Western SaharaOccupied Syrian Golan heights
in
Political Geography
volume
103
article number
102871
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85150768258
ISSN
1873-5096
DOI
10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102871
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b77b44eb-efcc-4bbf-a27a-cc3549c650f3
date added to LUP
2023-03-23 21:29:29
date last changed
2024-01-19 21:01:33
@article{b77b44eb-efcc-4bbf-a27a-cc3549c650f3,
  abstract     = {{The dominant narratives on how to confront climate change are often presented as neutral proposals concerned with the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. The main objective of this article is to exemplify how concepts like Ecological Modernization and Sustainable Development are used in the name of energy transitions to prolong illegal military occupations in two territories, namely occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. By combining first-hand and secondary data from our cases, we also expose the enduring coloniality of such concepts that have been critiqued not only for their lack of neutrality but also for their contribution to the denial of basic human rights such as self-determination, sovereignty, and the right to resourcehood. We argue that renewable energy projects, in the two settings studied, are a manifestation of an ecological modernization that ignores aspects of justice and self-determination. Although touted as a solution to mitigating climate change, wind energy development in these two cases violates international law and the principle of self-determination.}},
  author       = {{Alkhalili, Noura and Dajani, Muna and Mahmoud, Yahia}},
  issn         = {{1873-5096}},
  keywords     = {{Ecological modernizationEnduring colonialityWind energy developmentOccupied Western SaharaOccupied Syrian Golan heights}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Political Geography}},
  title        = {{The enduring coloniality of ecological modernization : Wind energy development in occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102871}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102871}},
  volume       = {{103}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}