Enforcing Ecocide: Power, Policing & Planetary Militarization

Description

Policing and ecological crises – and all the inequalities, discrimination, and violence they entail – are pressing contemporary problems. Ecological degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change threaten local communities and ecosystems, and, cumulatively, the planet as a whole. Police brutality, wars, paramilitarism, private security operations, and securitization more widely impact people – especially people of colour – and habitats. This edited collection explores their relationship, and investigates the numerous ways in which police, security, and military forces intersect with, reinforce, and facilitate ecological and climate catastrophe. Employing a case study-based approach, the book examines the relationships and entanglements between policing and ecosystems, revealing the intimate connection between political violence and ecological degradation. Foreword: A Long Hot Summer (From Now On) Acknowledgments Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures 1 Introduction: Enforcing Ecological Destruction Enforcing Ecological Catastrophe Exploring Catastrophe Anthropocentrism in Policing Literature Colonialism, the State, and Counterinsurgency-Policing The Book Contributors Conclusion Bibliography Part I Hydrocarbon Militarization 2 A Postcolonial History of Accumulation by Contamination in the Gulf Introduction Accumulation by Contamination in the Postcolonial Era Iraq’s Postcolonial History of Accumulation by Contamination Extraction Rebellion The Saddam Years: War Pollution by Oil Accumulation The Iran–Iraq War The 1991 Gulf War The 2003 Iraq War The Rise of ISIL and Contamination by Repetition Conclusion Bibliography 3 Beyond Rentier State and Climate Conflict: Clashing Environmental Imaginaries and Ecological Oppression in Iran Introduction A Rentier State Creating Its Own Climate Conflict? Rentierism and Security Without a State? Ecological Oppression and State Environmental Imaginary Conclusion: Freedom from Resource Curse and Climate Conflict Appendix Bibliography 4 Policing Indigenous Land Defense and Climate Activism: Learnings from the Frontlines of Pipeline Resistance in Canada Introduction The Context Ongoing Settler Colonialism The Systemic Racism in the Police and Judicial Systems Policing Resistance Movements in Canada Exploring the Conflict Transformation Framework Discursive Power Institutional Power Relational Power Material Power Conclusion Bibliography Part II Enforcing Extraction 5 Global Britain and London’s Mega-Mining Corporations: Colonial Ecocide, Extractive Zones, and Frontiers of Martial Mining Introduction Colonial Ecocide and Extractive Zones: Becoming a Mining Giant Racial Capitalism, Mass Extinctions, and Resource Wars Geographies of Racial Capitalism: British Martial Mining in Marikana and West Papua Material Militaries: Greenwashing Imperial Warfare Martial Mining Frontiers: The Arctic, Abyssal Zones, and Asteroids Conclusion Bibliography 6 The Self-Reinforcing Cycle of Ecological Degradation and Repression: Revealing the Ecological Cost of Policing and Militarization Introduction The Ecological Cost of Policing The Military The Police Conclusion Bibliography 7 Oil, Arms and Emissions: The Role of the Military in a Changing Climate Introduction Western Values and Control Over Resources Energy Security Resource Control, Arms and Human Rights Power Projection and Military Emissions Greenwashing Will the Military Change? Conclusion Bibliography Part III Policing Ecosystems 8 If the Army Cuts Trees, Why Can’t We? Resource Extraction, Hunting and the Impacts of Militaries on Biodiversity Conservation Introduction Situating Armed Forces in Green Militarization and Green Securitization Empirical Findings Using Case Studies from Assam and Beyond Hunting by Security Forces Wider Implications in Conservation Practice National Heroes or Environmental Annihilators? Critically Assessing the Janus-Faced Armed Forces and Its Multiple Roles Conclusion Bibliography 9 Policing the High Speed 2 (HS2) Train Line: Repression and Collusion Along Europe’s Biggest Infrastructure Project Introduction Extractivism, Railways, and the Political Ecology of Policing Railways and Extractivism HS2—Too Big to Stop and Too Big to Fail? Critics Policing HS2, Policing Green Capitalism Policing Along the Route: Public-Private Security Partnerships How Is This Being Policed? Discussion Conclusion Bibliography 10 Ecological Terror and Pacification: Counterinsurgency for the Climate Crisis Introduction Repression as a Guarantor of Ecological Degradation Ecological Resistance & The Politics of Killing in the Global South Social War in the Global North Borders Internal and External: Repression as Ongoing Colonialism Effective Counterinsurgency: Containing Resistance with Mercenaries and NGOs Conclusion Bibliography Part IV Looking Forward 11 Demilitarize for a Just Transition Introduction The U.S. Military Contributes to Ecological Catastrophe and Prevents the Realization of an Ecological Society Militarism Undermines the Ecological Basis of Well-Being Militarism Harms Working People and Communities Militarism Diverts Money from Other Needs Militarized Responses to Climate Change Make Matters more Catastrophic Militarism Shapes Geopolitics and Undermines Global Cooperation The Military must be Converted and Repurposed Spending Reductions and Reallocation Economic Conversion Assistance, Retraining, and Civilian Repurposing Military Repurposing could Significantly Advance a Just Transition Conclusion Bibliography Index