Politics – Radical Ecological Democracy

In Defence of Life: Cajamarca, Colombia

February 18, 2020April 13, 2022 Agriculture, Capitalism, Climate Change, Democracy, Development, Ecology, Environment, Politics, Power Dynamic

Deep in the embrace of the Colombian Andes Mountains, farmers, youth and other environmental defenders from Cajamarca have stopped a vast gold mine, re-valued the ‘true treasures’ in their territory and begun to develop regenerative alternatives to mining ‘development’. Mariana Gomez Soto and Benjamin Hitchcock Auciello explore this story of resistance and revival. This is the second case study in the on-going collaborative series between REDWeb and the global “Yes to Life, No to Mining” (YLNM) solidarity network.

Agenda Analysis News Stories

The Coming Green Colonialism

January 3, 2020April 13, 2022 Capitalism, Climate Change, Environment, Politics, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

Given the clenching hold of inertia on international governments, not much was expected from COP25, the recently concluded U.N. Climate Change Conference. Predictably, it turned out to be a cop-out. Nnimmo Bassey gives us an idea of the frustrating and often pointless deliberations that took place inside COP25 and the dead-end they reached. As the author clearly shows, the ruling elite is utterly unable and unwilling to think in terms of alternatives to the ever failing neoliberal dispensation, and has completely abdicated any responsibility towards preventing climate chaos. A people’s struggle is the only way out.

Action Analysis Conversations Stories

REDWeb Conversations Series – Defining A Utopian Present In Christiania, Copenhagen.

September 23, 2019April 13, 2022 Ecology, Environment, New Economy, Politics, Resistance

What started as a politicized form of squatting in an abandoned military base has turned into a unique experiment in utopian thought and practice in Christiania, an autonomous neighborhood in Copenhagen. Ashish Kothari and Shrishtee Bajpai speak with Natasha Verco, a resident and activist about the promise and challenges of Christiania.

Analysis Ideas Stories

REDWeb Anniversary Series -Marx and Political Ecology

December 21, 2018April 13, 2022 Climate Change, Community, Ecology, Economy, Environment, Politics

The steadily evolving field of Political Ecology is helping us figure out the impact of social, political and economic factors on our environment. Omar Dahbour delves into Marxian theory to explain how people’s equity in the ownership and management of natural resources, and of sustainability in the maintenance and health of the ecosystems could become the essential core of contemporary Political Ecology, and in the process help address the climate and environmental challenges facing the world. This article is part of the Radical Ecological Democracy website’s efforts towards offering a critical analysis of Karl Marx’s ideas in the context of the emerging alternative thinking and practice on environmental justice and socio-economic equality, as we continue to observe his 200th birth anniversary year.

Agenda Analysis

Finding Pathways to a Better Future

December 16, 2017April 13, 2022 Capitalism, Democracy, Ecology, Environment, Politics, Power Dynamic, Society

2017 has seen the kindling of resistance to global capitalism and the accompanying elite rule. John Foran gives us an insight into the ideological imperative of the movements leading that charge, and outlines the possible path towards an ecologically just and economically egalitarian future.

Analysis Policies Stories

How an Ecuadorian Community is Showing Its Government How to Really Live Well

December 16, 2017April 13, 2022 Capitalism, Climate, Community, Democracy, Development, Environment, Politics, Power Dynamic

After a fiery start in the early 2000s, progressive intent and revolutionary rhetoric are finding it difficult to usher in a meaningful transformation in South America. Neema Pathak-Broome and Ashish Kothari explain how the left in Ecuador is facing up to its dilemmas.

Ideas News

The Movements of Movements…

October 28, 2017April 13, 2022 Democracy, Politics, Revolutionary Struggle, Society

Movements of resistance, movements of change, movements of hope – all kinds of movements are erupting all over the world, questioning power and challenging established dogmas. Jai Sen introduces us to to a book project that aims to explore this flowering of social consciousness through collective action and mobilization.

Agenda Analysis Ideas

Questioning Development, Transforming Modernity

October 28, 2017April 13, 2022 Community, Development, Environment, Politics, Society

If the failure of the idea of “development” is manifest in the economic and ecological crisis rampant all over the world, then how exactly do we assess “modernity”? What are the emerging alternatives to the western narrative of “development”? Arturo Escobar explores the recent thinking on these critical issues.

Analysis

Is There A Way Out?

September 27, 2017December 21, 2017 Capitalism, Climate Change, Colonialism, Development, Environment, Innovation, Nature, New Economy, Policy, Politics, Power Dynamic, Society

There’s much that makes us feel despondent in the contemporary world – climate change, economic inequality, social discord and a sense of intense personal ennui. How do we move towards solutions which restore sanity to our existence and connect us to others in our communities and to nature? Ashish Kothari and Pallav Das explain the idea, conviction and commitment behind an attempt at documenting some of the serious efforts being made in that direction.

Agenda Analysis

Red and Green: The Ecosocialist Perspective

September 27, 2017April 13, 2022 Community, Degrowth, Democracy, Energy, New Economy, Politics, Power Dynamic, Revolutionary Struggle, Social Change

If endless growth on a finite planet is a contradiction in terms, then what is the better alternative? Michael Lowy discusses the possibilities.

Conversations Ideas

Ecofeminism and Radical Ecological Democracy

September 27, 2017April 13, 2022 Capitalism, Colonialism, Democracy, Development, Ecology, Feminism, Politics, Socialism

Ariel Salleh, the renowned scholar and activist, and Ashish Kothari discuss the salience of Ecofeminism as well as the emerging issues in its study and practice.