The “Greening” of Empire: The European Green Deal as the EU first agenda
Utrecht University · Norwegian University of Science and Technology · +3 more institutions
Abstract
The recent past has seen the proposal of multiple ‘Green New Deals’ across geographies as a means to fight against the climate crisis and ecological breakdown. Of these, the European Green Deal- EGD represents the world's first public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Because the EGD plans to “transform the EU,” in this paper we examine how it fits within a historical continuum of colonial and neo-colonial relations. We argue that the EGD is the latest discursive strategy for the ‘greening' of empire through four registers: (1) turning ecological crises into profitable opportunities; (2) portraying the EU as a ‘moral’ intervener; (3) building on a…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 30.02
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 57
Authors
7Topics & keywords
- Empire
- Greening
- Status quo
- Colonialism
- Diplomacy
- Politics
- Political economy
- Political science
- Climate action