The next issue of the Green European Journal will explore the new environmental conflicts reshaping politics in Europe and around the world. From struggles over land use to the battle of generations, the many complex divides that define society can increasingly be read with a green lens. Our issue will bring together analysis, ideas and testimonies looking at how these conflicts unearth the stakes of politics and change in the years ahead.
The impacts of climate change and ecological breakdown are creating new divides across and between societies. At the same time, the policies, technologies and practices necessary to end our societies’ dependence on fossil fuels and other unsustainable forms of production and consumption also come with their own dilemmas, trade-offs and therefore conflicts.
The energy transition will require the roll-out, construction and dismantling of infrastructure on a massive scale. This process will entail democratic debate and decision-making about what, where and how the new basis for our societies is built as well as who bears the cost. From new mining operations and their effects on local communities to the international race for green technologies, the choices to be made will be defined as much by competition and conflict as by cooperation and consensus-building.
These conflicts map onto and reshape the cleavages that already define our societies: geography, age, gender, wealth and many others. From the climate strikers to the gilet jaunes and the Dutch farmers, the movements that have shaken the political landscape in recent years rose to prominence by combining their stance on the green agenda with a grounding in other social divides. Economic inequality and emissions, gender and green jobs, the global carbon budget and migration: the adage that all politics is climate politics rings truer every day.
From the climate activist blocking roads today to the political parties that trace their roots back to the disruptive politics of the ‘68ers, green politics has always adopted a range of tactics and strategies to force conflicts to the foreground and upset the status quo. How then should Greens and green movements approach these new environmental conflicts? When a simple environmental reading is far gone, how can ecological concerns stand alongside issues of social justice, equal rights and democracy? What do new environmental conflicts reveal about politics and society in the era of climate change? These are the kinds of questions that we would like to answer, now we’d like to hear from you.
Approach
What would you like to write about? Here are some ideas:
- Mapping environmental conflicts and the energy transition: land use, territory and the green transition, just transition and the future of work, the politics of renewable energy systems and technologies
- Social movements and new environmental conflict: the strategies of climate activists and environmentalist groups, the new stakes for trade unions and social actors, the environmental backlash of the far right
- Demographic and societal divides seen through a green lens: inequality and emissions, generations and the climate problem, gender and environment; environmental injustice and racism
- From environmental conflicts to a new social contract: the role of green parties in and out of government, the place for new democratic models and participation, industrial democracy and social dialogue
- International relations as an environmental conflict: global competition and green industries, wars as environmental conflict, global inequality, climate change and extraction
Editorial requirements
We do not just want theoretical or academic articles for this issue of the Green European Journal. We are looking for all kinds of texts that stimulate debate, reflection and imagination. We are open to formats such as interviews, photo essays, data journalism and comics.
Pitches should be sent to jamie.kendrick@gef.eu.
The Green European Journal strives to be an inclusive space, bringing together a diverse range of perspectives. We welcome contributions from everyone. Contributions from those belonging to the following groups are especially encouraged: women, people of colour, people with a physical or mental disability, LGBTQI+ individuals and ethnic, cultural and religious minorities. Contributions from southern and eastern Europe are particularly welcome.
If you would like to make a submission but require some support to do so, we invite you to contact us directly. Send us a summary of your proposed contribution and introduce yourself before submitting a draft. We’re happy for contributors to write in a language of their choosing. Before contacting us, check our editorial guidelines carefully. Submissions may be published in print or online. All previous issues are available here.
The deadline for pitches and ideas is 24th March 2023. Submissions will be assessed on a rolling basis. Articles should be delivered by late April.
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