Climate justice; rooted in historical oppression (#journal)

 Climate justice: the claim of the past

This appraisal of the collection of papers in this issue argues that historical injustice saturates the problem of climate change. Those most vulnerable to climate change today are largely those who already lack resources – who have been on the wrong end of colonial history, or who have been globalization's losers, or who have suffered neglect, or exclusion at the hands of their own governments. They are those who have benefited little or not at all from a carbon-intensive global economy, but who have long suffered its side effects. The paper notes that the particular form taken by law in international and transnational affairs, having largely followed the historical progress of industrialism, colonialism and globalization, is peculiarly ill-suited to the task of addressing this vulnerability.

The Transition Movement and contemporary protest (#journal)

Readjusting to reality 2: Transition?

This paper focuses on the Transition Movement that is growing rapidly around the world, aimed at responding more broadly to the emerging energy and climate change problematic, ahead of what otherwise can be expected to be the collapse of our globalised economy. The Transition Movement, by contrast, is concerned to develop positive responses that reintegrate local communities, living in harmony within their local worlds. The heart of the paper focuses on the current tumult of protest movements and demonstrations around the world, enquiring as to what these are trying to achieve, how effective they are in achieving their ostensible aims and whether the inchoate aspirations are in practice realisable. The paper suggests that the Transition Movement presents a realistic resolution to the problematic of revolution as well as addressing the emergent energy and climate change problematic.

Neoanarchism and emancipatory politics; a critique (#journal)

From alterglobalization to Occupy Wall Street: Neoanarchism and the new spirit of the left

Neoanarchist politics have become increasingly hegemonic on the North American left. Tracing its emergence during the Seattle WTO demonstrations in 1999 to its recent incarnation in the Occupy Wall Street movement, this article argues that neoanarchism's attempts to “change the world without taking power” pose serious theoretical and practical problems for emancipatory politics today. The text also examines recuperation as a factor in social movement decline, arguing that the incorporation of social movement themes is constructing a “new spirit of capitalism” that both addresses widespread demand for a more ethical world while simultaneously insulating itself from critique – a process facilitated by significant ideological resonance between neoanarchism and neoliberalism