Presentation short abstract

I mobilise decolonial theory to argue that the imperial mode of living expands through internal imperial difference in the white, non-racialised global North. I showcase the relevance of the approach for studying green sacrifice politics in rural Spain from a political ecology perspective.

Presentation long abstract

In this presentation, I argue that while it is imperative to keep in mind that decolonisation is not a metaphor, there are elements of decolonial theory that could help us understand the expansion of the imperial mode of living (IML) through green sacrifice in rural Southern Europe at the expense of white, non-racialised communities, as well as resistances to it. More specifically, I mobilise decolonial scholarship to argue that whereas IML outside the global North and racialised global North communities expands through colonial difference, within white, non-racialised North spaces it expands and deepens capitalist transitions and relations to nature through imperial difference. This allows seeing how certain resistances to extractivist ‘green’ mining and industrial-size renewable energy (wind and solar) projects surfacing in the context of the green transition, could be understood as resistances to IML from within. I advance this hypothesis through theoretical synthesis of literatures in political ecology, decolonial theory, green sacrifice, and green transition conflicts, as well as some selective evidence. I unpack the concept of green sacrifice beyond its geographical dimension showing how it can be studied as a political practice, specifically as what political ecologists have called ‘green governance’. I then present the concept of imperial difference, and showcase its relevance for understanding the expansion of IML through green sacrifice and resistances to it in the context of the green transition in rural Mediterranean territories that are ripe with green transition implementation conflicts (Spain). Finally, I reflect on the counter-hegemonic potential and limitations of the approach.