Contribution short abstract

In this talk, I will provide a brief overview of ongoing debates surrounding more-than-human political ecology, clarifying its scope and approach through delineating three key analytical focuses. I will advance current discussions from 'whether' to 'how' to do more-than-human political ecology.

Contribution long abstract

For this lighting talk, I will introduce my recent conceptualisation of a ‘more-than-human political ecology’ (Donfrancesco, V. 2025. The radical edge of more-than-human political ecology: A clarification of scope and approach. Progress in Environmental Geography, 4(4): 465-481. https://doi.org/10.1177/27539687251378495). After a brief contextualisation and overview, I will flesh out three key focuses of more-than-human political ecology: (I) reciprocity and mutual constitution; (II) re-territorialization; and (III) subversiveness. I will thus make the case that it is possible to engage with non-human agencies without losing track of structural forces – responding to ongoing debates, and bringing attention to an existing and growing body of scholarship that is already working productively at this critical interface. This conceptualisation, which is not meant to be exclusive but generative, opens up a new framing: the question ceases to be 'whether' there is scope for a more-than-human political ecology, and becomes 'how' such scope might be amplified, applied, diversified, and used strategically in struggles for more-than-human flourishing. This will be the central question that I will raise for the group discussion. I will begin with a reflection, based on my research on human-wolf relations in Italy, on how researchers themselves might mobilise non-human agency in support of such goals.