Presentation short abstract

Extractivism, as new colonialism, sparks socio-environmental coalitions in South Africa. The paper shows how state/corporate violence and criminalization in Somkhele destroy political articulations, creating death-worlds for communities and silencing peasant women.

Presentation long abstract

Extractivism today establishes a new regime of colonialism in the decolonized world, causing communities to suffer from displacement, land loss, and severe health issues due to toxicity. These adverse effects serve as a catalyst for the emergence of socio-environmental coalitions among communities, "forces of reproduction (Barca, 2020)," civil society organizations, and activists who defend their interests. South Africa, a major producer (90%) of Africa's coal, provides a critical context. Here, affected communities are mobilizing for environmental and climate justice against extractivism, creating "political articulations (Haraway, 1992)" with civil society organizations and activists. Nevertheless, these political articulations are often temporary and situated, as Haraway (1992) suggested. In Somkhele, a village in Southeastern South Africa, the rise and subsequent latency of the socio-environmental "water struggle" of peasant women is explained by violence and the increasing criminalization of community members. This paper/presentation demonstrates the pivotal role of violence in destroying the political articulations among peasant women, feminist and environmental organizations, and activists in Somkhele. It closely examines how the state and corporations actively adopt violence within the community to dismantle the socio-environmental movement and fracture its coalitions, as well as silencing peasant women. I argue that extractivism initiates a continuum of violence that articulates various types of harm, creating a "living-death" status for the community, especially for women. Furthermore, this violence and criminalization fracture potential articulations among diverse movements and actors, thereby destroying the "peace" in the community.