Covid and the politics of nature

It is argued that the decades before 2020 saw a steady rise in public concern about and political recognition of symptoms of a crisis in human social and economic relations to (the rest of) nature. For many, the Covid-19 pandemic has become linked to that, as well as providing, despite the grief and suffering, moments when a different relationship to nature could be experienced. The possibility of a transformative politics towards a just reconciliation between social life and nature may be more visible, but will be ruthlessly resisted by those in power.

Domain F: Discourse

In this chapter, we examine how discourse—or the ways in which language is used to frame debates, policy and action—is a critical domain for agroecology transformations. A range of different types of actors (e.g. politicians, private companies, activists) use a process called ‘framing’ to convey their interpretation of agroecology where they ‘simplify and condense’ its complexity to align with their own views and ideologies. We present seven main frames across a spectrum from those that tend to disable a transformative agroecology (e.g. ‘feed the world’) to those that are most likely to enable political agroecology (e.g. ‘food sovereignty’). Notably all of these frames are at times being deployed in both productivist and depoliticized (regime-reinforcing) ways and also as a part of a transformative politics of political agroecology at different times by different actors.

Barbara Lee’s Peacebuilding Discourse as Transformative Social Justice Politics

This essay explores discourses of Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), appreciating her intersectional standpoint as a leader in Trumpian times, and as the lone AA woman dissenter who has long advocated peace over war in the United States” Congress in the aftermath of two politically seismic shifts: (1) September 11, 2001 and (2) the rise of right wing politics in the U.S. and internationally. As bellicose and right wing politics have expanded, Lee’s nonviolent voice has persisted, offering critiques of (1) post 9/11 and (2) Trump Administration era xenophobic rhetoric, policies, and systems. Rhetoric of White male politicians pervades discourse studies, yet comparatively little has been studied on countervailing peacebuilding discourses of U.S. Congresswomen. This study refocuses discourse scholarship on sociopolitical justice rhetoric across the activist career of Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Lee’s career-spanning politics bears study as successful peacebuilding leadership. Lee’s political discourses espousing peacebuilding exemplify contemporary women of color’s activism, which rebalances foci in discourse studies between necessary critiques of right politicians and legislation. Studying transformative politics recenters leaders of social, environmental, and economic justice who buck status quo via peacebuilding discourse (PD).

A State Affair?: Notions of the State in Discourses on Trans Rights in Sweden

Departing from previous scholarly work that has studied the effects of state violence and conditional state recognition on the living conditions of gender-variant people (Beauchamp 2019; Linander 2018), this chapter explores the function of narratives of the state in discourses on trans rights in Sweden. It provides insights into the relation between state and civil society, and the practicalities of governance, through an examination of how activists interpellate the state and hold it accountable. With a critical inquiry into the hegemonic narrative that the Swedish state has a responsibility to alleviate the suffering of gender-variant citizens as a background, it addresses and situates the tension between liberal rights discourses of trans rights on the one hand and transformative politics asking for restorative justice on the other hand (Spade 2011). The argument is that the interpellation of the state can be understood as a strategy to repoliticise the violent effects of governance in times of neoliberalism.

Can CSR be Politically Transformative? Discussing Its Prospects and Challenges

Tulisan ini mengeskplorasi relevansi gagasan transformative politics (Tornquist & Stokke, 2013) dalam praktik corporate social responsibility (CSR) di industri ekstraktif dalam konteks desa di Indonesia. Penjajakan ini penting karena pendekatan pembangunan partisipatif dalam praktik CSR belum mampu mengikis defisit kapasitas politik warga komunitas di sekitar operasi industry agar lebih berdaya secara politik. Yang jamak berbagai prosedur, mekanisme, desain program, dan piranti kelembagaan CSR belum berdampak signifikan dalam menyeimbangkan timpangnya relasi-relasi kuasa komunitas-perusahaan dan komunitas-elite lokal. Alhasil wacana dan siklus program CSR (agenda setting, formulasi program, pembuatan keputusan, implementasi, dan framing atas klaim kesuksesan) masih jauh dari kontrol warga komunitas. Gagasan transformative politics menempatkan agenda, strategi, dan aliansi untuk menggunakan berbagai kelembagaan yang sudah ada—namun minimalis dari sisi substansi demokratisasinya—untuk mengenalkan politik dan kebijakan yang bisa membuka kesempatan-kesempatan bagi warga komunitas guna mendorong pengelolaan CSR yang lebih demokratis. Sebagai upaya awal, tulisan ini menghimpun sejumlah keterbatasan dan tantangan penguatan dimensi transformative politics dalam praktik CSR.