Feminist Inter-Species Pacifism: ethico-political contributions to global responsibilities and climate reparations in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Speaker: Beatriz Arnal Calvo Departing from a multidisciplinary, activism-based and policy-oriented approach to inquiry, my research project critically draws on and wants to contribute to fields that have largely worked in silos, such as feminist peace research, climate ethics and politics, and environmental humanities. Feminist theories, particularly in the field of International Relations, have long pointed out to the many connections and overlaps between armed conflict, militarism, gender, environmental degradation, climate crisis and peace. Nevertheless, the discussions around environmental degradation and climate catastrophe rarely focus on populations living in armed conflict, let alone the environmental impacts of militarism (footprint) or the militaries’ emissions gap. Moreover, traditional conflict and war studies, law and policies only recently have acknowledged the importance of the environment and the changing climate in mediation, conflict prevention, mitigation and peace. Furthermore, a feminist standpoint on the numerous gendered dimensions of, and interconnections between, the climate catastrophe, militarism and peace is missing from analysis, policy and action alike. Thus, my research objective is twofold: first, I aim to explore the multiple, complex and ever evolving interlinks between armed conflict, militarism, climate catastrophe, peace and gender as well as their common root causes. Second, I aim to develop a comprehensive and integrated framework for analysis, policy and action that includes – and reconciliates – feminist, eco-centric and pacifist contributions to global responsibilities and climate reparations in the Anthropocene. I call it feminist inter-species pacifism (FISP). FISP is more than a framework or a methodology, it is both an ethical and a political “account and defence” (Hutchings 2017) of eco-pacifism that integrates and advocates for a paradigm shift (Cohn and Duncanson 2020) if we are to imagine and bring about gender-just, climate-sensitive and sustainable presents and futures. Ultimately, FISP aspires to make our socio-ecosystems not simply habitable but necessarily thriving for life in all its forms.