Aufsatz(elektronisch)12. Dezember 2019

Governing the End Times? Planet Politics and the Secular Eschatology of the Anthropocene

In: Millennium: journal of international studies, Band 48, Heft 2, S. 143-164

Verfügbarkeit an Ihrem Standort wird überprüft

Abstract

This article furthers the debate on the political implications of the Anthropocene – the most recent geological epoch marked by catastrophic environmental change – by engaging it through the lens of political theology. The article starts from the observation that discourses on the Anthropocene and related political projects are deeply influenced by a linear temporality and a common orientation towards the threat of the end of time. It distinguishes three competing discourses of the Anthropocene, eco-catastrophism, eco-modernism and planetary realism. The article analyses how these discourses invoke and update key symbols, images, and storylines of Christian political theology. Furthermore, it studies how each discourse mobilises these secularised Christian motifs to promote competing planet political projects. Each of these projects develops a different position towards the unfolding planetary crisis and the related threat of the end of time. Eco-catastrophism calls for a planetary emergency management, eco-modernism promotes ongoing experimentation with the planet, whereas planetary realism translates into what could be called a 'realpolitik of resilience'. Revealing the Western theological roots of the Anthropocene and planet politics is essential if the emerging literature on the Anthropocene wants to live up to its promise of pluralising and decolonising IR.

Sprachen

Englisch

Verlag

SAGE Publications

ISSN: 1477-9021

DOI

10.1177/0305829819889138

Problem melden

Wenn Sie Probleme mit dem Zugriff auf einen gefundenen Titel haben, können Sie sich über dieses Formular gern an uns wenden. Schreiben Sie uns hierüber auch gern, wenn Ihnen Fehler in der Titelanzeige aufgefallen sind.