ABSTRACT
Climate change expresses and generates new patterns of dominance and subordination on a world scale. This chapter discusses whether this changes the pre-existing logic of imperialism, perhaps signalling a new form of climate imperialism, and if so, what implications this may bring for political contestation. As with all forms of imperialism, the majority suffer at the expense of the minority under climate change. Where classical imperialism was directly driven by the strategic interests of dominant powers, climate imperialism is more indirect, mediated through socio-ecological relations and the production of greenhouse gas emissions. Spatial hierarchies under climate change substantially reorient pre-existing forms of stratification, between states but also between elites, supplicants and contenders. Global relations are also altered as climate imperialism positions its peripheries as sacrifice zones, abandoned to the vagaries of climate disruption and inundation. The logic for counter-imperialism is likewise shifted, and finds new foundations among climate-vulnerable societies and social movements for climate justice, positioned across North–South divides. The chapter explores these shifting dynamics, exploring contexts and foundations for strengthened counter-hegemonic forces under advancing climate change.
