Energies Beyond the State: Anarchist Political Ecology and the Liberation of Nature

(Paperback)

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Resource and environmental management generally entail an attempt by governing authorities to dominate, reroute, and tame the natural flows of water, the growth of forests, manage the populations of non-human bodies, and control nature more generally. Often this is done under the mantle of conservation, economic development, and sustainable management, but still involves a quest to civilize and control all aspects of nature for a specific purpose.

The results of this form of environmental management and governance are many, but by and large, across the globe, it has meant governments construct a specific idea regarding nature and the environment. These forms of control also extend beyond the natural environment, allowing for particular methods of managing human and non-human populations in order to maintain power and enact sovereignty.

This volume contributes to advancing an ecology of freedom, which can critique current anthropocentric environmental destruction, as well as focusing on environmental justice and decentralized ecological governance. While concentrating on these areas of anarchist political ecology, three major themes emerged from the chapters: the legacies of colonialism that continue to echo in current resource management and governance practices, the necessity of overcoming human/nature dualisms for environmental justice and sustainability, and finally discussions and critiques of extractivism as a governing and economic mentality.

Reviews

Energies Beyond the State is a compendium of 10 chapters addressing broad issues, such as an anarchist ecology of environmental displacement and the international impact of capital and more specific issues, such as those relating to uranium and dams. Editors Mateer, Springer, Locret-Collet, and Acker include thought-provoking, relatively radical anarchist/neo-Marxist perspectives regarding environmental problems and potential solutions to those problems. The volume also introduces and applies a novel perspective, the TORSO (TerritOry-Resources-Societal Organization) framework, to analyze various environmental problem areas. * Choice Reviews *

Author Bio

Jennifer Mateer is Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Geography, while also lecturing in the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria, Canada.
Martin Locret-Collet is Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Birmingham and works as a Research Associate for the Liveable Cities Project.
Simon Springer is Professor of Human Geography, Head of Discipline for Geography and Environmental Studies, and Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Maleea Acker is Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria, Canada.