Colonial Legacies and Postcolonial Agendas: Gender, Disaster and Climate Change in Indonesia and beyond

Abstract

Two legacies of colonialism, climate change and the gender order, have left their imprint on the problems the world faces. Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and industrial agriculture have warmed the planet, triggering increases in both immediate ‘natural’ disasters and the imminent juggernaut of climate change. Fuel for industrial development came from exploitation of the Global South as colonial powers sought cheap natural resources, land and labour. Indonesia’s colonial history is a prime example of the vast wealth that was harvested to support northern industry; subsequently, it has been harnessed for postcolonial economic development. Colonial rule also transformed gender relations, resulting in a patriarchal postcolonial New Order state that deployed gender ideology to advance its development agenda, linking the exploitation of women to the exploitation of the environment. This paper explores the ways that colonial legacies have structured the exploitation of gender and the environment and whether and how it is possible to find a postcolonial agenda for a better future. The lessons to be learned from studying disaster recovery in Indonesia and elsewhere are key to addressing climate change. A riskscape model of disaster and climate change that focuses on gender relations provides a means to analyse and manage both with the ultimate goal of finding transformative resilience.