Beyond Rentier State and Climate Conflict: Clashing Environmental Imaginaries and Ecological Oppression in Iran

Abstract

Politics of nature in the Middle East is largely discussed in two frameworks of ‘rentier state’ and ‘climate conflict’ that, respectively, seek to capture political economy and security aspects of the matter. Despite their parallels in explanation of authoritarianism, instability, and violent conflicts as determined by natural resources and environmental factors, these approaches are rarely linked. Examining the ongoing ecological crises in Iran, I demonstrate that the omission of the state, which is a key component of both frameworks, makes them mutually incompatible and analytically insufficient. I further argue that bringing the state back into analysis requires attention to the violent process of imposing a particular environmental imaginary, an ecological oppression that empowers the state and the hegemonic vision of society as a totality at the expense of disempowering peoples and localities.