Environmental resistance in the anthropocene

Abstract

Scientists describe the current “Anthropocene epoch” as one of profound anthropogenic disruptions in the ecosphere that place humanity at an unacceptable risk. This unprecedented ecological moment in human history is rooted in profoundly unsustainable patterns of production and consumption protected by liberal power structures expressed through law. The exigencies of the Anthropocene call us to expand the subjects of resistance to include future generations of humans, plants, non-human animals, ecosystems and “non-living” natural entities (such as water, air and climatic systems). Since these constituencies cannot resist in a socio-political sense, their representation in current socio-political systems will depend upon “an insurrection of subjugated knowledges” (Foucault 1980, 81) including Indigenous law, pre-modern holistic traditions of Western legal thought, and emerging theories of ecological law. This article will explore these approaches as possible paths forward in the Anthropocene, employing a comparative law perspective that considers relevant jurisprudence and policy developments from around the globe.