Contesting Green Militarisation: Social movements for an anti-militarist climate justice
Military institutions are positioning themselves as part of the solution to climate change. However, it is now recognised that the military sector not only degrades the environment and generates high carbon emissions, but reacts with violence against those fighting the fossil fuel industry. Both the arms and fossil fuel industries create economic dependence and rely on racial oppression (Steichen and Koshgarian, 2020). This conjunctural crisis of militarism and ecological destruction presents unique challenges for living sustainably but is also recognised as an opportunity for creating new ways of living. Some anti-militarism movements and climate justice movements are starting to build alliances in an attempt to create what could be seen as a new counter-hegemonic project incorporating anti-militarism and climate justice. Yet these movements’ narratives and tactics are diverse, and there is little research on how social movements can best utilise this ‘opportunity’ to create transformative change.
This PhD study seeks to explore the competing discourses and practices linking (or denying the links between) climate change and militarism in the UK. Firstly, it examines the dominant narrative normalising a militaristic response to climate change. Secondly, it seeks to understand the different discourses and strategies adopted by social movements in the UK to counter the dominant narrative and disrupt ecologically destructive militaristic practices. In doing so, it aims to contribute to social movement theory and critical military studies, while providing practical insights to social movement actors that can help them to better
organise and strategise in the struggle against militarism and climate change.