Climate nationalisms: Beyond the binaries of good and bad nationalism

Abstract

Climate nationalism has attracted renewed interest among scholars and analysts of international climate politics, security studies, and international relations more broadly. However, the most prominent arguments about climate nationalism follow a storyline of “good nationalism” or “bad nationalism”—a “positive civic nationalism” versus a “destructive ethnic nationalism.” In this article, we review these debates by drawing on prominent strands of scholarship on climate nationalism, mapped onto three key aspects: climate securitization, political populism, and Civic nationalism. To further ground our review in real‐world politics outside of the United States and Western Europe, we offer a snapshot of climate nationalism narratives deployed by political elites in three large countries in the Asia‐Pacific: Australia, India, and China. Our review shows that considering the multiscalar, multisectoral, and global scope of climate action, it may be futile to look for a conclusive answer to the question of whether nationalism is good or bad for fostering effective and enduring transformations suitable for a climate‐changed world. Instead, we recommend a research agenda focused on investigating the myriad ways in which political and economic elites fuse discourses of nationalism with various aspects of climate politics and climate action. A proper understanding of elite interests, discourses, and strategies, in ways that account for varied national and regional political and economic contexts, we argue is crucial for a fuller understanding of how narratives of nationalism may affect climate action. This article is categorized under: The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Policies, Instruments, Lifestyles, Behavior Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governance Climate and Development > Knowledge and Action in Development Policy and Governance > National Climate Change Policy

Politics of climate change mitigation in Taiwan: International isolation, developmentalism legacy, and civil society responses

“…For non‐Taiwanese readers, we show why studying Taiwan enriches understanding of climate politics more generally. Taiwan's environmental movement and climate actions are entangled with nationalism—which Jobin describes as “civic nationalism” (Jobin, 2021)—and Taiwan's case is an interesting case to contrast with other countries' climate nationalisms (Kashwan et al, 2022). As a young democracy that transitioned from an authoritarian regime, Taiwan offers insights into the debate on environmental authoritarianism (Mittiga, 2021).…”

Conceptualising energy nationalism in the context of climate change: framework and review

“…Here, great strides/advances towards new policies and legislations to tackle climate change have emerged. It is worth remembering, however, that, when deprived of grassroots and political social pressure, this left-wing civic nationalism can be quickly undermined by the forces of neoliberal or ethnic nationalism (Kashwan et al, 2023). Although the belief in the existence of green nation states into which the current polluters will turn, proclaimed using the slogan of "green nationalism," tries to be pragmatic (Posocco and Watson, 2022b), it too often does not refer to the analysis of the actual rules of political economy.…”

“…Thus, "climate securitization" can be a new form of "nationalising the climate issue" and placing climate change within the competence of nation-state structures. It refers to the attempt by policymakers and scholars to frame climate change as a national security threat and demand an urgent national response (Kashwan et al, 2023). However, the slogan of "climate securitisation," which only the nation state is supposed to ensure and which is inscribed in the "securatisation" ideology, is another attempt to legitimise the state's full monopoly on climate and energy policy, control of energy infrastructure and the process of managing key energy decisions (Szulecki, 2020).…”