Eco-Nationalism: A Historical Evaluation of Nationalist Praxes in Environmentalist and Ecologist Movements

Abstract

As human civilization prepares to rise up to the increasingly serious challenges presented by climate change, environmentalist rhetoric has been incorporated into other movements for political change. The historic convergence of environmentalist and ecologist movements with civic and ethnic nationalist political movements has revealed a seemingly natural affinity between the two. From anti-nuclear environmentalist mobilization in post-Soviet Russia to the ecologist sentiments underpinning the rise of the Nazis, I plan to investigate the efficacy of eco-nationalist praxis in local and national political mobilization. Drawing on theories of social mobilization, I argue that the nationalist leaders often commodify environmental mobilization resources, and only serve to limit the prolonged effectiveness of the environmentalist movement. Not only do I argue that nationalism erodes environmentalist resources, but also that the core values of nationalism are fundamentally inconsistent with environmentalism and ecologism. As the international community struggles to find solutions to global environmental threats such as climate change and biodiversity loss, it is essential to understand the historical role played by eco-nationalist groups in advancing and hindering the goals of environmentalist and ecologist groups.