Our sincere thanks to Frank van Laerhoven for his support to get this special issue published and help throughout the editorial process. We are indebted to all the contributing authors for embarking on this exciting journey with us and to the reviewers who contributed on the way with critical and constructive comments.
Wendy Harcourt and Arturo Escobar introduce the key concepts discussed in the journal issue. They bring an analysis of women's political organizing in the context of globalization into dialogue with the conceptual work of activist intellectuals engaged in debates about the nature of globalization. Development (2002) 45, 7–14. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1110308
Given a history in political ecology of challenging hegemonic 'scientific' narratives concerning environmental problems, the current political moment presents a potent conundrum: how to (continue to) critically engage with narratives of environmental change while simultaneously confronting the 'populist' promotion of 'alternative facts'? We ask how political ecologists might situate themselves vis-à-vis the presently growing power of contemporary authoritarian forms, highlighting how the latter operates through socio-political domains and beyond-human natures. We argue for a clear and conscious strategy of 'speaking power to post-truth', so as to enable two things. First, to come to terms with an 'internal' paradox of addressing those seeking to obfuscate or deny environmental degradation and social injustice, while retaining political ecology's own historical critique of the privileged role of Western science and expert knowledge in determining dominant forms of environmental governance. This involves understanding (post-)truth, and its twin pillars of 'alternative facts' and 'fake news', as operating politically by those regimes looking to shore up power, rather than as embodying a coherent mode of ontological reasoning regarding the nature of reality. Second, we differentiate 'post-truth' from analyses affirming diversity in both knowledge and reality (i.e. epistemology and ontology, respectively) regarding the drivers of environmental change. This enables a critical confrontation of contemporary authoritarianism whilst still allowing for a relevant and accessible political ecology which engages with marginalized populations most likely to suffer most from the proliferation of post-truth politics.
In this essay I explore the economic, social, environmental and cultural changes taking place in Bolsena, Italy, where agricultural livelihoods have rapidly diminished in the last two decades. I examine how gender dynamics have shifted with the changing values and livelihoods of Bolsena through three women's narratives detailing their gendered experiences of environment, community and self. I reflect on these changes with Sabrina, who is engaged in a feminist community-based organization; Anna, who is running an alternative wine bar; and Isabella, a jeweler, who is engaged in ecofeminist practices. My analysis is based on concepts developed by feminist political ecology: specifically, the theory of rooted networks from Dianne Rocheleau, Donna Haraway's concept of naturecultures (and the work of J. K. Gibson-Graham on new economic imaginaries emerging from the politics of place. I aim to think with, reflect upon and provoke from the ''otherwise'', taking into account the lived relations entwining nature and gender. My article looks at the interconnections of gender, environment and livelihoods, attentive to the daily needs, embodied interactions and labours of these three women as part of a reappropriation, reconstruction and reinvention of Bolsena's lifeworld. By listening to the stories of their everyday lives and struggles, I show the dynamic potential of the politics of place and the efforts to build diverse economies and more ethical economic and ecological relationships based on gender-aware subjectivities and values.
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