Border thinking: Rossport, Shell and the political geographies of a gas pipeline

Abstract

Rossport is a small, sparsely populated rural area in the West of Ireland. Over the past seven years, some of its residents have been engaged in a struggle against the building of a gas pipeline through their locality by multinational corporations, including Shell and Statoil. Their struggle has garnered opposition and support within Ireland and internationally. This paper takes the story of Rossport as the starting point for a broader discussion of epistemology within political geography. Drawing on the work of Walter Mignolo, in particular his ideas about 'border thinking' and the 'decoloniality of knowledge', it argues that Rossport offers the possibility for a redeployment of postcolonial thought within political geography.

Empathy, place and identity interactions for sustainability

“…There has been, for example, extensive research over the potential role that empathy can play in conflicts over locally unwanted land uses, even where they are part of low carbon transitions. Much of this research shows that identity with the local environment underpins community responses, revealed for example by narratives on emotional attachment drawn upon by residents implicated in siting disputes (Walker and Chapman, 2003), as well as the potential for shared local concerns to engender solidarity, support and resistance across national boundaries (Escobar, 2001;Gilmartin, 2009).…”

Understanding Transition—Periphery Dynamics: Renewable Energy in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland

“…One part of this literature focuses on conflicts over resource and infrastructure projects including the Lingerbay super-quarry (Dalby and MacKenzie, 1997;MacKenzie, 1998), the Bellanaboy gas terminal (Garavan, 2006 andGilmartin, 2009), and the Barvas Moor wind farm (Macfarlane, 2010;MacKenzie, 2006a;Murphy, 2011c).…”

“…Amongst other things it helps to explain the relationship between people and where they live and why conflicts arise around resource and infrastructure projects (DevineWright, 2009(DevineWright, , 2010Garavan, 2007;Gilmartin, 2009;Mackenzie, 2006a;Murphy, 2011c). For example, in her paper on the Bellanaboy gas refinery conflict, Gilmartin (2009 page 279) observes that the accounts of local people evoke place in ways that are 'suffused with fear'…”

Interventions: Bringing the decolonial to political geography

“…This is a critical conjuncture as the border continues to be a key site for discussions about the ongoing migrant 'crisis.' Although Mignolo's (2000) concept of border thinkingdwhich is the site of recovery of subjugated knowledgesddoes not necessarily have to be applied to sovereign borders per se, Gilmartin demonstrates how it can be applied as part of a border epistemology (see also : Gilmartin, 2009).…”