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2
2.5 The Interface Between Political Ecology
and Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice (EJ) is a related scholarly field that has been more closely
linked to activism for social justice than political ecology (PE). As scholarly
approaches, EJ and PE have many parallels through common normative aspirations
and a focus on justice (Svarstad and Benjaminsen 2020). Thematically, EJ and PE
overlap in that they both involve critical studies of environmental interventions.
EJ emerged in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s in the form of civil rights struggles against the dumping of hazardous waste and was closely linked to issues of
race and class (Schlosberg 2004; Walker 2012; Agyeman 2013; Holifield et al.
2018). The earliest contributions to academic scholarship on EJ came from sociologists such as Robert Bullard, who published the article Solid waste sites and the
black Houston community in 1983, and Stella Capek (1993) who contributed an
early social constructivist perspective on EJ struggles.
Since the 1990s, scholars from various disciplines have contributed to the development of EJ in the USA. For instance, the geographer Laura Pulido (1996) studied resistance among Mexican Americans caused by exposure to pesticides and
conflicts over grazing. Her analysis focused on political economic structures and
Definition
Political ecology is a critical approach that also builds on the legacy of critical
theory from the Frankfurt School. Max Horkheimer stated that traditional theory
was oriented towards understanding and explaining aspects of society, while
critical theory also has a liberating dimension by pointing out situations that
should be changed. In order to achieve this ambition, Horkheimer believed that a
broad interdisciplinary approach was necessary (Horkheimer 1970). During the
1960s, Jürgen Habermas and other scholars of the Frankfurt School criticized
positivism for its claims of objectivity having a weak epistemological foundation.
Habermas’ alternative was anchored in a critical philosophy of science, where
natural, cultural and social science were linked to their technical, practical and
liberating interests (Habermas 1968). The impact on political ecology seems
evident here, although curiously seldom made explicit in political ecology
scholarship. One of the most influential books in the field is for instance called
‘Liberation Ecologies’ (Peet and Watts 1996), but without including a reference to
the Frankfurt School, its critical theory and focus on liberating interests.
Political ecology has mostly provided critical studies pointing out what there is
a need to be liberated from. However, political ecology has thus far played a
limited role in clarifying what this liberation should lead to. This reflects the fact
that political ecology’s political influence remains modest, and that apolitical
ecology has obtained much more political influence than political ecology.
However, political ecology-based critique may also include ideas for transformative
change (Cavanagh and Benjaminsen 2017), while apolitical ecology tends to result
in small practical solutions within frames that are not problematized.
2.5 · The Interface Between Political Ecology...
2
2.5 The Interface Between Political Ecology
and Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice (EJ) is a related scholarly field that has been more closely
linked to activism for social justice than political ecology (PE). As scholarly
approaches, EJ and PE have many parallels through common normative aspirations
and a focus on justice (Svarstad and Benjaminsen 2020). Thematically, EJ and PE
overlap in that they both involve critical studies of environmental interventions.
EJ emerged in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s in the form of civil rights struggles against the dumping of hazardous waste and was closely linked to issues of
race and class (Schlosberg 2004; Walker 2012; Agyeman 2013; Holifield et al.
2018). The earliest contributions to academic scholarship on EJ came from sociologists such as Robert Bullard, who published the article Solid waste sites and the
black Houston community in 1983, and Stella Capek (1993) who contributed an
early social constructivist perspective on EJ struggles.
Since the 1990s, scholars from various disciplines have contributed to the development of EJ in the USA. For instance, the geographer Laura Pulido (1996) studied resistance among Mexican Americans caused by exposure to pesticides and
conflicts over grazing. Her analysis focused on political economic structures and
Definition
Political ecology is a critical approach that also builds on the legacy of critical
theory from the Frankfurt School. Max Horkheimer stated that traditional theory
was oriented towards understanding and explaining aspects of society, while
critical theory also has a liberating dimension by pointing out situations that
should be changed. In order to achieve this ambition, Horkheimer believed that a
broad interdisciplinary approach was necessary (Horkheimer 1970). During the
1960s, Jürgen Habermas and other scholars of the Frankfurt School criticized
positivism for its claims of objectivity having a weak epistemological foundation.
Habermas’ alternative was anchored in a critical philosophy of science, where
natural, cultural and social science were linked to their technical, practical and
liberating interests (Habermas 1968). The impact on political ecology seems
evident here, although curiously seldom made explicit in political ecology
scholarship. One of the most influential books in the field is for instance called
‘Liberation Ecologies’ (Peet and Watts 1996), but without including a reference to
the Frankfurt School, its critical theory and focus on liberating interests.
Political ecology has mostly provided critical studies pointing out what there is
a need to be liberated from. However, political ecology has thus far played a
limited role in clarifying what this liberation should lead to. This reflects the fact
that political ecology’s political influence remains modest, and that apolitical
ecology has obtained much more political influence than political ecology.
However, political ecology-based critique may also include ideas for transformative
change (Cavanagh and Benjaminsen 2017), while apolitical ecology tends to result
in small practical solutions within frames that are not problematized.
2.5 · The Interface Between Political Ecology...