The Center for Global studies was enthused to host Professor Eve Darian-Smith (Professor and Chair, Global and International Studies at the University of California, Irvine) as part of the MillerComm 2024 Lecture Series sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study. On Monday, March 4th, Professor Darian-Smith gave a talk titled “World on Fire: Anti-Democracy and Anti-Environmentalism” connecting climate change to broader societal issues around the globe. This talk elaborated on ideas from her most recent book Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis, which explores the convergence between a global political lean to the extreme right and human-driven climate change, contending that using fire as a thread connecting different locations around the world can allow us to better understand the interconnected global consequences of this convergence.
Dr. Darian-Smith began her presentation by introducing some ideas presented in her book and setting the scene for the audience to consider some recent reports and groups which have been extremely pivotal in the climate change conversation. This included an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report from April 2022 which differed from many before it. Instead of a focus remaining on what the world can do to prevent climate change, it established that with a lacking political will there is little to be done.
To this point, she critiqued the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, for appointing Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber as the President-Designate of the conference in Dubai. Among other roles, Al Jaber is the CEO of the national oil company for the United Arab Emirates, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world. While discussions in the conference included global efforts to minimize fossil fuel, Dr. Darian-Smith pointed out these conflicting priorities and the implications of this appointment. This concept of a continuously lacking political will was a theme throughout her lecture and relates to the two recent trends identified in her book: (1) escalating planetary warming, and other catastrophic weather events, and (2) a global trend in declining democratic governance.
Elaborating on the decline in democratic governance in particular, Dr. Darian-Smith showcased three recent examples of wildfires in the US, Brazil, and Australia, and the connections between right-wing leaders and the development/management of each natural disaster. She identified instances of ‘dark money’ funding politicians’ campaigns, resulting in the elected official supporting and passing measures in favor of the interests of their financers, and resulting in instances of natural disaster. These motivations are further corrupted through the deliberate actions of these anti-democratic politicians to withdrawal from unifying efforts of multilateralism, such as withdrawing from operations like the Paris Agreement, and a platform build on ultranationalism to garner support. Dr. Darian-Smith pointed out related international instances in which anti-democratic leaders have effectively learned from one another about the best ways to serve these personally-motivated interests, such as through the increased spread of disinformation and the use of state-sanctioned military or police violence. Climate defenders, outspoken individuals and communities advocating for environmental wellness, are a group she identified as pivotal in the movement to combat the climate crisis; however, she also pointed out the ‘human cost’ is often not acknowledged in this conversation, even as these activists face threats, intimidation, and violence that may end in death for their advocacy.
Another impactful portion of this talk occurred in Dr. Darian-Smith’s explanation of thinking about fire versus thinking with fire versus thinking through fire. When there is a significant natural disaster like a bushfire, there is the empirical dimension in which we are concerned with the experience of fire itself. Thinking with fire asks us to consider the relative dimensions of fire and its kinship to the natural world; this instance critiques the modern world’s binary division between the natural and unnatural and its insistence of control. Dr. Darian-Smith emphasized the importance of thinking through fire as well to better understand the spatial and temporal dimensions of fire as well. As such, we think through fire to consider what has contributed to this situation throughout space and history; often, exposing longer histories of racial and extractive capitalism.
A resounding message communicated through this was the power of elections in the year 2024. In the European Union alone there will be 720 Members of the European Parliament elected and at least 64 countries around the world will be hosting elections. Political will must be present to bring about change in response to the climate emergency and its effects around the globe; lacking this at a national level, it falls on individuals to instigate actionable changes. As mentioned earlier, the global climate defenders are often the ones courageous enough to take the steps to lead to actual changes in policy and implementation. Dr. Darian-Smith also pointed out some examples of local governments filling in the gaps on this topic as well, as seen in regional agreements between states or in ‘green cities’ which have established their own standards and climate commitments in the absence of a federal enforcement.
The Center for Advanced Study recorded this lecture, which is now available to view on the Illinois MediaSpace.
If you are interested in learning more about this topic, you can check out Eve Darian-Smith’s newest book, “Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis” in the library’s catalog here.
The University Library also maintains some relevant subject LibGuides that may help you learn more about this topic, such as the Environment, Sustainability and Social Responsibility page of the Global Studies Research Guide from the International & Area Studies Library. This page includes many different kinds of resources to get started as well as information on some specific topics in ESSR including deforestation and mining.
You can find more information on upcoming events sponsored by the Center for Global Studies by checking out our Online Calendar. Be sure to subscribe to our Listerv to be the first to learn about upcoming talks and events from CGS.
