Papers by Cameron Harrington
Non-Human Nature in World Politics: Theory and Practice, 2020
The Anthropocene is marked as a paradigm shift in Earth history and politics. This has simultaneo... more The Anthropocene is marked as a paradigm shift in Earth history and politics. This has simultaneously led to two competing characterizations of the new epoch: as an age of “rupture” from the past and as a reflection of “entanglement” between the human and the non-human. In this chapter I assess how the logics of rupture and entanglement create different, often competing understandings of the Anthropocene within the academic field of International Relations (IR). On the one hand, an Anthropocene of “rupture” signifies a radical paradigmatic break from influential ecological conceptions of the Earth as an aggregation of local ecosystems and environments. It offers a mostly bleak view of the Anthropocene as a radical departure from the past. On the other hand, the Anthropocene is often characterized by the collapse of the subject-object dichotomy, or as a reflection of deep entanglement between humans and other beings and processes in the Earth system. This reading reflects insights from the recent quantum turn in the social science, which avoids normative judgments in favour of theorizing about the nature of the social world. The chapter concludes by challenging international relations scholars to more closely engage with quantum social theory in light of the profound ‘spookiness’ of the Anthropocene.
This article investigates how energy security in the Anthropocene is entangled in diffuse ways wi... more This article investigates how energy security in the Anthropocene is entangled in diffuse ways with materiality. In particular we examine the social-material entanglement of humans and coal in India and how coal manifests itself differently across social life in the country. Focusing on a single material allows us to study how the Anthropocene creates, and is created by, particular appropriations of the material world. It offers a corrective to some Anthropocene literature that avoids discussing the complex, " everyday, " social impacts that fossil fuels have, particularly in the developing world. These intertwined impacts add to the complexity and difficulty in the process of decarbonizing societies, or in transitioning to a sustainable energy future.
Collaborative water governance (CWG) has become a significant approach to managing global freshwa... more Collaborative water governance (CWG) has become a significant approach to managing global freshwater resources. This article examines the various definitions of, and analytical approaches to, CWG. The analysis indicates that the concept's usage has increased over the past decade but most studies avoid any deep engagement with the concept of the political at the heart of CWG. This article argues that contemporary approaches to CWG risk emptying the concept of its utility and coherence. Correcting this deficiency requires a focus on the social and ideational constructions of what water is, in the first place. Such readings will strengthen future collaborative water arrangements and allow for a deeper appreciation of the ways the political make and remake what is possible in water governance.
The concept of the Anthropocene – the geological epoch defined by human action – has so far remai... more The concept of the Anthropocene – the geological epoch defined by human action – has so far remained largely absent from international relations (IR) analyses. This is perplexing given the monumental stakes involved in dealing with planetary change and the discipline's overriding focus on crisis. This silence may exist however because contemporary theories of international relations are troubled by the Anthropocene, which shifts basic assumptions about how humans live in the midst of perpetual danger, harm, and risk. It also presents us with the prospect of failure in existential terms, if indeed we are living in (and causing) " the sixth mass extinction. " The focus of this paper therefore is threefold. First, to consider the challenges to environmental IR that the Anthropocene concept presents; second, to probe what it means for IR to respond to the end of nature; and third, what is required of IR to deal with the prospect of mass extinction. It is argued that earth-system changes wrought by human action require the discipline to demystify its own ontological, epistemological, and methodological approaches that are culpable in ushering in the Anthropocene. Doing so may allow IR to provide necessary insight into the contemporary and historical effects of the state system as an enabler of planetary change, and the future possibilities for global politics within the Anthropocene.
This article for The Conversation (Africa) emphasizes the role of collaborative governance in inc... more This article for The Conversation (Africa) emphasizes the role of collaborative governance in increasing water security across Africa
This article addresses the numerous ways that water intersects with conflict, using the fight for... more This article addresses the numerous ways that water intersects with conflict, using the fight for Iraq's Mosul Dam as a case study. It argues against labelling the conflict a "water war" but emphasizes how water is used as a central security variable in the region.
Oxford Research Group: Sustainable Security Programme, May 2, 2014
The traditionally dominant discourse of The Great White North views Canada as a land of vast wild... more The traditionally dominant discourse of The Great White North views Canada as a land of vast wilderness and abundant resources. However, this discourse excludes growing environmental risk and prevalent insecurity felt by vulnerable populations in Canadian society, namely indigenous groups whose livelihoods are deeply dependent upon their relationship with their environments. The effect of the relationship between the physical environment and conceptions of security can contribute to a deeper under- standing of traditional and critical accounts of security. This article investigates tradi- tional Canadian environmental security discourses and alternative environmental security discourses promoted by Arctic Inuit groups. It examines how these discourses impact the analytic and normative goals of critical security studies and interprets the way in which they affect the concept of emancipation. It argues that Canadian security is co-constituted with its understanding of the environment, and that the Canadian case compels an expansion of the notion of the referent object of security to include the environment – a change which throws it into contrast with other schools of critical security, whose visions of emancipation might not, as currently theorized, be equipped to overcome these phenomena.
Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Feb 26, 2014
Traditional approaches to water security presume that water will be a primary vehicle that will d... more Traditional approaches to water security presume that water will be a primary vehicle that will drive conflict in the future, and may in fact lead to war between states or armed intra-state groups. This article begins by pointing out the limitations of the connections between water scarcity and traditional security and examines the role of emancipation as an aim for the study and practice of water security. It aims to uncover the complex relationships individuals and political communities have with scarce water sources; relationships that defy simple classification as competitive and protectionist, as traditional security views might have us believe. An individual's connection with water is characterized by a wide and shifting confluence of personal and social needs and identities. Thus, this article seeks to reveal the wide range of approaches used by individuals and political communities to manage their relationships with water, and more broadly, with each other. In particular, the concept of “hydrosolidarity” is studied as a potential emancipatory alternative to hostility, strategy, and conflict in water relations.
Oxford Research Group, Aug 2, 2013
This paper explores nationalist movements and their expression through sport. In particular, we a... more This paper explores nationalist movements and their expression through sport. In particular, we are interested in Fútbol Club Barcelona (FCB) and its relationship to Catalan nationalist identity. Our focus on FCB is explained by the club’s motto: “més que un club,” or “more than a club.” FCB founders, supporters, and even players, have taken this to reflect the role that Catalan identity plays in defining the club. Moreover, we argue the reverse is also true: that FCB plays a central role in forming and sustaining understandings of Catalan identity. We thus contend that football in general, and FCB in particular, offers a unique space for nationalist identities to emerge. The paper is divided into three main parts. First, we explore the role that nationality plays in identity. The second section provides a history of FCB and their role in Catalonia. Here we focus on the language utilized by FCB’s founders and early supporters, as well as looking at the club in the context of post-Franco Spain. The final section offers preliminary commentary on FCB and the exhibition of Catalan identity.
Other by Cameron Harrington
The belief that "Nature" exists as a blank, stable stage upon which humans act out tragic perform... more The belief that "Nature" exists as a blank, stable stage upon which humans act out tragic performances of international relations is no longer tenable. In a world defined by human action, we must reorient our understanding of ourselves, of our environment, and our security. This book considers how decentred and reflexive approaches to security are required to cope with the Anthropocene – the Human Age. Drawing from various disciplines, this bold reinterpretation explores the possibilities for understanding and preparing a future that will look vastly different than the past. The book asks to dig deeper into what it means to be human and what it means to be secure in an age of ecological exception.
Books 2016- 2018 by Cameron Harrington
Journal articles by Cameron Harrington
Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2018
This article analyzes the implications of the Anthropocene for the governance of security. Drawin... more This article analyzes the implications of the Anthropocene for the governance of security. Drawing on environmental law, green criminology, and international relations, the article examines the development of environmental security scholarship over recent decades and shows similarities and differences in perspectives across the three disciplines. It demonstrates that the Anthropocene represents a significant challenge for thinking about and responding to security and the environment. It argues a rethinking is needed, and this can benefit from reaching across the disciplinary divide in three key areas that have become a shared focus of attention and debate regarding security in the Anthropocene. These are, first, examining the implications of the Anthropocene for our understanding of the environment and security; second, addressing and resolving contests between environmental securities; and third, developing new governance responses that mix polycentric and state-backed regulation to bring safety and security to the planet.
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Papers by Cameron Harrington
Other by Cameron Harrington
Books 2016- 2018 by Cameron Harrington
Journal articles by Cameron Harrington