Enemies of the Planet? Studying the Intersection Between Nationalism and Climate Change

Corporate lobbies, business interests and neoliberal ideology are usually identified as the main culprits for the governmental incapacity to adopt urgent measures and legislation to stem the global threat of climate change. However another, more powerful , ideology should be considered as playing an increasingly crucial part in this mesmerising lack of action: nationalism. Nationalism has long been recognised as the dominant ideology of the modern age. Climate change has remained virtually untouched in nationalism studies. As a boundless and uncontainable phenomenon, it ignores class, geographic and ethnonational boundaries. As such, it can hardly be comprehended within the limits of a nationalist world vision.   Bringing together recent climate change research and the subdiscipline of nationalism studies, this paper reassesses this intuition, by focusing on the situational and adaptive plasticity of nationalism, characterised by its notorious Janus-faced adaptability.  I first identify and address a methodological stumbling block which precludes scholars in some areas of the humanities and social sciences – specifically nationalism studies – from conceptualising, and grappling with, this unfolding reality. Second, I advance a typology which can work as a conceptual grid for studying similar problems that emerge at the intersection of environmental politics, climate change and nationalism studies. I suggest two ways in which the nation and national narratives have been and are being mobilised, to make sense of, contrast, reject and incorporate new life-changing trends. I identify these, respectively, under the umbrella terms of 'resource nationalism' and 'green nationalism'.   I conclude by emphasising the continuing relevance of nationalism in plans for ongoing global energy transitions, thus stressing the importance of connecting the field of nationalism studies to climate change.