Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REWA (Resource wars in an unequal world: international law and beyond)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-02-01 bis 2023-01-31
The project Resource Wars in an Unequal World (REWA) deals with a pressing issue: the relationship between the natural world, on the one side, and violent conflict and insecurity, on the other. More precisely, the project investigates how international legal norms and practices have dealt with wars driven by or associated with ecological factors. Since the 1980s, accumulating research in peace and conflict studies has sought to explain how ecological issues, broadly understood, may contribute to the outbreak, prolongation and, even, resolution of violent conflict. Recognition of these issues has grown over the years and international efforts to ‘manage’ them, including through international law, have risen.
The importance of examining these questions is confirmed by growing evidence detailing how pollution, resource depletion and climate change may aggravate the vulnerability of ecosystems on which we, as humans, depend and affect individuals who are already at the margins of society, thereby fueling grievances and conflicts. Current academic and policy debates on how mass population movement caused by climate change (‘climate refugees/migrants’) may increase political tensions within ‘fragile’ states highlight the broader significance of this project, which extends beyond situations of military hostilities. The ongoing war against Ukraine illustrates the importance of the project for society. Not only has the military conflict resulted in significant environmental impacts that could leave the country and region with a toxic legacy for generations. The war in Ukraine has also been fought with energy policies, including the EU import prohibition on Russian oil and the Russian ‘weaponization’ of gas supplies. Shedding light on how international law conceptualizes nature and addresses ecological concerns is paramount to understand the dynamics of the war in Ukraine and beyond.
The main objective of this project has been to address a knowledge gap in the existing legal literature. Until now, there has been limited integration of other disciplines into the study of legal practices in this area. This project moves from the assumption that international law cannot be understood outside its socio-political-economic context. In engaging with a variety of critical traditions and a rich literature in environmental, development, and peace and conflict studies, this project challenges conventional wisdom about the capacity of international law (as we know it) to generate meaningful responses to structural ecological problems. The project also aims at opening spaces to rethink dominant approaches and solutions to some of the international legal order’s most pressing concerns: the ecological crisis, rising civil wars, and their interaction. It is evident that how a particular problem is understood determines the solutions to it. The project initiates a more inclusive conversation that will result in better legal and policy approaches to the violence associate with resource/environmental wars in different contexts.
The importance of examining these questions is confirmed by growing evidence detailing how pollution, resource depletion and climate change may aggravate the vulnerability of ecosystems on which we, as humans, depend and affect individuals who are already at the margins of society, thereby fueling grievances and conflicts. Current academic and policy debates on how mass population movement caused by climate change (‘climate refugees/migrants’) may increase political tensions within ‘fragile’ states highlight the broader significance of this project, which extends beyond situations of military hostilities. The ongoing war against Ukraine illustrates the importance of the project for society. Not only has the military conflict resulted in significant environmental impacts that could leave the country and region with a toxic legacy for generations. The war in Ukraine has also been fought with energy policies, including the EU import prohibition on Russian oil and the Russian ‘weaponization’ of gas supplies. Shedding light on how international law conceptualizes nature and addresses ecological concerns is paramount to understand the dynamics of the war in Ukraine and beyond.
The main objective of this project has been to address a knowledge gap in the existing legal literature. Until now, there has been limited integration of other disciplines into the study of legal practices in this area. This project moves from the assumption that international law cannot be understood outside its socio-political-economic context. In engaging with a variety of critical traditions and a rich literature in environmental, development, and peace and conflict studies, this project challenges conventional wisdom about the capacity of international law (as we know it) to generate meaningful responses to structural ecological problems. The project also aims at opening spaces to rethink dominant approaches and solutions to some of the international legal order’s most pressing concerns: the ecological crisis, rising civil wars, and their interaction. It is evident that how a particular problem is understood determines the solutions to it. The project initiates a more inclusive conversation that will result in better legal and policy approaches to the violence associate with resource/environmental wars in different contexts.
The work plan included six work packages that have been successfully implemented, notwithstanding the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to project management (WP1), literature review (WP2), and theoretical framework and methodology (WP3), and important result achieved was the publication of the monograph (WP4), which builds upon the fellow’s doctoral dissertation, while pushing the research envelop in new directions. Although the book was primarily written in 2020, its exploitation and dissemination were conducted during the project, which also enabled to discuss issues more directly related to the MSCA.
Other dissemination activities (WP6) include the publication of two scholarly articles in peer-reviewed academic journals (one forthcoming), as well as co-editing a special issue of an journal on the topic of ‘Critical perspectives on global law and the environment’. The fellow participated to several conferences and workshops, and delivered a number of invited talks (more information in the technical report). In addition, she co-organised three important events that gathered junior and senior academic scholars from around the world, for instance, the early career workshop on ‘Global law and the environment’, which took place in April 2021 (online); and the in person 2-day workshop ‘The “natural” in international law’ held at the HO in September 2022. All these events resulted in prolific and productive engagements with scholars from all over the word and across disciplines. More dissemination activities are scheduled for the first half of 2023. The data collected during this MSCA will be the starting point for further publications in the coming years, in addition to the ones produced during the fellowship.
As a testament of the quality of the research outputs, and not only of their quantity, in September 2021 the fellow was awarded the prestigious Young Scholar Prize of the European Society of International Law for a paper that was written during the fellowship.
Further, as for training and knowledge transfer (WP5), the fellow actively participated to the research and teaching activities of the HO, including by presenting her own project, supervising LLM student theses, and co-teaching in different modules.
Other dissemination activities (WP6) include the publication of two scholarly articles in peer-reviewed academic journals (one forthcoming), as well as co-editing a special issue of an journal on the topic of ‘Critical perspectives on global law and the environment’. The fellow participated to several conferences and workshops, and delivered a number of invited talks (more information in the technical report). In addition, she co-organised three important events that gathered junior and senior academic scholars from around the world, for instance, the early career workshop on ‘Global law and the environment’, which took place in April 2021 (online); and the in person 2-day workshop ‘The “natural” in international law’ held at the HO in September 2022. All these events resulted in prolific and productive engagements with scholars from all over the word and across disciplines. More dissemination activities are scheduled for the first half of 2023. The data collected during this MSCA will be the starting point for further publications in the coming years, in addition to the ones produced during the fellowship.
As a testament of the quality of the research outputs, and not only of their quantity, in September 2021 the fellow was awarded the prestigious Young Scholar Prize of the European Society of International Law for a paper that was written during the fellowship.
Further, as for training and knowledge transfer (WP5), the fellow actively participated to the research and teaching activities of the HO, including by presenting her own project, supervising LLM student theses, and co-teaching in different modules.
The role of environmental degradation and climate change in leading to political instability and violent conflict is increasingly discussed in academic and policy circles. In December 2021, a resolution linking climate change and international peace and security was put to a vote at the UN Security Council. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has brought the ecological dimensions of wars back to the fore. These examples illustrate that the project’s results have the potential to influence legal developments and policy-making at the European and international levels and are relevant to the society at large. By contributing to rethink the place of nature within international legal practices, this project paves the way to more informed approaches to the violence of the climate and ecological crises.
By moving across disciplinary specialisations, the project results will significantly advance conversations on these issues in different academic fields. The project opened the discipline of international law to new insights from other academic fields, notably peace and conflict studies, political ecology and economy, and is expected to provoke debate among legal scholars, thus strengthening the fellow’s position as a key voice in this area. This is already demonstrated by the different invitations the fellow received to present her work, as well as the awarding of the ESIL prize mentioned before.
This fellowship resulted in the acquisition of transferable skills (interpersonal, communication, and project management skills), which together with the dissemination of research outputs are all essential requirements for advancing in a permanent academic position. The MSCA enabled the fellow to establish fruitful collaborations with scholars, which will pave the way to further collaborative opportunities. In addition to expanding her academic network, the MSCA boosted the fellow’s career options. The strongest evidence is given by the fact that the fellow has been hired by the HO as an assistant professor of international law. This is also the reason why the project ended earlier than planned.
By moving across disciplinary specialisations, the project results will significantly advance conversations on these issues in different academic fields. The project opened the discipline of international law to new insights from other academic fields, notably peace and conflict studies, political ecology and economy, and is expected to provoke debate among legal scholars, thus strengthening the fellow’s position as a key voice in this area. This is already demonstrated by the different invitations the fellow received to present her work, as well as the awarding of the ESIL prize mentioned before.
This fellowship resulted in the acquisition of transferable skills (interpersonal, communication, and project management skills), which together with the dissemination of research outputs are all essential requirements for advancing in a permanent academic position. The MSCA enabled the fellow to establish fruitful collaborations with scholars, which will pave the way to further collaborative opportunities. In addition to expanding her academic network, the MSCA boosted the fellow’s career options. The strongest evidence is given by the fact that the fellow has been hired by the HO as an assistant professor of international law. This is also the reason why the project ended earlier than planned.