Guest editors: Carlos R. S. Milani and Mahrukh Doctor
The Covid-19 pandemic, the accelerated loss of biodiversity, the resurgence of deforestation rates and the climate emergency in Brazil and world-wide are political agendas that have produced intense public debates about the State’s responsibility, urban and rural development models, agricultural strategies, the role of mining, social-economic-environmental recovery programs (also known as Green New Deals), ecological and social transition scenarios, projects to overcome the fossil combustion energy model, new consumption patterns and lifestyles, relationships of solidarity between human and non-human forms of life, among many other subjects. Often, such debates start from the premise that we must reinvent ourselves as a society and civilization, that we will have to rethink economic and political models that allow the overcoming of these crises immediately, in the short term, but also in the medium term, so that our viability as a human species in the future is ensured.
The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has represented the biggest health event on the planet since the Spanish flu of 1918, with even more catastrophic effects than the HIV-AIDS pandemic, which began in the 1980s. The confluence between the current pandemic, hegemonic disputes and rivalries between the USA and China, financial crises, and the Anthropocene as a concept and diagnosis produce something new. It leads us to reimagine the role of the State and market in development models, institutional design and the definition of responsibilities in national public policies and within multilateral organizations.
Therefore, the challenge that is posed is of considerable intellectual and political scope. Climate issues have become a political problem and have entered the field of international relations since the 1980s. Since then, they have problematized and contributed to redefine the boundaries between national and international, socioeconomic and environmental, human and natural, modes of regulation and conflict resolution. Climate change has also led to debates on the role of the State, international organizations, economic operators, corporations and civil society organizations. Climate change has become a fundamental issue in the contemporary world, in all dimensions of social life, from local to global, affecting the way knowledge is produced and taught in various disciplines, including political science and international relations. The answer given within political science and international relations in Brazil has so far been relatively modest. The same applies to scholars working in foreign universities who have been studying environmental policies and politics in Brazil. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to address the politics and policies of climate change in Brazil from the perspective of political science and international relations, counting on contributions proposed by both Brazilian and foreign scholars. Interdisciplinary proposals from social and human sciences will also be welcome.
What are the responses given to the causes and effects of climate change in Brazil’s public policies and international negotiations? What are the current debates on a Brazilian Green New Deal? What are the relationships between science and policy making, and between development models and capitalism in such debates? What are the interfaces between climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and development models? How do concepts such as the anthropocene, climate change, and “one health” impact political science and IR agendas in Brazil?
The special issue, “The Politics and Policies of Climate Change in Brazil” looks to contribute to the body of work on the diagnostics of the national debate on climate change from the perspective of political science and IR, also stimulating a regional and/or comparative approach, particularly in Latin America and other Global South countries.
As shown by the set of questions mentioned above, articles that focus on the following issues at the national level, but also regionally or comparatively, may be of particular interest:
- Government and climate change policies in Brazil: the prominence of the federal government and the role of subnational entities, Congress, political parties, and the Judiciary.
- The politics of climate change in Brazil: different interests and visions of development within State, market and civil society organisations, the role of science and diplomacy in policymaking.
- Political economy and the national-international nexus: the reorganisation of the economy and the role of the agribusiness and the mining sector, the relationship between oil and renewables in Brazil.
The specification of these topics is illustrative and not exhaustive; articles that focus on other related topics will also be welcome. Articles should be submitted between March 14 and September 16, 2022 in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, through the BPSR portal at: https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/bpsr-scielo
Articles submitted should not have been previously published and should present their results according to the BPSR’s guidelines (https://brazilianpoliticalsciencereview.org/author-guidelines/). Articles will be reviewed in two stages: desk review and, if accepted in the first stage, a double-blind peer review. All the rules of the BPSR’s editorial policy also apply to this special issue, including not publishing authors who have last published in the BPSR within two years of this issue. The publication will be in English and the BPSR will pay for the costs of translation for articles submitted in Spanish and Portuguese. The BPSR is an open-access journal that embraces the policies of open science and does not charge for editorial processing or publication.
Questions can be sent to: bpsr@brazilianpoliticalsciencereview.org