Eco-coloniality and the violent environmentalism of the UK–France border

Abstract

This article examines the eco-coloniality of the UK–France border by tracing the transformation of the notorious Calais “jungle” refugee camp into a nature reserve. We empirically investigate the ecological politics of the Calais borderzone, arguing that the environment plays a crucial role in both enacting and obscuring border violence. Based on long-term research at this site, we explore how the environment does political work by excluding, harming, and erasing the presence of racialized migrants from the shores of the English Channel. Taking a critical postcolonial approach, we argue that environmental ideas that were once forged during empire—including the imperial origins of environmentalism—continue to shape the marginalization of racialized groups today. By deepening our understanding of what counts as border violence and tracing the colonial genealogy of violent environmentalism, this article develops the concept of ‘eco-coloniality’. This builds upon burgeoning research at the intersection of border studies and political ecology, which has explored the co-option of ‘nature’ into violent border practices, and the deepening links between eco-fascism and exclusionary migration regimes. At a time of heightened environmental disruption, we emphasize the importance of unearthing the roots that connect contemporary politics with the perennial legacies of colonialism. Ultimately, we suggest that the protection of the environment, both at the border and during empire, has been used as a pretense for dispossessing racialized groups.