New Publication: Theorisation of Environmental Justice in Chinese Political Philosophy

Shizhi Zhang, Linda Westman, and Vanesa Castán Broto have published a new paper in Political Geography that explores how classical Chinese political philosophy can contribute to contemporary debates on environmental justice (EJ) theory.

This paper starts from the premise that Chinese philosophical and political contexts offer a conceptual basis to develop new principles of environmental justice, distinct from those derived from Anglophone literature. Ideas of environmental justice are ubiquitous in socio-environmental movements, but mainstream theorisations are not applicable across all cultural contexts. In China, conventional understandings of environmental justice do not resonate with contemporary environmental politics and practices. Yet, environmental policies in China are already having differentiated social impacts, which are likely to increase as transitions deepen. This raises environmental justice questions, calling for the development of appropriate theoretical tools to enable context-relevant analyses.

Responding to this imperative, this paper analyses the concept of justice in relation to environmental politics in pre-Qin China, revealing two distinct approaches. The first, drawing on Confucianism, is embedded in the cultivation of relational moral codes and practices of benevolent government. The second, based on Legalism, represents ideals of impartiality and the imposition of authoritarian constraints in service of the state's political agenda. Both approaches have become embedded in Chinese social-political life, with differentiated outcomes and variegated manifestations over time. These theoretical entry points question the universalist aspirations of current environmental justice theory and invite a reconsideration of what environmental justice means internationally.

The paper is available at:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0962629826001009

[Image credit: typhoonski]