Planetary Political Ecologies: Environm. disasters, conflicts and possibilities in&beyond capitalism

The five-day intensive PhD spring school Planetary Political Ecologies: environmental disasters, conflicts and possibilities in and beyond capitalism will be held from 13-17 April 2026 at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. The workshop gives motivated PhD students the chance to deepen their knowledge on diverse political ecological approaches to contemporary, uneven environmental transformations and how these relate to deeper fissures and transformations in the political economy of capitalism.

General Information

Dates:	April 13-17, 2026
Contact person Logistics:	Marcella Haan
Contact person Content:	Bram Büscher
Credits:	4 ECTS
Venue:	Wageningen Campus
Number of participants:	Minimum 10, maximum 25

Coordination

Prof. Bram Büscher

Lecturers

Prof. Bram Büscher (Wageningen University)
Prof. Robert Fletcher (Wageningen University)
Prof. Erik Swyngedouw (Manchester University)
Dr. Annah Zhu (Wageningen University) 
Dr. Sumit Vij (Wageningen University) 

Introduction and objectives of the course

This year’s political ecology spring school focuses on planetary political ecologies. The idea of the ‘planetary’ has gripped the theoretical imagination over the past decade, signalling a significant change in outlook on the world order. The planetary can be described as a shift from the ‘global’ (and ‘globalization’) to the ‘planetary’ and is summed up well by Martin Arboleda in his book ‘planetary mine’:

 

“The very idea of the “global” as the proverbial blue marble demarcated and measured through grids and coordinates is being gradually superseded by that of the “planetary,” in which the earth reemerges as an unfamiliar place riddled with eerie, destructive, and menacing forces. As opposed to the “spaces of flows” and “liquid modernities” that populated earlier visions of globalization, the notion of the planetary designates a convoluted terrain where fences, walls, and militarized borders coexist with sprawling supply chains and complex infrastructures of connectivity”

The planetary perspective is also commonly seen to signal a deeper transformation in capitalist modernity that highly affects how many of us, and especially younger generations, look at the future. One key aspect is that this outlook combines sharpening contradictions: between seemingly endless possibilities (hyper-positive) and fears of collapse (hyper-negative); between increasing psychological anxiety and frantic activity;  between constant news about environmental disasters or conflict, on the one hand, and on the other the seeming impossibility to change ‘business as usual’ in conservation and environmental governance.

Despite proliferation of a planetary persepctive in a growing variety of different domains, however, thus far political ecology has yet to systematically reckon with the implications of this approach for the future of the field. In order to rectify this, this year’s Wageningen political ecology PhD spring school aims to explore how a planetary perspective can enrich a political ecological analysis of the deepening global and local capitalist conflicts we face. Indeed, political ecology seems ideally placed to analyse the planetary and its relation to and effects on environmental conflicts, disasters and, hopefully, new possibilities. As such, we will focus on three, key interlinked themes:

1. Disasters and disaster responses

Over the last decades, we have seen a rapid intensification of diverse environmental transformations. Though these have long been debated, what is new is the increasingly widespread acknowledgement that we will not be meeting any of the major climate change, biodiversity or other environmental objectives set out by the international community. Instead, we will have to ‘adapt’ and learn how to live and survive within a much more unstable environment and an increase of overlapping disasters. While disasters are also nothing new, the planetary perspective implores us to see how these are taking place on increasingly larger and more integrated scales with associated impacts. Entire ocean currents may be changing or collapsing, the Amazon rainforest is at a tipping point towards another environmental state altogether and the disappearance of species are causing a new global mass extinction event. At the same time, we know that these ‘natural’ disasters are never just ‘natural’. Political ecologists have long studied how disasters related to naturally occurring phenomena come together with forms of governance, institutional and infrastructural politics and histories of power, domination and colonialism that render certain human and nonhuman communities more vulnerable than others. How are environmental politics around disasters changing in relation to planetary transformations? And how do diverse actors, locally and extralocally, influence these changing politics?

2. Conflicts and possibilities

In and through major periods of change, it is normal to see increased conflict, and the shift to the planetary is no exception. At the core of political ecology is the study of conflicts in relation to environmental transformations, but how do we do so in a planetary era where the root causes and impacts of these conflicts are increasingly overlapping and integrating? Besides environmental disasters, we also live in a time of authoritarian resurgence, increasing violence, even genocide, provoking the rise of movements frustrated with a highly unequal and unethical status quo. Hence, the global political context is changing rapidly and this cannot be seen as separate from conflicts over resources. At the same time, rapidly shifting dynamics open up new possibilities to imagine different politics, to think outside of institutional structures and to push the boundaries of dominant discourse. Whether related to climate justice, degrowth, convivial conservation, multi-species or other visions, what new possibilities for the planetary are mushrooming around the world? And how can political ecologists engage with and influence these?

3. In and beyond capitalism

At the heart of the planetary perspective for many commentators stands a recognition that the capitalist world-system is itself undergoing a transformation to planetary scale, which the planetary lens may indeed be (partially) a response to. As the dominant planetary political economy, capitalism is of course at the centre of contemporary disastrous transformations and the conflicts and possibilities that emerge from, aggravate or alleviate these. As global (planerary?) capitalism seems to increasingly embrace populist-fascist means and forms of governance to keep accumulation going apace, its crisis-ridden nature is in full view, yet business as usual continues to dominate most mainstream institutions, including many universities. Political ecology has long roots in critically examining capitalism from different perspectives, including Marxist, Foucauldian, ANT, STS, post-humanist, feminist, critical race theory and many other lenses. A key question that has not yet been answered is how political ecology theorizes capitalism in the planetary era, and how this changes how we analyzey conflicts over recourse use and other issues as well as possibilities for resolving and transcending these? Moreover, as the call for moving beyond growth and capitalism altogether become louder, how do political ecologists study and theorize disasters, conflicts and possibilities both in and beyond capitalism?

These are among the issues and questions addressed in this year’s Spring school.The PhD course aims to provide PhD students with an advanced introduction to these questions, themes, their interconnections, and current academic perspectives on both. In the process, it allows PhD students to interact with the international team of cutting-edge scholars engaged in research concerning these issues that we have assembled to deliver the course. The spring school, as always, makes an explicit effort to combine and introduce different (Foucauldian, post-Marxian, more-than-human, ANT, feminist, decolonial and other) perspectives so as to develop a broader understanding of contemporary theoretical currents in the field of political ecology and the prospects for alternative futures.

In the introductions and discussions, the theme and practice of ‘contestation’ will be central. We will delve into the contestations entailed in development and analysis of our interrelated themes and employ them productively to get a handle on different trends and traditions in political ecology. Special emphasis will be on identifying contestations between and among different theoretical traditions, empirical settings, material resources and political objectives that inform, or form the subject of, various political ecology studies. What consequences do different choices with regard to these ‘ingredients’ have for the types of political ecology presented in the literature and presentations? And how can we harness the contestations inherent within them to inform our own understanding and use of political ecology in research and action? One of the objectives of the course, then, is to answer the question of how to start thinking about planetary political ecologies in the present era.

Besides looking for contestations in the literatures and presentations, we will also practice contestation. In small and large group discussions, we will aim to stimulate intellectual debate through various strands of argument and critique and problematize these from various angles. In this way, the course also explicitly incorporates development of academic debating skills.

Altogether, the workshop and these debates are also meant to support a second objective of the spring school, namely to contribute to a broader understanding of the meaning and nature of political ecology in the 21^st century.

Target group and learning outcomes

The course ‘Planetary Political Ecologies: environmental disasters, conflicts and possibilities in and beyond capitalism’ is intended for PhD students across the social and environmental sciences, especially anthropology, geography, political science, sociology and development studies, with an interest in political ecology. In this course, we will move between close reading of texts, workshops, discussions, and a field trip. Students following this course will not only learn about contestations in relevant themes and new dynamics in political ecology, but will also become part of and interpret these contestations.

Students participating in this course are expected to write a short statement (max. 1 page A4) to: i) introduce who they are in terms of disciplinary background and education ii); outline how they (intend to) engage with the theme of agrarian roots, environmental transformations and capitalist conflicts in political ecology; iii) outline questions or issues on these themes with which they would like to engage; and iv) offer expectations from the course. Two other assigments will be required to legitimate the 4 ECTS for the course, and will be communicated to accepted participants in due course.

After successful completion of this course students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the thinking on the planetary with special emphasis on disasters, conflicts and possibilities in an beyond capitalism;
• Critically reflect on different political ecology approaches to these themes and employ these in social science research;
• Broadly understand some of the main contestations around these themes in relation to theoretical traditions, empirical emphases, political projects and material resources;
• Formulate whether and how elements of these discussions and contestations could fit on and contribute to their own research projects;
• Engage in active learning, critical thinking and academic debating, especially by positioning oneself in (relation to) academic contestations.

Assumed prior knowledge

MSc in social sciences: anthropology, geography, political science, sociology or development studies.

Session Times/ Outline of the Course in Hours

Before starting the course, the students are expected to do several days of self-study to read the prescribed reading and write a 3–4-page annotated bibliography or ‘reflection document’ on the readings and how these (potentially) relate to their own research. In the week of the course, we will have lectures, group-work, a creative outdoor activity and discussions (13-17 April 2026).

Teaching methods

The course offers combination of different educational activities:

1. Lectures to introduce and explain new dynamics and theoretical approaches
2. Self-study to further develop the understanding of the new planetary dynamics and theoretical approaches discussed.
3. Assignments that address contestations regarding the new planetary dynamics and theoretical approaches and apply these to the student’s own research
4. A field visit for active engagement in relating theory to real-world practices
5. Plenary discussions of literature and assignments.
6. Potentially: presentations by participants

Coures fees

WGS PhDs with an approved TSP	€ 300
Other PhDs, postdocs and academic staff	€ 640
All others	€ 900

Cancellations

Cancellations may be made free of charge until 1 month before the start of the course. Cancellation fee of 100 % applies if participants cancel the course less than 1 month prior to the course. The organisers have a right to cancel the course not later than 1 month before the course starts. The participants will be notified of any changes at their e-mail addresses.