10.11.2023 Ecofeminism#

FPE & SDG Goals#

Author: Tanja Mölders
Publication: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society
Title: Rethinking gender: feminist perspectives on Sustainable Development Goals in the light of (re)productivity

  • What are the links between power structures in the categories gender and nature

    • ecologicla crisis + social crisis (crisis of reproductive work) = same origin

    • = economic rationality

    • undervaluation of both womens care work and natures work

    • nature = reproduction too

    • women = especially affected by nature destruction

pros and cons of Sustainable Development from a feminist view

  • Pro:

    • acknowledged that social situation and nute situation = two sides of same coin

    • SDG5: women need education for growth = good acknowledgement

  • Cons:

    • feminising environmental responsability

    • clarifiction of conflicting goals missing

FPE & Green New Deal#

Title: Ecofeminist Political Economy: Critical Reflections on the Green New Deal
Author: Christine Bauhardt
Publication: Post-Capitalist Futures - Springer

  • key points of ecofeminist politcal economy

    • holistic approach

    • ask central questions about society

    • approach crisis of reproduction

    • adopt a way of production = tthat does justice to human beings and nature

  • why it criticizes Green New Deal

    • solution = narrow technical inovations

      • in male dominated sectors

    • social sector disregarded (even though it is public infrastructure)

    • does not include private households

  • How should it look like ideally

    • underdefined

    • focus on social + technical infrastructure

    • not so much growth focus

FPE Case Study in Ukraine#

Title: Pipes, profits and peace: toward a feminist political economy of gas during war
Author: Elliot Dolan-Evans
Publication: Review of International Political Economy

mainstream International Political Economy

  • only focuses on elites

  • “at arms length” of real people

  • methodological liberalism

    • necessity of liberal states and markets for peace

  • => International Financial Institutions are good

feminist IPE:

  • critical view on power

  • conceptual framework of social reproduction

IFI: International Financial Institutions, esp. IMF /& WB

  • legitimized as partners in peacebuilding

  • economic stabilizatin and rebuilding

active role

  • deregulation

  • citizens => entrepreneurs

  • neoliberal insitutionalism

Impacts:

  • esp. marginalized groups

  • gendered impacts

Case Study: Ukraine and Gas Infrastructire

Research:

  • Role of IFIs in Conflict

  • Focus on Energy as vital part of everyday life

Focus:

  • Restructruing of Ukr. Gas Infrastrucuture due to IFI demands

Framework#

feminist Global Political Economy (GPE):

  • materialist understanding

  • of social relations of inequality

  • that contributes gendered understanding

Views:

  • materialistic

  • social world = relations

  • subject embeddedness in surroundings

  • = micro focus

=> analyze how everyday relations shape especcialy women

Reproduction:

  • network of social processes

  • reproduce society / workforce

e.g ukrainian women caring for their injured soldier husbands

Case Study#

Ukraine War

  • since 2014

  • 3500 Civilians dead

  • displacement of 1.5 Million

Method:

  • semi sctructured interviews

  • all in 2018

History#

Before:

  • Soviet Union heavy state sibsidized

  • minimal cost of energy to consumers

IFIs view:

  • neoliberal insitutionalist paradigm

  • energy subsidies = distortion of markets

  • inefficient

distributional view:

  • larger households = consume more gas = more profit from subsidy

    • but empirically not true

    • poorer households = lewss well insulated / colder regions …

  • poorer groups = relative more harm from price increase

    • and not price elastic!

Policy:

  • Great Financial Crisis = need for capital

  • IMF imposed price hikes on Ukr. Government

    • for better state finances

    • 30% hikes in one year

    • Yanukovich not follow

  • after Euromaidan

    • more hikes (60%)

    • but difficult situation with War in Donbas

=> 425% price increase in 2015

  • highest gas costs in Europe

  • as proportion of income

  • oligarchic privatization of infrastructure

(Gendered) Impacts#

Direct Impacts#

  • 9,5 times price increase

  • 42% of pop. material deprivation

  • mainly due to energy prices

  • Solution: Housing Subsidy for Poors

    • but not accesible to poor / displaced persons

    • inadequate to cover costs

    • poor implementation

    • transfered direct to gas companies

      • for “competition”

Indirect Impacts#

  • especially rural households

    • higher heating costs

    • war-torn regions

    • depressed regions

  • biomass used as alternative

    • forest wood (45% of families)

    • health effects

  • women bear impact

    • search for wood

    • more time around stove (breathe particles)

    • violence when searching (mines etc.)

  • water more scarce

    • 50% switcch to triucked water (instead of piped)

    • lower water quality

    • poor sanitation

=> declinig heath, esp. women

Broader Patterns#

privatization and women

  • care work more privatized

  • targeted for mass layofss

  • 2/3 of new unemplyoed = women

Care Work

  • more for women (49H vs 22H per week)

  • more children at home (less social service)

  • more injured (war)

Circuit of Violence

  • more privatization = higher costs & less service

  • care more for children = difficult to find wage work

  • less money = less heating at home

  • family / children get more sick = even more staying at home

Violence:

  • higher stress due to higher expenses