The European Legacy

Climate Change and the Future of National and Global Politics

Climate change is no longer only an environmental or economic problem; it has become a structural force reshaping national and international politics. Deadly heatwaves, droughts, floods, wildfires, famines, sea-level rise, and weather unpredictability are generating new pressures on states, and national and global institutions. We invite scholars from many disciplines to enter debates such as those outlined below on how best to conceptualize and deal with the growing challenges posed by climate change. In one such debate, scholars have begun to explore whether liberal democracies are institutionally capable of responding adequately and in time to the climate crisis. Mittiga’s article, “Political Legitimacy, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change” (American Political Science Review, 2021/2022), for instance, argues that climate disruption may create emergency conditions in which authoritarianism gains legitimacy for providing safety and stability, even if doing so sacrifices democratic accountability. Other scholars argue that democracy’s pluralism, transparency, and deliberative capacity are not obstacles, but are essential for taking on the challenges of climate change (e.g., Lazar & Wallace, Journal of Democracy, 2025).

Scholars have also debated the value and feasibility of carbon mitigation strategies, and even the politically challenging proposal for “degrowth” (Buch-Hansen & Nesterova, “Less and More: Conceptualizing Degrowth Transformations, Ecological Economics, 2023), while others have discussed the possibility of technological acceleration reversing climate change, thus reducing the political and economic pressures mentioned above (Reins & Zahar, eds., Climate Technology and Law in the Anthropocene, Bristol University Press, 2025). In all such proposals, further questions involve the role of state, non-state actors and international organizations in advancing either degrowth or technological acceleration. Climate politics are intersecting with migration debates, border politics, the rise of populism, geopolitics, and the role, legitimacy and effectiveness of international organizations. The relationships among climate change, migration pressures, regime stability and the global balance of power remain unclear and in need of further study.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

1. • Do electoral cycles, polarization, and interest-group politics structurally impede democratic climate action, or do democratic institutions ultimately foster more legitimate and effective responses than authoritarian systems?
   • What role can international organizations and treaties play in addressing climate change? How effective have they been, and could they be made more effective?
   • How does/will continuing climate change affect the balance of power and global politics?
   • Can liberal theory address the social, cultural, economic and political challenges of climate change, or are we facing a post-liberal future?
   • What is the impact of the AI surge on the intersection between politics, economics, and climate change?
   • In a world that is arguably trending post-liberal, what is the future and role of religion in addressing climate change?
   • Under what conditions do climate shocks cause institutional and policy reforms rather than democratic erosion?
   • What is the role of techno-optimism on our ability to address climate change and our politics?
   • How have dislocation and mass migration affected the global economy? What is their effect on the climate, and national and international politics?
   • Is there a role for utopian theory in addressing the challenges of climate change?
   • Is climate change—or climate policy to address climate change—a factor in the resurgence of far-right or nationalist movements?
   • Does the climate threat necessitate new forms of planetary governance?
   • Can capitalism survive the challenges of climate change, and if so, how?
   • Are we witnessing the emergence of new geopolitical blocs at least partly due to resource and security issues related to climate change?

We welcome contributions from political theory, comparative politics, international relations, political economy, intellectual history, public policy, law, sociology, migration studies, environmental humanities, and related fields. Both empirical and theoretical submissions are encouraged. Interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse approaches are especially welcome.