Journal of Political Power

Politics of Sustainability: A Hoax for Power or a Real Crisis?

An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Power, Policy, and Planet

Concept Note

In the Anthropocene era, “sustainability” has become a catchword embedded in virtually
every discourse — from global development and public policy to education, media, and
culture. Yet, the omnipresence of the term begs the question: Is sustainability truly a
collective imperative to preserve the Earth, or has it been strategically co-opted into a
smokescreen for deepening structures of power, control, and inequality? This call invites
interdisciplinary engagement with the contested politics of sustainability, interrogating its
deployment as a narrative, a policy tool, and a global mission.

At the heart of this inquiry lies the tension between eco-centric urgency and power-
centric agendas. The notion of “sustainable development,” as popularized by the
Brundtland Commission in 1987, promised a harmonious triad of environmental protection,
economic growth, and social equity. The Sustainable Development Goals Report
2024 details the significant challenges the world is facing in making substantial strides
towards achieving the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. According to the
report, with just six years remaining, current progress falls far short of what is required to
meet the SDGs. Without massive investment and scaled up action, the achievement of the
SDGs — the blueprint for a more resilient and prosperous world and the roadmap out of
current global crises — will remain elusive.

In practice, critics argue that sustainability often masks neo-capitalist expansions, neo-
colonial governance, and the interests of consumer-driven societies in the Global
political dynamics.

T. J. Demos, in Against the Anthropocene: Visual Culture and Environment Today (2017),
critiques how mainstream environmentalism often collaborates with neoliberal capitalism,
promoting “green economy” models that reproduce extractive and exploitative global
systems.  Similarly, Jason W. Moore's Capitalism in the Web of Life (2015) reveals how
capitalism metabolizes nature itself, rebranding ecological degradation as marketable
solutions under the label of sustainability. Moreover, the lingering impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic, escalating conflicts, geopolitical tensions and growing climate chaos have
severely hindered progress.

The critique deepens when viewed through postcolonial and global South
perspectives. Ashish Kothari et al., in Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary
(2019), argue that Western sustainability models marginalize indigenous epistemologies,
local governance, and non-market-based economies. This echoes Amitav Ghosh’s
lament in The Great Derangement (2016) — that climate discourse remains structurally
blind to the legacies of empire, modernity, and capitalist hegemony.                                                                                                                                                                              Thus, a special issue on comprehensive exploration of discourse on “sustainability” tends to open a critical
dialogue to ensure the 2030 promise to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one
behind. The issue seeks to address the policy makers, governments, and every individual
of the globe to play their parts through scholarly contributions.

This issue focuses on:

• The political economy of sustainability: Who profits? Who is sacrificed?
• Green capitalism and its discontents: How do multinational corporations rebrand
  themselves as ‘eco-friendly’ while perpetuating extractive practices?
• The data politics of sustainability: How is sustainability measured, and what (or who) is
  left out of these metrics?
• Narratives of marginalisation: In the global race to become “sustainable,” how do
  smaller or resource-rich nations become pawns in a renewed matrix of geopolitical
  manipulation?
• Alternative epistemologies: Can indigenous, ecological, or non-Western knowledge
  systems provide counter-models of sustainability?

We encourage papers that employ quantitative and qualitative research
methodologies, including:

• Policy analysis and institutional critique
• Discourse analysis of media, literature, and cultural texts
• Fieldwork-based environmental ethnographies
• Statistical modelling of sustainability indicators
• Comparative ecological histories and case studies

This issue is not limited to environmental studies or political science. It invites scholars
from literature, philosophy, sociology, media studies, economics, anthropology,
history, development studies, and beyond, to interrogate the discourses, silences, and
stakes that define sustainability in our times.

Suggested (but not limited to) Themes:

• Sustainability and Neoliberalism
• Eco-Capitalism and Global Branding
• Greenwashing in Policy and Media
• Colonial Legacies in Environmental Governance
• Climate Metrics and Data Colonialism
• Cultural Narratives of Climate Crisis
• Climate Justice and Global Inequities
• Indigenous Sustainability Paradigms
• Global South vs. Global North: Eco-politics of Power
• Ethics of Consumption and Waste
• Utopian/Dystopian Imaginaries of the Future

We seek critical and creative engagements that do not merely accept sustainability as a
given but interrogate its ideological apparatus and material consequences.