The Anthropocene, the Climate Emergency and International Relations: Brazil and South Africa in a Changing World Order

The main objective of this project is the finalization of a monograph analysing the linkages between the anthropocene, climate change and International Relations. Since climate scientists launched the concept of the anthropocene at the outset of the 21st century, the debate in the human and social sciences about the causes and implications of the anthropocene has advanced significantly, bringing innovations and pointing out contradictions expressed in different conceptions of nature-society relations. In International Relations, however, theoretical, methodological and empirical advances that adopt the concept and the diagnosis of the anthropocene as a premise are still timid and seldom reflect the perspectives of the developing world. This monograph aims to narrow this gap, and will be organized into three sections: (i) the anthropocene as concept and diagnosis, and its implications in International Relations, emphasizing development and security issues; (ii) how the IR scholarship in both Brazil and South Africa respond to the challenges posed by the anthropocene; (iii) how foreign policy institutions and agents participate in international negotiations, with a particular focus on Brazil and South Africa.