People For Earth

Juneseo Hwang. 2023. “Building Sustainable Peace through the ‘Rights of Nature’ in Western Societies” Journal of Human Rights Studies 6(1): 149-188.

[Abstract]

In a time of planetary crisis, human rights discourses have embraced post-anthropocentric perspectives that acknowledge the rights of nature. On the other hand, critical peace discourses that emphasise political, social, and ecological sustainability have gained more attention, which challenge the one-dimensional conception of peace that is espoused with the liberal paradigm of economic development. This journal article explores how the two post-anthropocentric discourses intersect and form a concept of post-anthropocentric sustainable peace. Case studies of New Zealand and Northern Ireland show institution-building and social movements are two pathways of practising sustainable peace that recognise the rights of nature. In conclusion, it is emphasised that in facing with the ecological crisis, human-centric human rights paradigms and peace built upon them are not only fragile but also unjust. Therefore, peace should be formed from the bottom, along with nature.

Keywords: sustainable peace, rights of nature, post-anthropocentrism, New Zealand, Northern Ireland

* This article was based on a presentation in the academic conference organised by the Korean Association of Human Rights Studies on 26th November 2022.