Nature and Politics

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel explores the intricate relationship between nature and politics and features four papers that employ new tools and ask timely and novel questions. Each paper pushes the boundaries of the research agenda through studies focusing on Ukraine and Russia. Margarita Balmaceda shares her paper, "Nitrogen Populism, Hidden Energy Chains, and Russia's Global Reach," in which she examines the links between the agricultural and energy-industrial sectors focusing on the case of nitrogen fertilizers produced from natural gas in Russia. Volodymyr Kulikov studies coal company towns in Ukraine since 1870 and lays out how power dynamics, technology, and capital led to the formation of these communities and their extractive purposes. Delgerjargal Uvsh explores the topics and discursive strategies used in Kremlin’s discourse on environmental issues (2008–2022) using topic modeling techniques. Susanne Wengle examines agricultural land reform in Ukraine and how the ongoing war is affecting political dynamics behind the reform.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Kate Pride Brown, Georgia Institute of Technology

Papers

• Nitrogen Populism, Hidden Energy Chains, and Russia's Global Reach - Margarita Mercedes Balmaceda, Harvard U / Seton Hall U

• In the Service of Resources: Extractive Company Towns in Donbas across Twentieth-Century Political Regimes - Volodymyr Kulikov, U of Texas at Austin

• Environmental Discourse in Russia: Applying Topic Modeling to Political Communications in the Presidential Office - Delgerjargal Uvsh, U of Texas at Austin

• Farming the Black Earth: The History and Politics of Ukraine’s Agricultural Land Market before, during, and after Russia’s War - Susanne Alice Wengle, U of Notre Dame

Discussant

• Kate Pride Brown, Georgia Institute of Technology