Authoritarian Environmentalism's Global Expansion: Analyzing Belt and Road Initiative's Legitimizing Discourses on Environmental Impact in Latin America and West Africa's Mining Sector

• In Event: Sustainability Across Continents

Abstract

Amidst the global transition away from carbon-dependent economies and the increasing prominence of critical mineral extraction, environmental governance in the Global South has undergone rapid transformations in recent decades. China has emerged as a key player in shaping the new international economic and political order, expanding its influence and investments in global sustainable development through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative.

This study compares the discourses employed by China, Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile), and West African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali) to justify the expansion of gold and critical minerals mining and assesses their effects on the enforcement of environmental regulations in these regions. The study utilizes a critical discourse analysis of official governmental documents, media reports, and academic articles from the three regions, focusing on how development, environment, green transition, and China’s expansion are framed at both the micro-level (language) and meso-level (institutional) contexts.

Preliminary findings reveal the emergence of common themes revolving around postcoloniality and hegemony across official and unofficial sources from the three regions. This paper provides a comparative analysis between West African countries and the Lithium Triangle in Latin America to discern how national histories and center-peripheral relations shape the framing and understanding of Chinese investments in the regions’ extractive sector. Additionally, the study discusses how Chinese environmental authoritarianism serves as a legitimizing discourse of critical mineral mining on each continent within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, which offers valuable insights into the changing dynamics of global resource exploitation.

Authors

• Emilia Ravetta, Colorado State University

• Raymond Appiah, Colorado State University

• KuoRay Mao, Colorado State University