Coloniality of Risks. Perspectives from the Global South

The definitions of risks, as well as the ways to manage them, are complex sociocultural constructions. In this era of planetary risks, the components of risk policy, originally conceptualized by Ulrich Beck, need to be reviewed and redefined from a geopolitical perspective that highlights the structural inequalities between the Global North and South.

It's necessary to build epistemic perspectives capable of questioning the coloniality present in the definitions of global risks and in the ways they are experienced, interpreted, and managed, the historical power asymmetries they reproduce, and the deepening of material and symbolic vulnerabilities. From this perspective, the aim is to deconstruct the coloniality of knowledge and worldviews that support regulations, agreements, and international mechanisms that influence the decisions of Global South countries, as well as to question economic models linked to various forms of extractivism and what are called green capitalisms.

The consensus on decarbonization, energy transitions, international disaster response plans, extreme weather events, and the existence of sacrifice zones are some examples of how risks are prioritized from a predominantly Northern-centered way of thinking.

This session aims to open a discussion about the social construction of risks from a decolonial perspective, with a special focus on experiences and reflections coming from the Global South. The goal is to discuss both the definitions of risks and the solutions and alternatives proposed to face them, based on theoretical and empirical work that revalues local knowledge, practices, and experiences that have been historically overlooked or marginalized.