Not just war: violence in climate protest

McLaughlin, A. and Jubb, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0956-4000 (2026) Not just war: violence in climate protest. Politics, Philosophy and Economics. ISSN 1741-3060 (In Press)

Abstract/Summary

This paper argues that reductivism, the dominant form of contemporary just war theory, cannot justify violent climate protest, despite Andreas Malm’s suggestion that just war theory might help confront the challenge of the climate crisis. The argument has three stages. It begins by showing both the relevance of Malm’s attacks on the climate movement’s strategic pacifism to questions about the appropriateness of violence in climate activism in political philosophy and the dominance of reductivism in contemporary philosophical discussions of violence. It then shows that reductivism’s individualism will make it difficult to establish liability for climate harms substantial enough to be met with defensive force. Finally, it argues that violent climate protest is unlikely to be necessary to protect individuals, since it will not effectively reduce individual vulnerability to climate change. The collective character of the threat of climate change is in tension with reductivism’s commitment to justifying all violence in terms of individual defensive rights.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129661
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Politics and International Relations
Publisher	Sage
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