Climate Obstruction Beyond Denial: Energy Security, Conflict Exceptionalism, and Fossil Frontier Politics in the Eastern Mediterranean

Diğer Ülkelerden Üniversiteler Tarafından Desteklenmiş Proje, 2026 - 2028

Proje Türü: Diğer Ülkelerden Üniversiteler Tarafından Desteklenmiş Proje
Başlama Tarihi: Temmuz 2026
Bitiş Tarihi: Ağustos 2028

Proje Özeti

This project examines how climate obstruction operates beyond traditional denial-based frameworks in the Eastern Mediterranean. Focusing on Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, and Egypt, it investigates how offshore hydrocarbon expansion is legitimized through energy security narratives, conflict exceptionalism, sovereignty claims, and “bridge fuel” discourses. Rather than rejecting climate science outright, regional actors increasingly normalize continued fossil fuel expansion despite acknowledged climate risks and decarbonization commitments. The project argues that conflict-prone fossil frontier regions generate distinct forms of climate obstruction in which geopolitical instability and territorial disputes marginalize environmental concerns and shield fossil fuel projects from democratic scrutiny. Combining discourse analysis, process tracing, and elite interviews, the study maps the networks of state actors, fossil fuel firms, and policy elites promoting these narratives. It conceptualizes the Eastern Mediterranean as a laboratory for emerging obstruction strategies linking fossil expansion to geopolitical insecurity and energy transition politics.