The Amazon in Camouflage: The Effects of Militarised Environmental Governance under Bolsonaro

Abstract

The 2018 presidential election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil presented the biggest shock in civil-military relations since the country’s return to democracy. The Brazilian Armed Forces gained significant influence in all layers of governance. In an age of rising awareness on the dangers of climate change, the Amazon rainforest, located primarily in Brazil, became a central concern for the international community as well as the militarised government under Bolsonaro. Combining the environmental threats of climate change with the militarisation of politics, this paper analyses how the militarisation of Brazil’s environmental governance has affected environmental protection of the Amazon rainforest. It attempts to understand this green militarisation across different stages: its emergence, its maintenance, and its consequences. The analysis reveals that environmental issues cannot be separated from Brazil’s militarisation and Bolsonaro’s reactions to global climate action. It finds that green militarisation has contributed to three interconnected processes: a loop of militarisation, the decrease of the Amazon perceived as natural entity, and democratic decay. Each contributing to environmental degradation by harming the Amazon rainforest in the first place, and consequently hindering world-wide climate preservation. In the trend of green militarisation, climate change has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.