In this article for a special section on Green Wars, Jared D. Margulies considers Louis Althusser’s theory of ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) for advancing political ecology scholarship on the functioning of the state in violent environments. He uses the example of conservation as ideology in Wayanad, Kerala.

The author attempts to reframe the classical distinction in conservation biology between native and invasive species by referring to migration and settlement of nonhuman beings as diasporas. She uses the introduction of Canadian beavers in Chilean Tierra del Fuego in 1947 as a case study.

The study analyzes the political equity in fisherfolk organizations of Beach Management Units (BMUs) in Lake Victoria (Kenya). It uses this as a case study to investigate the issue of decentralization of resource management through co-management, and its relationship with political power.

Synthesizing ethnographic case studies from mainland Southeast Asia, the authors critically review the implementation of REDD+, a UN project to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. They argue that REDD+ maps onto local power structures and political economies in its implementation, rendering it blunt as a tool for change.