Journal | Il Tolomeo
Journal issue | 26 | 2024
Research Article | Climate Refugees and ‘Negative Solidarity’ in Tim Jones’ Where We Land
Climate Refugees and ‘Negative Solidarity’ in Tim Jones’ Where We Land
Abstract
Jones’ novella Where We Land belongs to the CLI-FI genre and envisages what might happen in New Zealand if a mass of climate refugees from Asia or Oceania should illegally arrive. The author describes a situation similar to the so-called “journeys of hope” occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. The refugees’ boat is attacked by the NZ Navy frigate torpedoes and the few survivals who succeed in landing have to confront armed shore patrols of citizens defending their own territories from the ‘invaders’. Official government propaganda, sense of the ‘nation’ and hate for foreign immigrants intertwine in the story to depict a society with no sense of solidarity or positive affect. The book catches the spirit of ‘negative solidarity’ rising in neoliberal countries, characterized by isolated competitive relations within populist political projects. By analysing Jones’ story, the article shows how neoliberalism destroys the conditions for collective action and collective decision.
Submitted: July 3, 2024 | Accepted: Oct. 11, 2024 | Published Dec. 9, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Negative solidarity • Climate refugees • Tim Jones • New Zealand • Neoliberalism
Copyright © 2024 Paola Della Valle. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Tol/2499-5975/2024/01/003
