In much of the media, the importance of the legacies of empire and colonialism are often dismissed, with the public conversation dominated by the "culture war" elements, from debates about statues to institutions like the National Trust becoming "woke". The implication within much of this discourse is that empire and colonialism are features of the past, and should be left there.
In reality, it is far from that simple. Our guest for Episode 18 is legal scholar Kojo Koram, whose first book, Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire, unpacks how the legacies of empire continue to structure every part of our unequal global economy, from international tribunals that protect corporate interests to the systems that leave countries trapped in cycles of debt. Rather than a thing of the past, Kojo expertly breaks down just how present empire really is, and critically, how it has shaped both the roots and impacts of climate and ecological crisis.
Further Reading
Simon Evans and Verner Viisainen, "Revealed: How colonial rule radically shifts historical responsibility for climate change", Carbon Brief.
Kojo Koram, Uncommon Wealth: Britain and Aftermath of Empire, John Murray, 2022
Anuradha Varanasi, "How Colonialism Spawned and Continues to Exacerbate the Climate Crisis", Columbia Climate School.
