Rethinking International Relations in an Era of the Planetocene: Case Arctic Ocean Up to 2050

This project proposes a new paradigm for world politics: the Planetocene, which emphasizes that all forms of life – including humankind – are dependent on the well-being of nature. Drawing insights from the Arctic Ocean, which is under increasing human activity due to climate change, technological development, and geopolitical rivalry, the project examines how a planetary just transformation toward the Planetocene could plausibly unfold by 2050.

Its novel approach combines International Relations, Sustainability Science, and Futures Studies and produces qualitative scenarios at the intersection of art and science. The project will seek to facilitate “out of the box” thinking about how world politics could look if traditional state-centric political imaginaries were replaced with planetary imaginaries and planetary justice was established as the guiding norm of the international community – a necessary development to save the Arctic, and the world, from a looming ecological catastrophe.