Systems Thinking

Infographics about the green colonialism.

The global shift toward a post-carbon economy is functionally a new phase of imperialism, where the ecological costs of renewable energy are externalized onto the Global South. This analysis examines the historical parallels between fossil fuel extraction and the emerging mineral economy, revealing how the 'green transition' reproduces colonial dependencies while exacerbating environmental destruction. We explore the devastating material demands of technologies like electric vehicles and batteries, the weaponization of lithium and rare earth minerals in geopolitical conflicts, and the systematic silencing of indigenous and marginalized communities whose lands are sacrificed for the sake of planetary salvation.

IKEA's strategic investment in renewable energy has insulated it from global energy shocks, turning a potential crisis into a competitive advantage. This case study explores the timeline, economics, and strategic implications of IKEA's energy transition.

In 900 AD, western Europe was poorer, more violent, and more backward than China, India, or the Muslim Middle East. By 1914, Europeans controlled 84 percent of the world's land surface.

Key events that shaped the trajectory of the violence tournament.

The tournament that gave Europe global dominance also produced staggering costs.

Between 1815 and 1914, western Europeans spent only 26 years at war per century, down from 115 years in 1650-1815.

State-funded tournaments produced Europe's military lead, but private adventurers did most of the actual conquering. Cortés, Pizarro, da Gama, and the East India Company all operated with minimal government oversight.

Europe's political fragmentation and low-cost resource mobilisation were not products of geography or superior culture.

China, the Ottoman Empire, and eighteenth-century India all had frequent warfare and access to gunpowder weapons. None sustained military innovation at Europe's pace.