eco-imperialist

adjective

Characteristic of or pertaining to eco-imperialism.

Meanings

adjectiveeco-imperialist (comparative more eco-imperialist, superlative most eco-imperialist)

comparative more eco-imperialist · superlative most eco-imperialist

  1. Characteristic of or pertaining to eco-imperialism.

    This eco-imperialist logic was expounded by Larry Summers, chief economist of the World Bank, in his 1991 memo to a senior World Bank official.

    2014, Toyin Falola, Emmanuel M. Mbah, Intellectual Agent, Mediator and Interlocutor, page 142
    2 more examples

    On the one hand, the types of technical regulations discussed above are not eco-imperialist, since they specify the nature of the product itself - it must be packaged a certain way, or must be recyclable - rather than how the product is produced.

    2002, Shahrukh Rafi Khan, Trade and Environment: Difficult Policy Choices at the Interface

    The position of Malaysia was fervently defended by then Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, defining the discourse on “environmental justice”, and upholding the right to development of the countries in the South, against the “eco-imperialist” position of wealthy countries of the North.

    2010, Lye Liang Fook, Chen Gang, Towards A Liveable And Sustainable Urban Environment, page 164
nouneco-imperialist (plural eco-imperialists)

plural eco-imperialists

  1. A person or country that engages in eco-imperialism.

    International environmental activists are condemned as racist "eco-imperialists" and domestic activists are Malaysia's "Number 1 traitors."

    1992, Defending the Earth: Abuses of Human Rights and the Environment
    2 more examples

    Like the European imperialists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Driessen claims, today's eco-imperialists keep developing countries destitute for the benefit of the developed world.

    2007, U.C. Mandal, Dictionary Of Public Administration, page 147

    In his book Eco-Imperialism: Green Power, Black Death, Paul Driessen (2005) argues that present-day eco-imperialists are similar to European imperialists of the seventeenth century in that they attempt to keep developing countries poor for the benefit of the developed world.

    2013, Stewart Lockie, David A. Sonnenfeld, Dana R. Fisher, Routledge International Handbook of Social and Environmental Change, page 60
Cite this entry
APA

eco-imperialist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eco-imperialist

MLA

“eco-imperialist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eco-imperialist. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eco-imperialist,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eco-imperialist.

Source: eco-imperialist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.