Anthropological Perspectives on Biological Invasions: Ethnographies of Conflict and Coexistence between Human and Animals

Abstract

Biological invasions are regarded by major international scientific institutions as among the most impactful and contentious ecological phenomena of the Anthropocene. Accelerated by globalisation, climate crisis, and ecosystem instability, the introduction and proliferation of “invasive alien species” – or those labelled as such – raise crucial questions about biodiversity loss, human responsibility, and the models of environmental governance at stake. In parallel, social sciences, and cultural anthropology in particular, have reframed biological invasions as multispecies, situated, and relational phenomena, challenging established categories such as nativeness, non-nativeness, and invasiveness. This special issue offers, for the first time in the Italian context, a comparative ethnographic perspective through six case studies, examining how different animal organisms become focal points of conflict, practices of coexistence, and ecological imaginaries, revealing the profoundly political nature of contemporary ecologies.