Developmental Environmentalism in Guyana

ABSTRACT Developmental environmentalism (DE) has been theorised as being capable of driving inclusive sustainable development. It does so, according to this theory, by prioritising green development steered by the state. Unlike developmentalism, which gave little or no attention to green growth, DE eschews brown growth and emphasises green growth, self‐sufficiency, technology and renewables as alternatives to fossil‐based development. Most DE theorising neither accounts for petrostates that are developmentalist nor considers socially stratified societies. This state‐of‐the‐art raises the question: how do developmental states in stratified societies with substantial oil endowments pursue DE? A content analysis of more than 1000 data points (real‐world stories) from both pro‐ and anti‐government newspapers in Guyana helps to address this question. Oil is central to financing Guyana's DE. Part of this process is a state urban development strategy that seems to drain power from racialised opposition centres to build a new technopolis. These findings clarify the vital place of oil and cities in DE, showing that this development model can reproduce social stratification.