PRACTICES OF GREEN COLONIALISM AND ECOLOGICAL APARTHEID IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Green Colonialism is a colonial method that works the colonial power's own interests in the lands it wants to benefit from and is featured by non-environmental practices. Ecological apartheid is the the colonial power's combination of environmental colonial policies with apartheid practices targeting areas inhabited by a certain group. This research examines green colonialism and ecological apartheid practices within the framework of the Middle East. Some of the former colony states in the Middle East had to maintain some relations with the former colonial power during the state formation process. Furthermore, many of these states are far from being democratic and egalitarian. Consequently, certain Middle Eastern countries and societies have been exposed to Green Colonialism and/or Ecological Apartheid policies, either externally or internally. The aim of this research is to draw a framework covering the region on this subject. For this purpose, the policies implemented by Israel in Palestinian territories, the oil extraction operations conducted by Western companies in Middle Eastern countries, and some of the unequal policies in the internal workings of these countries will be analyzed from the perspectives of green colonialism and ecological apartheid. In this research, academic books and articles, memoirs, newspapers and news websites, international agreements and reports were used while collecting data. In the analysis of the data, the critical geopolitical approach, which focuses on the individual, society and the environment, and the postcolonial geographical perspective, which is based on the critique of the colonial discourse were used as a theoretical framework. The study concludes that, in former colonial countries, various policies and practices are colonial, the extent to which they serve colonial and racist approaches should be questioned, international conventions should be updated and the international justice mechanism should work to prevent such practices, and domestic environmental laws should be regulated and implemented.