Mark Atwood Lawrence, David Kinkela, and Erika Marie Bsumek
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199755356
- eISBN:
- 9780199345090
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755356.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter performs three functions that introduce the overall contours and goals of the collection. First, it observes that present-day nation-states face a tremendous challenge in managing ...
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This chapter performs three functions that introduce the overall contours and goals of the collection. First, it observes that present-day nation-states face a tremendous challenge in managing environmental problems such as climate change that pay no heed to human-created political boundaries. It goes on to suggest, however, that this problem is nothing new and to indicate that this book will explore how nations have attempted to cope with such problems in the past two centuries or so. Second, the chapter examines how previous scholars have attempted to bring together environmental and international/diplomatic history. Third, this chapter provides brief summaries of all the essays in the book.Less
This chapter performs three functions that introduce the overall contours and goals of the collection. First, it observes that present-day nation-states face a tremendous challenge in managing environmental problems such as climate change that pay no heed to human-created political boundaries. It goes on to suggest, however, that this problem is nothing new and to indicate that this book will explore how nations have attempted to cope with such problems in the past two centuries or so. Second, the chapter examines how previous scholars have attempted to bring together environmental and international/diplomatic history. Third, this chapter provides brief summaries of all the essays in the book.
Erika Marie Bsumek, David Kinkela, and Mark Atwood Lawrence (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199755356
- eISBN:
- 9780199345090
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755356.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
Numerous commentators have observed in recent years that nation-states, with their limited jurisdictions and inevitably self-serving priorities, have little ability to resolve global problems that ...
More
Numerous commentators have observed in recent years that nation-states, with their limited jurisdictions and inevitably self-serving priorities, have little ability to resolve global problems that transcend the capacities of single governments or even groups of governments to address. So it is above all with environmental problems such as climate change, air pollution, and overfishing, problems that can be addressed only through concerted international action. This book argues that this dilemma is not as new as is sometimes suggested. Rather, nation-states have been challenged for many years to respond to global environmental challenges. The essays in this collection explore in various ways how governments have struggled, usually unsuccessfully but occasionally with positive results, to regulate aspects of the transnational environment over the last 200 years or so. It also explores how transnational forces such as environmental activism, expert networks, and economic exchange have affected the behavior of nation-states as they have confronted environmental difficulties. Nation-states are thus depicted as doubly challenged – by environmental problems that defy their control and by globalizing trends that often limit their capabilities. Taken together, the essays illuminate the complexities of global environmental predicaments and enrich ongoing debates about how to devise effective solutions.Less
Numerous commentators have observed in recent years that nation-states, with their limited jurisdictions and inevitably self-serving priorities, have little ability to resolve global problems that transcend the capacities of single governments or even groups of governments to address. So it is above all with environmental problems such as climate change, air pollution, and overfishing, problems that can be addressed only through concerted international action. This book argues that this dilemma is not as new as is sometimes suggested. Rather, nation-states have been challenged for many years to respond to global environmental challenges. The essays in this collection explore in various ways how governments have struggled, usually unsuccessfully but occasionally with positive results, to regulate aspects of the transnational environment over the last 200 years or so. It also explores how transnational forces such as environmental activism, expert networks, and economic exchange have affected the behavior of nation-states as they have confronted environmental difficulties. Nation-states are thus depicted as doubly challenged – by environmental problems that defy their control and by globalizing trends that often limit their capabilities. Taken together, the essays illuminate the complexities of global environmental predicaments and enrich ongoing debates about how to devise effective solutions.
Adrian Howkins
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190249144
- eISBN:
- 9780190249175
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190249144.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, World Modern History
This book examines the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula region from the early twentieth century to the present. As the most politically contested part of the Antarctic continent, the ...
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This book examines the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula region from the early twentieth century to the present. As the most politically contested part of the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Peninsula region is a good location for considering the intersection of diplomatic history and environmental history. In making imperial claims to the “Falkland Islands Dependencies,” British officials argued that the production of useful scientific knowledge about the Antarctic environment helped to justify British ownership. In contrast, Argentines and Chileans made the case that the Antarctica Peninsula belonged to them as a result of geographical proximity, geological continuity, and a general sense of connection. Despite being caught up in the broader struggles between imperialism and nationalism of the mid-twentieth century, the Antarctic Peninsula region was never decolonized. Instead, under the terms of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, existing sovereignty claims and reservations of rights were “frozen” for the duration of the treaty, and the whole Antarctic continent came to be governed by a treaty system that drew much of its authority from the production of useful scientific knowledge. In making an argument for imperial continuity in the history of the Antarctic Peninsula region, an environmental history approach offers a new perspective on the history of Antarctica that suggests that the environment, science, and politics continue to be closely entwined. This in turn has important implications for thinking about connections between diplomatic history and environmental history in different parts of the world and in addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change.Less
This book examines the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula region from the early twentieth century to the present. As the most politically contested part of the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Peninsula region is a good location for considering the intersection of diplomatic history and environmental history. In making imperial claims to the “Falkland Islands Dependencies,” British officials argued that the production of useful scientific knowledge about the Antarctic environment helped to justify British ownership. In contrast, Argentines and Chileans made the case that the Antarctica Peninsula belonged to them as a result of geographical proximity, geological continuity, and a general sense of connection. Despite being caught up in the broader struggles between imperialism and nationalism of the mid-twentieth century, the Antarctic Peninsula region was never decolonized. Instead, under the terms of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, existing sovereignty claims and reservations of rights were “frozen” for the duration of the treaty, and the whole Antarctic continent came to be governed by a treaty system that drew much of its authority from the production of useful scientific knowledge. In making an argument for imperial continuity in the history of the Antarctic Peninsula region, an environmental history approach offers a new perspective on the history of Antarctica that suggests that the environment, science, and politics continue to be closely entwined. This in turn has important implications for thinking about connections between diplomatic history and environmental history in different parts of the world and in addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change.
