Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- July 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199594917
- eISBN:
- 9780191842108
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199594917.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter extends the preceding discussion about environmental democracy to the question of the “green state.” Debates about the possibility of green democratic states raise relevant issues for an ...
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This chapter extends the preceding discussion about environmental democracy to the question of the “green state.” Debates about the possibility of green democratic states raise relevant issues for an assessment of democratic environmental prospects. For this reason, the chapter examines the theories of three leading environmental political theorists: Eckersley, Dryzek, and Barry. Although their works largely fall far short of identifying practical political openings for restructuring existing state institutions and practices, the issues and problems they raise remain instructive. The second half of the chapter assesses these concerns against broader contemporary political trends, in particular concerns about “democratic deficits” and the theories of “post-democracy” that have accompanied them. It examines the “ecological paradox” that a post-democratic politics poses for a sustainable transformation. These issues suggest that the pursuit of environmental democracy might best look for alternative locations outside of the state.Less
This chapter extends the preceding discussion about environmental democracy to the question of the “green state.” Debates about the possibility of green democratic states raise relevant issues for an assessment of democratic environmental prospects. For this reason, the chapter examines the theories of three leading environmental political theorists: Eckersley, Dryzek, and Barry. Although their works largely fall far short of identifying practical political openings for restructuring existing state institutions and practices, the issues and problems they raise remain instructive. The second half of the chapter assesses these concerns against broader contemporary political trends, in particular concerns about “democratic deficits” and the theories of “post-democracy” that have accompanied them. It examines the “ecological paradox” that a post-democratic politics poses for a sustainable transformation. These issues suggest that the pursuit of environmental democracy might best look for alternative locations outside of the state.
