Avner de-Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240388
- eISBN:
- 9780191599033
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240388.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
When constructing environmental policies in democratic regimes, there is a need for a theory that can be used not only by academics but also by politicians and activists. So why has the major part of ...
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When constructing environmental policies in democratic regimes, there is a need for a theory that can be used not only by academics but also by politicians and activists. So why has the major part of environmental ethics failed to penetrate environmental policy and serve as its rationale? Obviously, there is a gap between the questions that environmental philosophers discuss and the issues that motivate environmental activists. Avner de‐Shalit attempts to bridge this gap by combining tools of political philosophy with questions of environmental ethics and environmental politics. He defends a radical position in relation to both environmental protection and social policies, in order to put forward a political theory, which is not only philosophically sound, but also relevant to the practice of environmental activism. The author argues that several directions in environmental ethics can be at odds with the contemporary political debates surrounding environmental politics. He then goes on to examine the environmental scope of liberalism, communitarianism, participatory democracy, and socialism, and concludes that while elements of liberalism and communitarianism may support environmental protection, it is participatory democracy and a modified version of socialism that are crucial for protecting the environment.Less
When constructing environmental policies in democratic regimes, there is a need for a theory that can be used not only by academics but also by politicians and activists. So why has the major part of environmental ethics failed to penetrate environmental policy and serve as its rationale? Obviously, there is a gap between the questions that environmental philosophers discuss and the issues that motivate environmental activists. Avner de‐Shalit attempts to bridge this gap by combining tools of political philosophy with questions of environmental ethics and environmental politics. He defends a radical position in relation to both environmental protection and social policies, in order to put forward a political theory, which is not only philosophically sound, but also relevant to the practice of environmental activism. The author argues that several directions in environmental ethics can be at odds with the contemporary political debates surrounding environmental politics. He then goes on to examine the environmental scope of liberalism, communitarianism, participatory democracy, and socialism, and concludes that while elements of liberalism and communitarianism may support environmental protection, it is participatory democracy and a modified version of socialism that are crucial for protecting the environment.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five ...
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This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five case studies are presented. Struggles over the Kyoto agreement in Australia and the United States may represent classic cases of domestic constraints on international commitments. In early 2001 both governments announced their decision not to ratify the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol also touched off an intense debate over international environmental policy and sovereignty in Canada. At the same time, France and Germany were leading players in international diplomacy that helped to develop the Kyoto Protocol, and they were instrumental in pushing for ratification by all EU member states.Less
This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five case studies are presented. Struggles over the Kyoto agreement in Australia and the United States may represent classic cases of domestic constraints on international commitments. In early 2001 both governments announced their decision not to ratify the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol also touched off an intense debate over international environmental policy and sovereignty in Canada. At the same time, France and Germany were leading players in international diplomacy that helped to develop the Kyoto Protocol, and they were instrumental in pushing for ratification by all EU member states.
Maarten Hajer and Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829509X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The reason that environmental policy in general and the policy of sustainable development in particular have failed is that they have been conceptualized in a way that has not compelled institutions ...
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The reason that environmental policy in general and the policy of sustainable development in particular have failed is that they have been conceptualized in a way that has not compelled institutions to reconsider the normative and cultural assumptions and premises underlying their operational practices. On the contrary, such institutions have created new sets of mutual interlinkages around an understanding of sustainable development that perpetuates modern techno‐industrial arrangements. This chapter describes how this misconceptualization has occurred and outlines an alternative conceptualization that seeks to revise the cultural assumptions involved. It concludes with brief discussions of the remaining chapters in the book.Less
The reason that environmental policy in general and the policy of sustainable development in particular have failed is that they have been conceptualized in a way that has not compelled institutions to reconsider the normative and cultural assumptions and premises underlying their operational practices. On the contrary, such institutions have created new sets of mutual interlinkages around an understanding of sustainable development that perpetuates modern techno‐industrial arrangements. This chapter describes how this misconceptualization has occurred and outlines an alternative conceptualization that seeks to revise the cultural assumptions involved. It concludes with brief discussions of the remaining chapters in the book.
Matthew Paterson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199265206
- eISBN:
- 9780191601866
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199265208.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The environment has emerged as a key issue in global politics since the early 1970s, and the issues that comprise the ‘environmental crisis’ are widely regarded to have had significant impacts on ...
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The environment has emerged as a key issue in global politics since the early 1970s, and the issues that comprise the ‘environmental crisis’ are widely regarded to have had significant impacts on international politics. At the same time, the international society or English School of International Relations tradition has rarely had much explicit to say regarding the implications of environmental degradation for International Relations, although at a first look, it is a surprise that English School authors have not looked to environmental politics for sources of support for their arguments. This chapter attempts to elaborate how such an engagement between international environmental politics and the English School might develop. It begins with an elaboration of Hedley Bull's (1977) passage on the environment in The Anarchical Society, and then proceeds through a discussion of contemporary accounts of ‘global environmental governance’, in terms of programmatic reform, international regimes, multilevel governance, deterritorialization, and corporate governance and governance from below. The conclusion reached is that despite a superficial attraction, discussions of global environmental governance undermine the image of international society in English School accounts in two principal ways: first, they show that thinking about international society (its norms, the tensions and conversation between the three traditions in English School, and so on) is limited by the lack of understanding of the specifically capitalist character of the states‐system; and second, they show that the image given in Bull – that any alternatives to the states‐system tend to founder on the claim that states will not voluntarily cede their authority – is misplaced, for practices of global governance are emerging in the environmental field that operate outside the states‐system but where states have never given permission in the manner envisaged by Bull and others to be necessary.Less
The environment has emerged as a key issue in global politics since the early 1970s, and the issues that comprise the ‘environmental crisis’ are widely regarded to have had significant impacts on international politics. At the same time, the international society or English School of International Relations tradition has rarely had much explicit to say regarding the implications of environmental degradation for International Relations, although at a first look, it is a surprise that English School authors have not looked to environmental politics for sources of support for their arguments. This chapter attempts to elaborate how such an engagement between international environmental politics and the English School might develop. It begins with an elaboration of Hedley Bull's (1977) passage on the environment in The Anarchical Society, and then proceeds through a discussion of contemporary accounts of ‘global environmental governance’, in terms of programmatic reform, international regimes, multilevel governance, deterritorialization, and corporate governance and governance from below. The conclusion reached is that despite a superficial attraction, discussions of global environmental governance undermine the image of international society in English School accounts in two principal ways: first, they show that thinking about international society (its norms, the tensions and conversation between the three traditions in English School, and so on) is limited by the lack of understanding of the specifically capitalist character of the states‐system; and second, they show that the image given in Bull – that any alternatives to the states‐system tend to founder on the claim that states will not voluntarily cede their authority – is misplaced, for practices of global governance are emerging in the environmental field that operate outside the states‐system but where states have never given permission in the manner envisaged by Bull and others to be necessary.
Avner de‐Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240388
- eISBN:
- 9780191599033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240388.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
What kind of theory should and can we use to persuade others of the importance of environment‐friendly policies? More precisely, in what sense is liberalism environment friendly and in what sense is ...
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What kind of theory should and can we use to persuade others of the importance of environment‐friendly policies? More precisely, in what sense is liberalism environment friendly and in what sense is it not? de‐Shalit suggests that liberalism has been exceptionally effective in eliminating environmental literacy and raising environmental awareness. Nevertheless, it is inadequate when it comes to fostering environmental political consciousness.Less
What kind of theory should and can we use to persuade others of the importance of environment‐friendly policies? More precisely, in what sense is liberalism environment friendly and in what sense is it not? de‐Shalit suggests that liberalism has been exceptionally effective in eliminating environmental literacy and raising environmental awareness. Nevertheless, it is inadequate when it comes to fostering environmental political consciousness.
Frank Fischer and Maarten Hajer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599262
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829509X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The environmental politics of sustainable development has reached an impasse, despite the optimism that attended the ‘Earth Summit’ held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Notwithstanding wide recognition of ...
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The environmental politics of sustainable development has reached an impasse, despite the optimism that attended the ‘Earth Summit’ held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Notwithstanding wide recognition of the environmental crisis, environmental protection continues to be regarded as less important than economic competitiveness. Because of the failure of governments to reach a consensus on appropriate policy action, sustainable development has in practice served mainly to extend the technocratic approaches and solutions that have failed in the past. By examining this failed discourse of environmental policy, the contributors to this book call attention to our neglect of the underlying cultural dynamics of ecological politics. In providing a critical assessment of the ways in which today's economic and political institutions address environmental policy, this book brings into focus the socio–cultural dimensions of the environmental debate. How is our way of life implicated in the crisis? Are there implicit cultural politics at work in policy‐making? What role can science play in finding acceptable solutions? This book calls for a new balance between theoretical‐analytic assessment of the environmental crisis and a practical approach to policy that takes account of local circumstances, norms, and knowledge. The political challenge is to find ways of addressing humanity's wish to live together with nature.Less
The environmental politics of sustainable development has reached an impasse, despite the optimism that attended the ‘Earth Summit’ held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Notwithstanding wide recognition of the environmental crisis, environmental protection continues to be regarded as less important than economic competitiveness. Because of the failure of governments to reach a consensus on appropriate policy action, sustainable development has in practice served mainly to extend the technocratic approaches and solutions that have failed in the past. By examining this failed discourse of environmental policy, the contributors to this book call attention to our neglect of the underlying cultural dynamics of ecological politics. In providing a critical assessment of the ways in which today's economic and political institutions address environmental policy, this book brings into focus the socio–cultural dimensions of the environmental debate. How is our way of life implicated in the crisis? Are there implicit cultural politics at work in policy‐making? What role can science play in finding acceptable solutions? This book calls for a new balance between theoretical‐analytic assessment of the environmental crisis and a practical approach to policy that takes account of local circumstances, norms, and knowledge. The political challenge is to find ways of addressing humanity's wish to live together with nature.
Maarten A. Hajer
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198293330
- eISBN:
- 9780191599408
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829333X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The book identifies the emergence and increasing political importance of ‘ecological modernization’ as a new language in environmental politics. In this conceptual language, environmental management ...
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The book identifies the emergence and increasing political importance of ‘ecological modernization’ as a new language in environmental politics. In this conceptual language, environmental management appears as a ‘positive sum game’. Combining social theory with detailed empirical analysis, the book illustrates the social and political dynamics of ecological modernization through a study of the acid rain controversies in Great Britain and the Netherlands. The book concludes with a reflection on the institutional challenge of environmental politics in the years to come. The book is not only seen as a ‘modern classic’ in the literature on environmental politics but is also renowned for its application of discourse analysis to the study of the policy process.Less
The book identifies the emergence and increasing political importance of ‘ecological modernization’ as a new language in environmental politics. In this conceptual language, environmental management appears as a ‘positive sum game’. Combining social theory with detailed empirical analysis, the book illustrates the social and political dynamics of ecological modernization through a study of the acid rain controversies in Great Britain and the Netherlands. The book concludes with a reflection on the institutional challenge of environmental politics in the years to come. The book is not only seen as a ‘modern classic’ in the literature on environmental politics but is also renowned for its application of discourse analysis to the study of the policy process.
Masja Nas
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294757
- eISBN:
- 9780191599040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294751.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter attempts to gain an insight into the relationship between changing value orientations and the concept of ‘greenness’. Unfortunately, there exist no data permitting green attitudes to be ...
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This chapter attempts to gain an insight into the relationship between changing value orientations and the concept of ‘greenness’. Unfortunately, there exist no data permitting green attitudes to be studied alongside religious‐secular or left‐right materialist value orientations, so the analysis only uses data on the materialist and post‐materialist value orientation. After a brief summary of environmentalist political thinking, the chapter presents an operationalization of ‘greenness’ and a typology of green attitudes. It concludes with a discussion of greenness and post‐materialism, at the aggregate as well as the individual level.Less
This chapter attempts to gain an insight into the relationship between changing value orientations and the concept of ‘greenness’. Unfortunately, there exist no data permitting green attitudes to be studied alongside religious‐secular or left‐right materialist value orientations, so the analysis only uses data on the materialist and post‐materialist value orientation. After a brief summary of environmentalist political thinking, the chapter presents an operationalization of ‘greenness’ and a typology of green attitudes. It concludes with a discussion of greenness and post‐materialism, at the aggregate as well as the individual level.
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199282838
- eISBN:
- 9780191712487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199282838.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter demonstrates the ways in which policy is more fundamentally a sociopolitical construct than technical/instrumental tool, as it is approached in much of policy science. Employing a ...
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This chapter demonstrates the ways in which policy is more fundamentally a sociopolitical construct than technical/instrumental tool, as it is approached in much of policy science. Employing a constructivist sociology of knowledge, the discussion illustrates the ways in which a policy is a product of multiple realities and, as such, is as much a matter for interpretive analysis as it is techno-empirical assessment. To clarify the theoretical position, the second half of the chapter demonstrates the point through the political struggle over sustainable development in environmental policy. Beyond technical knowledge, the case points to how policies are socially experienced — in particular, how they supply citizens with the social sense of collective participation in mutual ventures with fellow members of their own communities.Less
This chapter demonstrates the ways in which policy is more fundamentally a sociopolitical construct than technical/instrumental tool, as it is approached in much of policy science. Employing a constructivist sociology of knowledge, the discussion illustrates the ways in which a policy is a product of multiple realities and, as such, is as much a matter for interpretive analysis as it is techno-empirical assessment. To clarify the theoretical position, the second half of the chapter demonstrates the point through the political struggle over sustainable development in environmental policy. Beyond technical knowledge, the case points to how policies are socially experienced — in particular, how they supply citizens with the social sense of collective participation in mutual ventures with fellow members of their own communities.
Wolfgang Sachs
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829509X.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The current environmental crisis is a long‐delayed ‘boomerang effect’ of the North's exploitation of the South, which began with Christopher Columbus. Economic development has started to bump up ...
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The current environmental crisis is a long‐delayed ‘boomerang effect’ of the North's exploitation of the South, which began with Christopher Columbus. Economic development has started to bump up against the limits imposed by resource constraints, and the stopgap concept of sustainable development raises the central issue of economic distributive justice by proposing that the development that made the North rich should now be arrested or controlled so that it can stay that way. Development is a finite concept that no longer meets the global social requirement. There are three ways of looking at sustainable development, which clarify the cultural values involved in responding to it. First, the contest perspective, which simply acknowledges that the North has won the development race. Second, the astronaut's perspective, which regards the globe as an object to be managed and envisages various possibilities of global cooperation to that effect; unfortunately, it presupposes a non‐existent cultural and legislative framework that constrains the rich for the benefit of the poor. Third, the home perspective, which envisages a self‐restraint on the part of the North in pushing a concept of development that protects ‘moral economies’ and searches for decentralized rather than accumulation‐centred forms of society.Less
The current environmental crisis is a long‐delayed ‘boomerang effect’ of the North's exploitation of the South, which began with Christopher Columbus. Economic development has started to bump up against the limits imposed by resource constraints, and the stopgap concept of sustainable development raises the central issue of economic distributive justice by proposing that the development that made the North rich should now be arrested or controlled so that it can stay that way. Development is a finite concept that no longer meets the global social requirement. There are three ways of looking at sustainable development, which clarify the cultural values involved in responding to it. First, the contest perspective, which simply acknowledges that the North has won the development race. Second, the astronaut's perspective, which regards the globe as an object to be managed and envisages various possibilities of global cooperation to that effect; unfortunately, it presupposes a non‐existent cultural and legislative framework that constrains the rich for the benefit of the poor. Third, the home perspective, which envisages a self‐restraint on the part of the North in pushing a concept of development that protects ‘moral economies’ and searches for decentralized rather than accumulation‐centred forms of society.
Christoph Knill and Duncan Liefferink
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719075803
- eISBN:
- 9781781701461
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719075803.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This book provides a comprehensive introduction into the making, development and implementation of European Union (EU) environmental politics. The environmental policy of the EU has made impressive ...
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This book provides a comprehensive introduction into the making, development and implementation of European Union (EU) environmental politics. The environmental policy of the EU has made impressive progress during the last three decades. Starting off as little more than a by-product of economic integration, it has developed into a central area of EU policy making. The book explores the driving forces behind this development, identifying the central areas and instruments of EU environmental policy, and analyses the factors influencing not only the formulation, but also the implementation, of environmental measures in the complex multi-level setting of the EU. On this basis, it takes a critical look at the EU's effectiveness and problem-solving capacity in the environmental field, employing an analytical perspective based on the theoretical state of the art of EU policy studies. Thus, the book provides an overview of the major theoretical approaches available in the field. At the same time, the discussion is illustrated by a broad range of empirical findings with regard to the formulation and implementation of EU environmental policy.Less
This book provides a comprehensive introduction into the making, development and implementation of European Union (EU) environmental politics. The environmental policy of the EU has made impressive progress during the last three decades. Starting off as little more than a by-product of economic integration, it has developed into a central area of EU policy making. The book explores the driving forces behind this development, identifying the central areas and instruments of EU environmental policy, and analyses the factors influencing not only the formulation, but also the implementation, of environmental measures in the complex multi-level setting of the EU. On this basis, it takes a critical look at the EU's effectiveness and problem-solving capacity in the environmental field, employing an analytical perspective based on the theoretical state of the art of EU policy studies. Thus, the book provides an overview of the major theoretical approaches available in the field. At the same time, the discussion is illustrated by a broad range of empirical findings with regard to the formulation and implementation of EU environmental policy.
Jessica F. Green
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157580
- eISBN:
- 9781400848669
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157580.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book examines how the global environment is regulated and, in particular, the diversity of actors involved in addressing the problem of climate change. It considers the role of private actors, ...
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This book examines how the global environment is regulated and, in particular, the diversity of actors involved in addressing the problem of climate change. It considers the role of private actors, such as nongovernmental organizations and transnational networks, in global environmental politics. It shows that private actors are increasingly assuming duties normally associated with governments. They are taking on the role of regulators, as they create, implement, and enforce rules to manage global environmental problems. The book asks when and why private actors perform these regulatory roles. It cites three examples to demonstrate the diversity of private authority and the ways in which nonstate actors are serving as rule makers: the first deals with Walmart, the second is about the ruffed lemur, and the third relates to the Kyoto Protocol. The book distinguishes between two different types of private authority: delegated authority and entrepreneurial authority.Less
This book examines how the global environment is regulated and, in particular, the diversity of actors involved in addressing the problem of climate change. It considers the role of private actors, such as nongovernmental organizations and transnational networks, in global environmental politics. It shows that private actors are increasingly assuming duties normally associated with governments. They are taking on the role of regulators, as they create, implement, and enforce rules to manage global environmental problems. The book asks when and why private actors perform these regulatory roles. It cites three examples to demonstrate the diversity of private authority and the ways in which nonstate actors are serving as rule makers: the first deals with Walmart, the second is about the ruffed lemur, and the third relates to the Kyoto Protocol. The book distinguishes between two different types of private authority: delegated authority and entrepreneurial authority.
Jessica F. Green
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157580
- eISBN:
- 9781400848669
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157580.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book examines the role of nonstate actors in global environmental politics, arguing that a fuller understanding of their role requires a new way of conceptualizing private authority. It ...
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This book examines the role of nonstate actors in global environmental politics, arguing that a fuller understanding of their role requires a new way of conceptualizing private authority. It identifies two distinct forms of private authority—one in which states delegate authority to private actors, and another in which entrepreneurial actors generate their own rules, persuading others to adopt them. Drawing on a wealth of empirical evidence spanning a century of environmental rule making, the book shows how the delegation of authority to private actors has played a small but consistent role in multilateral environmental agreements over the past fifty years, largely in the area of treaty implementation. This contrasts with entrepreneurial authority, where most private environmental rules have been created in the past two decades. The book traces how this dynamic and fast-growing form of private authority is becoming increasingly common in areas ranging from organic food to green building practices to sustainable tourism. It persuasively argues that the configuration of state preferences and the existing institutional landscape are paramount to explaining why private authority emerges and assumes the form that it does. In-depth cases on climate change provide evidence for the book's arguments. The book demonstrates that authority in world politics is diffused across multiple levels and diverse actors, and it offers a more complete picture of how private actors are helping to shape our response to today's most pressing environmental problems.Less
This book examines the role of nonstate actors in global environmental politics, arguing that a fuller understanding of their role requires a new way of conceptualizing private authority. It identifies two distinct forms of private authority—one in which states delegate authority to private actors, and another in which entrepreneurial actors generate their own rules, persuading others to adopt them. Drawing on a wealth of empirical evidence spanning a century of environmental rule making, the book shows how the delegation of authority to private actors has played a small but consistent role in multilateral environmental agreements over the past fifty years, largely in the area of treaty implementation. This contrasts with entrepreneurial authority, where most private environmental rules have been created in the past two decades. The book traces how this dynamic and fast-growing form of private authority is becoming increasingly common in areas ranging from organic food to green building practices to sustainable tourism. It persuasively argues that the configuration of state preferences and the existing institutional landscape are paramount to explaining why private authority emerges and assumes the form that it does. In-depth cases on climate change provide evidence for the book's arguments. The book demonstrates that authority in world politics is diffused across multiple levels and diverse actors, and it offers a more complete picture of how private actors are helping to shape our response to today's most pressing environmental problems.
Marc Allen Eisner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195373929
- eISBN:
- 9780199852291
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373929.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Environmental protection constitutes one of the more significant expansions of state authority during the last decades of the 20th century. The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 and ...
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Environmental protection constitutes one of the more significant expansions of state authority during the last decades of the 20th century. The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 and was granted the authority to regulate corporate practices on an economy-wide basis. For conservative opponents, the new social regulation was little more than elite social engineering committed to expanding the administrative state and running roughshod over private property, markets, and states' rights. Although environmental and public interest groups realized some considerable victories in the early 1970s, the new regulations stimulated a conservative countermobilization. Corporations and conservative foundations made heavy investments in policy think tanks and Republican candidates committed to restraining the expansion of regulatory authority. This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the status quo ante at the beginning of the period in question. Next, it examines the position of the environment in post-war conservative thought. With these foundations in place, it looks at two major controversies — the tidelands debates and wilderness preservation — which, when combined, extend across the period in question. These two cases reveal the ways in which environmental disputes were framed relative to larger ideological conflicts and issues of institutional design. Moreover, while they illustrate the extent to which the fluctuating fortunes of conservatives shaped the outcomes, they also reveal the overwhelming power of business and development interests in forcing legislative compromises, regardless of the partisan control of the national government.Less
Environmental protection constitutes one of the more significant expansions of state authority during the last decades of the 20th century. The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 and was granted the authority to regulate corporate practices on an economy-wide basis. For conservative opponents, the new social regulation was little more than elite social engineering committed to expanding the administrative state and running roughshod over private property, markets, and states' rights. Although environmental and public interest groups realized some considerable victories in the early 1970s, the new regulations stimulated a conservative countermobilization. Corporations and conservative foundations made heavy investments in policy think tanks and Republican candidates committed to restraining the expansion of regulatory authority. This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the status quo ante at the beginning of the period in question. Next, it examines the position of the environment in post-war conservative thought. With these foundations in place, it looks at two major controversies — the tidelands debates and wilderness preservation — which, when combined, extend across the period in question. These two cases reveal the ways in which environmental disputes were framed relative to larger ideological conflicts and issues of institutional design. Moreover, while they illustrate the extent to which the fluctuating fortunes of conservatives shaped the outcomes, they also reveal the overwhelming power of business and development interests in forcing legislative compromises, regardless of the partisan control of the national government.
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226285269
- eISBN:
- 9780226285573
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226285573.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
The first detailed study of the ‘peak oil movement,’ this book combines sociology, literary criticism, history and environmental studies to explore an early twenty-first century environmental social ...
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The first detailed study of the ‘peak oil movement,’ this book combines sociology, literary criticism, history and environmental studies to explore an early twenty-first century environmental social movement and its implications for American politics, contemporary social movements, and environmental issues, including climate change. It describes the ideology of ‘peakism’ and the actions taken by over 100,000 peak oil believers to prepare for the post-carbon future, and places this group in the historical context of beliefs about scarcity and abundance in recent American history. A group of leftists who largely responded as survivalists to a perceived environmental crisis, Peak Politics views the peak oil movement as an indicator of the rise of libertarian ideals in American political culture over the last four decades, and explores the role of digital technologies in this ‘libertarian shift.’ It argues that while ‘peakists’ overestimated the rapidity and consequences of energy depletion, they present an important case study of proportionate responses to the environmental crises of our current age, the Anthropocene, such as climate change and resource depletion. Their experiences provide an instructive study of the social organization of denial of environmental problems; the role of oil in modern life; the political impact of digital technologies; the political quiescence of some leftist environmentalists; the racial and gender dynamics of post-apocalyptic fantasies; and the convergence of global environmental problems and libertarian political solutions.Less
The first detailed study of the ‘peak oil movement,’ this book combines sociology, literary criticism, history and environmental studies to explore an early twenty-first century environmental social movement and its implications for American politics, contemporary social movements, and environmental issues, including climate change. It describes the ideology of ‘peakism’ and the actions taken by over 100,000 peak oil believers to prepare for the post-carbon future, and places this group in the historical context of beliefs about scarcity and abundance in recent American history. A group of leftists who largely responded as survivalists to a perceived environmental crisis, Peak Politics views the peak oil movement as an indicator of the rise of libertarian ideals in American political culture over the last four decades, and explores the role of digital technologies in this ‘libertarian shift.’ It argues that while ‘peakists’ overestimated the rapidity and consequences of energy depletion, they present an important case study of proportionate responses to the environmental crises of our current age, the Anthropocene, such as climate change and resource depletion. Their experiences provide an instructive study of the social organization of denial of environmental problems; the role of oil in modern life; the political impact of digital technologies; the political quiescence of some leftist environmentalists; the racial and gender dynamics of post-apocalyptic fantasies; and the convergence of global environmental problems and libertarian political solutions.
David Vogel
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691196176
- eISBN:
- 9781400889594
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691196176.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This concluding chapter reviews the key themes of the book and explores some of the broader implications of this analysis of California's regulatory leadership. Three points are particularly ...
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This concluding chapter reviews the key themes of the book and explores some of the broader implications of this analysis of California's regulatory leadership. Three points are particularly critical: the importance of the local dimension of environmental policies, the role of business in environmental politics, and the limits of environmental regulation. The chapter then discusses the increasingly important role states are playing in environmental protection in the United States and shows how California has economically benefited from its environmental policy leadership. One important reason why California has been able to consistently adopt more stringent regulations than those of the federal government and other states is that many of its improvements in local and state environmental quality have been a source of competitive advantage. The improvements it has made in air quality—most notably in Los Angeles—its protection of the trees in the Sierras and along the Pacific, and its land use controls along the coast and around the San Francisco Bay have all made California a more attractive place to move to, invest in, and visit.Less
This concluding chapter reviews the key themes of the book and explores some of the broader implications of this analysis of California's regulatory leadership. Three points are particularly critical: the importance of the local dimension of environmental policies, the role of business in environmental politics, and the limits of environmental regulation. The chapter then discusses the increasingly important role states are playing in environmental protection in the United States and shows how California has economically benefited from its environmental policy leadership. One important reason why California has been able to consistently adopt more stringent regulations than those of the federal government and other states is that many of its improvements in local and state environmental quality have been a source of competitive advantage. The improvements it has made in air quality—most notably in Los Angeles—its protection of the trees in the Sierras and along the Pacific, and its land use controls along the coast and around the San Francisco Bay have all made California a more attractive place to move to, invest in, and visit.
Andreas Duit
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027120
- eISBN:
- 9780262323871
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027120.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This book is a comparative study of environmental governance that highlights the crucial role played by the state in environmental politics and policy. By offering cross-national comparisons of ...
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This book is a comparative study of environmental governance that highlights the crucial role played by the state in environmental politics and policy. By offering cross-national comparisons of environmental governance in both developed and developing countries, it demonstrates the analytical power of the comparative approach to the study of environmental politics and policy. In particular, it examines how different societies are responding politically, administratively, and institutionally to the challenge of global environmental change. Topics include alternative approaches to estimating comparative environmental performance; the idea of a “race to the bottom” in terms of environmental policy standards; policy outcomes in wind energy sectors of Germany and the United States; fisheries management in several African countries; sustainable forest management in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Peru; and the effect of political rights on levels of stakeholder participation in conservation programs.Less
This book is a comparative study of environmental governance that highlights the crucial role played by the state in environmental politics and policy. By offering cross-national comparisons of environmental governance in both developed and developing countries, it demonstrates the analytical power of the comparative approach to the study of environmental politics and policy. In particular, it examines how different societies are responding politically, administratively, and institutionally to the challenge of global environmental change. Topics include alternative approaches to estimating comparative environmental performance; the idea of a “race to the bottom” in terms of environmental policy standards; policy outcomes in wind energy sectors of Germany and the United States; fisheries management in several African countries; sustainable forest management in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Peru; and the effect of political rights on levels of stakeholder participation in conservation programs.
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226285269
- eISBN:
- 9780226285573
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226285573.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
This chapter situates peakists’ sense of impending collapse in the context of the long history of American apocalypticism and highlights the ways that peakist narratives borrowed and diverted from ...
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This chapter situates peakists’ sense of impending collapse in the context of the long history of American apocalypticism and highlights the ways that peakist narratives borrowed and diverted from previous millennial prophecies. It recapitulates the long history of American apocalypticism and charts the influence of one recent manifestation, eco-apocalyptic Hollywood disaster movies of the 1990s and 2000s, on peakists’ conception of environmental change. Via the genre of peak oil fiction, a close-reading of James Howard Kunstler’s post-petroleum novel World Made By Hand (2008) and debates on online forums, it connects the ‘excitement’ that many peakists felt about the post-peak world to their anti-capitalist aspirations. As solutions to ecological crises through electoral politics seem unlikely to many Americans, the prophecy of peak oil provided one means of imagining a significantly different world. Adherents saw peak oil as a transformative event that might put an end to American imperialism, capitalism, and environmental destruction and deliver a more sustainable future. This revolution would not be authored by elected politicians or social movements, but by the petroleum-dependent American way of life tripping over its ecological limits.Less
This chapter situates peakists’ sense of impending collapse in the context of the long history of American apocalypticism and highlights the ways that peakist narratives borrowed and diverted from previous millennial prophecies. It recapitulates the long history of American apocalypticism and charts the influence of one recent manifestation, eco-apocalyptic Hollywood disaster movies of the 1990s and 2000s, on peakists’ conception of environmental change. Via the genre of peak oil fiction, a close-reading of James Howard Kunstler’s post-petroleum novel World Made By Hand (2008) and debates on online forums, it connects the ‘excitement’ that many peakists felt about the post-peak world to their anti-capitalist aspirations. As solutions to ecological crises through electoral politics seem unlikely to many Americans, the prophecy of peak oil provided one means of imagining a significantly different world. Adherents saw peak oil as a transformative event that might put an end to American imperialism, capitalism, and environmental destruction and deliver a more sustainable future. This revolution would not be authored by elected politicians or social movements, but by the petroleum-dependent American way of life tripping over its ecological limits.
Shizuka Oshitani
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719069383
- eISBN:
- 9781781701546
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719069383.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter gives background information on policy-making to tackle the global warming problem in Japan and Britain. It has already been mentioned that Japan could be considered corporatist and ...
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This chapter gives background information on policy-making to tackle the global warming problem in Japan and Britain. It has already been mentioned that Japan could be considered corporatist and Britain pluralist in terms of government-industry relations, patterns of interest representation, and the norm of decision-making. The chapter explains how these differences are actually reflected in the traditionally dominant environmental policy styles of the two countries. It considers those industrial structural contexts that have important implications for the politics of global warming. It first describes policy styles and environmental politics in Japan, focusing on consensus, concertation, and developmentalism. It then discusses pitfalls in environmental policy in Japan, consultation as well as science and reactivism in Britain, and the main actors who are either very concerned about or very committed to the policy of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.Less
This chapter gives background information on policy-making to tackle the global warming problem in Japan and Britain. It has already been mentioned that Japan could be considered corporatist and Britain pluralist in terms of government-industry relations, patterns of interest representation, and the norm of decision-making. The chapter explains how these differences are actually reflected in the traditionally dominant environmental policy styles of the two countries. It considers those industrial structural contexts that have important implications for the politics of global warming. It first describes policy styles and environmental politics in Japan, focusing on consensus, concertation, and developmentalism. It then discusses pitfalls in environmental policy in Japan, consultation as well as science and reactivism in Britain, and the main actors who are either very concerned about or very committed to the policy of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Zsuzsa Gille
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520230248
- eISBN:
- 9780520935976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520230248.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter presents the politics of toxic wastes, which shows a very different picture of industrial pollution in this transition. It also adds a new dimension to the issue of sustainability. It ...
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This chapter presents the politics of toxic wastes, which shows a very different picture of industrial pollution in this transition. It also adds a new dimension to the issue of sustainability. It discusses the plight of the small town of Garé. It examines the actual mechanisms of state-society communication about environmental matters under state socialism and illustrates that certain groups and certain issues were in fact favored by this mechanism. The history of Garé's dump offers a general lesson about what social and political dynamics prevent an environmental state-society synergy from developing but also offers a vision of what sort of alliances and communications between agents are necessary for moving toward a synergistically created sustainable society. The wastes Budapest Chemical Works (BCW) deposited in Garé resulted from the firm's failure to rely on state subsidies and from pressures from the world market.Less
This chapter presents the politics of toxic wastes, which shows a very different picture of industrial pollution in this transition. It also adds a new dimension to the issue of sustainability. It discusses the plight of the small town of Garé. It examines the actual mechanisms of state-society communication about environmental matters under state socialism and illustrates that certain groups and certain issues were in fact favored by this mechanism. The history of Garé's dump offers a general lesson about what social and political dynamics prevent an environmental state-society synergy from developing but also offers a vision of what sort of alliances and communications between agents are necessary for moving toward a synergistically created sustainable society. The wastes Budapest Chemical Works (BCW) deposited in Garé resulted from the firm's failure to rely on state subsidies and from pressures from the world market.
