Comparative Environmental Politics: Theory, Practice, and Prospects

Series Foreword

Series Foreword The study of comparative environmental politics and policy dates back at least to the 1970s, when scholars began to compare systematically the way different countries dealt with environmental problems of the time. As interest in the environment and environmental policy grew over the succeeding decades, comparative studies lagged to some extent. Certainly, we have had no shortage of analyses of individual nations and a large number of edited collections examine environmental politics and policy across both developed and developing nations. What has been relatively rare, however, are truly comparative studies—particularly those well grounded in theory—that build on the broader literature of comparative politics and that seek to answer fundamental questions about variation across nations in the way they react to problems of common pool resources, climate change risks, protection of biological diversity, regulation of toxic chemicals, and other environmental threats. Some political systems, for example, are open and invite widespread participation that affects the kind of legislation and regulatory rules that are adopted. Others are far less amenable to outside influences of this kind. Some nations adopt a flexible and consensual process of policy making and implementation; others are far more rigid and adversarial, resulting in a stronger role for the courts to settle the inevitable disputes and lawsuits. Countries also tend to differ as to whether their environmental protection and natural resource conservation efforts are largely centralized in a national government or are basically pursued by lower levels of government. These are fascinating political questions that can be addressed through the comparative study of environmental politics and policy. Moreover, the answers can have both academic and practical value. In this volume, Paul Steinberg and Stacy VanDeveer seek to advance just this kind of study. The two introductory chapters set out the purpose of such inquiry, comprehensively reviewing the pertinent literature and its limitations and laying the groundwork for the “systematic study and comparison of environmental politics in different countries around the globe.”The rest of the book offers chapters by leading figures in the field of comparative environmental politics on a range of key topics, x Series Foreword including the greening of the state; the role of nonstate actors such as businesses, political parties, and environmental organizations; the globalization of public concern for the environment; patterns of national governance and multilevel governance ; institutional effectiveness; and future directions for the field. The authors do a masterful job of capturing the critical aspects of all these subjects and describing them in a way that should appeal to a broad readership. In this way, these chapters collectively advance the study of comparative environmental politics by recognizing the complexity of political processes and the value of using theoretical tools to make sense of that complexity and thus to provide rich insights into why nations make the choices they do. The result should be of great interest not only to scholars of environmental politics and policy, but also to the many practitioners (including policy makers, natural resource managers, and activists ) who seek a better understanding of why governments choose to adopt, implement , and alter environmental policy and what might influence them to change directions. Researchers who study comparative politics and policy more generally should find this volume informative and relevant to their inquiry as well. The book illustrates well the goals of the MIT Press series in American and Comparative Environmental Policy. We encourage work that examines a broad range of environmental policy issues. We are particularly interested in volumes that incorporate interdisciplinary research and focus on the linkages between public policy and environmental problems and issues both within the United States and in cross-national settings. We welcome contributions that analyze the policy dimensions of relationships between humans and the environment from either a theoretical or empirical perspective. At a time when environmental policies are increasingly seen as controversial and new approaches are being implemented widely, we especially encourage studies that assess policy successes and failures, evaluate new institutional arrangements and policy tools, and clarify new directions for environmental politics and policy. The books in this series are written for a wide audience that includes academics, policy makers, environmental scientists and professionals, business and labor leaders, environmental activists, and students concerned with environmental issues. We hope these books contribute to public understanding of environmental problems, issues, and policies of concern today and also suggest promising actions for the future. Sheldon Kamieniecki, University California, Santa Cruz Michael E. Kraft, University of Wisconsin–Green Bay American and Comparative Environmental Policy Series...