Comparative Environmental Politics: Theory, Practice, and Prospects

Combining the theoretical tools of comparative politics with the substantive concerns of environmental policy, experts explore responses to environmental problems across nations and political systems

How do different societies respond politically to environmental problems around the globe? Answering this question requires systematic, cross-national comparisons of political institutions, regulatory styles, and state-society relations. The field of comparative environmental politics approaches this task by bringing the theoretical tools of comparative politics to bear on the substantive concerns of environmental policy. This book outlines a comparative environmental politics framework and applies it to concrete, real-world problems of politics and environmental management.

After a comprehensive review of the literature exploring domestic environmental politics around the world, the book provides a sample of major currents within the field, showing how environmental politics intersects with such topics as the greening of the state, the rise of social movements and green parties, European Union expansion, corporate social responsibility, federalism, political instability, management of local commons, and policymaking under democratic and authoritarian regimes. It offers fresh insights into environmental problems ranging from climate change to water scarcity and the disappearance of tropical forests, and it examines actions by state and nonstate actors at levels from the local to the continental. The book will help scholars and policymakers make sense of how environmental issues and politics are connected around the globe, and is ideal for use in upper-level undergraduateand graduate courses.

Paul F. Steinberg is the Malcolm Lewis Professor of Sustainability and Society and Professor of Political Science and Environmental Policy at Harvey Mudd College. His work explores the political and institutional dimensions of sustainability in diverse countries around the globe, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity conservation and developing countries.

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the coeditor of Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking, and Multilevel Governance (MIT Press).

Paul F. Steinberg is the Malcolm Lewis Professor of Sustainability and Society and Professor of Political Science and Environmental Policy at Harvey Mudd College. His work explores the political and institutional dimensions of sustainability in diverse countries around the globe, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity conservation and developing countries.

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the coeditor of Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking, and Multilevel Governance (MIT Press).

Paul F. Steinberg is the Malcolm Lewis Professor of Sustainability and Society and Professor of Political Science and Environmental Policy at Harvey Mudd College. His work explores the political and institutional dimensions of sustainability in diverse countries around the globe, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity conservation and developing countries.

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the coeditor of Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking, and Multilevel Governance (MIT Press).

James Meadowcroft is Professor in the Department of Political Science and in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, Ottawa.

Erika Weinthal is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tel Aviv University.

Kathryn Hochstetler is an Associate Professor of Political Science at ColoradoState University. Her research has focused on the roles of civil society organizationsin numerous venues—from the United Nations issue conferences tothe Mercosur free trade agreement to Brazilian domestic politics. She has publishedarticles in Comparative Politics, International Studies Quarterly, LatinAmerican Research Review, and World Politics, as well as a number of book chapters.

Paul F. Steinberg is the Malcolm Lewis Professor of Sustainability and Society and Professor of Political Science and Environmental Policy at Harvey Mudd College. His work explores the political and institutional dimensions of sustainability in diverse countries around the globe, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity conservation and developing countries.

Liliana B. Andonova is a Post-Doctoral Reasearch Associate Scholar at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. After February 2004, she will be Assistant Professor of International Relations and Environmental Politics in the Government Department and the Environmental Studies Program at Colby College.

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the coeditor of Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking, and Multilevel Governance (MIT Press).

Henrik Selin is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He is the author of Global Governance of Hazardous Chemicals (MIT Press).

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the coeditor of Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking, and Multilevel Governance (MIT Press).

Paul F. Steinberg is the Malcolm Lewis Professor of Sustainability and Society and Professor of Political Science and Environmental Policy at Harvey Mudd College. His work explores the political and institutional dimensions of sustainability in diverse countries around the globe, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity conservation and developing countries.

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the coeditor of Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking, and Multilevel Governance (MIT Press).