Critical Masses: Citizens, Nuclear Weapons Production, and Environmental Destruction in the United States and Russia (American and Comparative Environmental Policy) [Paperback]

Russell J. Dalton (Author), Paula Garb (Author), Nicholas Lovrich (Author), John C. Pierce (Author), John M. Whiteley (Author)

Book Description

Series: American and Comparative Environmental Policy | Publication Date: October 22, 1999

This book investigates how citizens in the United States and Russia have used the democratic process to force their governments to address the horrendous environmental damage caused by the nuclear arms race. It is the first in-depth comparative study of environmental activism and democracy in the two countries. Critical Masses focuses on two crucial areas--the Hanford Reservation in Washington State and the Mayak Complex in Russia--that were at the heart of their nations' nuclear weapons programs, examining how the surrounding communities were affected. It explores nuclear weapons production, how both governments concealed environmental and health dangers from people living nearby, and how Russian and American citizens think about environmental issues. And it provides insights into the process of democratization in Russia and the limits of democracy in the United States, as well as the development of nuclear policy in the post-Cold War era.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John M. Whiteley is Professor of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine. He is the coauthor of Critical Masses: Citizens, Nuclear Weapons Production, and Environmental Destruction in the United States and Russia (MIT Press, 1999).

Product Details

• Paperback: 475 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (October 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262541033
• ISBN-13: 978-0262541039
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,761,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Russell Dalton is a professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine. His research and teaching focuses on the role of citizens in the political process, and how democracies can better address public preferences and the democratic ideal. He has authored or edited more than twenty books and more than a 150 research articles. Dalton has been awarded the Developing Scholar Award by Florida State University, a Fulbright Research Fellowship, Scholar-in-Residence at the Barbra Streisand Center, German Marshall Fund Research Fellowship, the POSCO Fellowship at the East West Center, and the UCI Emeriti Award for Faculty Mentorship. He was founding director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at UC Irvine.