Greening the Millennium: The New Politics of the Environment (Political Quarterly Monograph Series) [Paperback]

Michael Jacobs (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631206191 | ISBN-13: 978-0631206194 | Publication Date: February 12, 1998 | Edition: 1

This collection of specially commissioned essays aims both to broaden understanding of environmental issues, and to explore their implications for politics. The book discusses the concepts of the 'risk society' and 'ecological modernisation', examines the relationship between science, public policy and democratic renewal, and analyses green politics in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Greening the Millennium edited by London School of Economics geographer Jacobs, more than lives up to its promise...
"I would recommend Greening the Millennium to students and academics in geography, environmental studies, sociology, and political science, as well as to politicians, planners, policymakers, and indeed anyone with an informed interest in 'the environment'." B. Dodson, Queen's University

" This is one of the best assessments of the current state of the environmental debate and eco-politics in Britain which I have read for a long time! Jacobs brings together 17 top contributors from diverse backgrounds. Their analyses are competent, realistic and accessible and add up to a multi-dimensional overview...
" It is a major achievement of this volume that it picks up and critically reviews the major buzz-words, debates and strategies which currently dominate the eco-debate without reproducing either the presently widespread but arguably unjustified green optimism or the equally unjustified older eco-pessimism." Ingolfur Bluhdorn, University of Bath

From the Back Cover

Few people now doubt the seriousness of global environmental degration. Governments and corporations alike proclaim their commitment to ‘sustainable development’. Membership of environmental pressure groups runs into the millions. Environmental issues- from global warming to BSE, water shortages to anti-road protests-are never far away from the headlines. Yet in mainstream political life the environment remains a marginal subject. It is barely contested between the political parties, and largely ignored by the political media. Widespread public concern has not translated into political priority.

This collection of specially commissioned essays seeks to understand the politics of the environment afresh. Placing the environment in the wider context of social, economic and cultural change, it aims both to broaden the understanding of environmental issues in themselves, and to explore the implications of environmental concern for politics in general.

The book is divided into four sections. The first offers some alternative perspectives on contemporary environmental politics, including a debate on the influential idea of the ‘risk society’. The second section looks at the political economy of the environment. It discusses the concept of ‘ecological modernisation’ and the meaning of sustainable development in practice. The third section explores the troubled relationship between science and public policy making, and shows how environmental politics has become bound up with the need to renew the culture and institutions of democracy. The final section examines the evidence of public concern about the environment, draws lessons from the experience of green politics in Germany and the Netherlands, and looks at the prospects for environmental politics in the UK party system.

Written by distinguished academics, actiists and commentators, the book will appeal not only to those concerned about ebvironment, but to anyone with an interest in the future of British politics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (February 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631206191
• ISBN-13: 978-0631206194
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,541,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)