The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy [Paperback]

Neil Carter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0521469945 | ISBN-13: 978-0521469944

This textbook provides students with a comprehensive guide to the range of issues in environmental politics. It covers theory and ideology; pressure groups and party politics; as well as policies, regulation and implementation. The book includes many examples and empirical details from around the world, with complex concepts defined and analyzed. Essay questions, a glossary and guides to further reading enhance the wide-ranging treatment of this important subject area.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The real strength of Carter's book is his ability to combine detailed and rigorous discussion of theory and environmental philosophy with practical examples taken from the policy making world--this gives the book a real strength both in terms of scope but also in terms of accessibility. . . Carter's book is exactly what is needed within this field, namely a challenging, stimulating and very rewarding introduction to a complex literature." European Consortium for Political Research, Green Politics Newsletter

"This is a marvellous book. Light on its feet yet profoundly scholarly and informative; an introduction to environmental politics yet so much more than an introduction. It will leave us all wishing that we had Neil Carter's enviable and productive grasp of such a wide range of material." Andrew Dobson, Keele University

"This volume is an amalgamation of three ways to think about environmental politics.... Recommended for lower- and upper-division undergraduates and two-year technical program students." Choice

"...unique textbook surveys the politics of the environment, providing a comprehensive and comparative introduction to ideas, activism, and policy...this important new textbook includes a glossary, lists of key issues, chapter summaries, and guides to further study." Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society

Book Description

This textbook provides students with a comprehensive guide to the range of issues in environmental politics. It covers theory and ideology; pressure groups and party politics; and polic ies, regulation and implementation. The book contains a mass of examples and empirical detail from around the world, with complex concepts defined and analysed. With essay questions, a glossary shadowing the text, and guides to further reading, this textbook provides a uniquely accessible and wide-ranging treatment of this important subject area.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (December 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521469945
• ISBN-13: 978-0521469944
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent text, June 17, 2003

By 

"u218989" (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy (Paperback)

This book provides an excellent introduction to environmental politics. An overview of environmental philosophy is offered, providing the backdrop for an extensive discussion of the unique hurdles faced by both Green parties and interest groups, and those trying to craft public policy. The author does an excellent job of covering a wide range of topics and provides a useful overview of each, while at the same time offering jumping-off points for interested readers to further pursue individual topics. Highly recommended for students as well as the casual reader.

5.0 out of 5 stars Never mind theory, Carter offers solid factual coverage and understanding, September 5, 2010

By 

Frank T. Manheim (Fairfax VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy (Paperback)

In an interview given in 2008 U.S. Senate Historian Richard Baker stated that historians largely abandoned study of the U.S. Congress and major political issues in the 1960s. To fill the void political scientists moved in. Unfortunately, their approach has tended to be so fragmented by concern for theory that though they might be highly knowledgeable, their voluminous research and publication has been largely ignored by decisionmakers (Nancy Shulock, 1999).

Carter, like that of many political scientists, discerns and discusses many tendencies and movements, often labelled as "isms". In Part I of his book, designed as text for academic study, he reviews concepts like conservationist movements, modern environmentalism, preservationism, ecologism, new politics, traditional policy paradigm, postmaterialism, environmental justice, green consumerism, precautionary principle, holism, anthropocentrism and non anthropocentrism, moral extensionism, environmental fascism, animal liberationism, classical liberalism, authoritarianism, subsidiarity, etc. Because each concept may have critics or detractors, such analysis can leave nonspecialists' heads spinning and understanding less than before.

As he moves into Part II, however, Carter offers a wealth of hard data and historical developments in environmental politics in an even-handed, objective manner. Tables show the first emergence of green parties in different countries, the number of members of major U.S. and British environmental organizations from 1970 and at ten year or narrower intervals thereafter.
The political influence of formal green parties in various European parliaments is discussed, as are major issues, covenants and movements (like the Kyoto Protocol). I have found no better or more thorough book on this subject.

In short, in my opinion, Carter's book is not only exceptionally useful for a policy scholar like me, but also for informed citizens who want to get a good overview of green politics. Regrettably, as a product of the "academic ghetto" (university text) this book probably has not gotten wide circulation (viz. only one review prior to mine) to the general public. In contrast, "trade" or popular books with strong ideological bias in one direction or another can get hundreds of reader reviews.