Showing papers in "Environmental Politics in 1994"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors deal with the processes of location of environmentally hazardous activities and illustrate the "peripheralisation" of certain, already backward, regions, and their relation to the core areas of the state.
Abstract: Environmental inequality is an outcome of social inequality. This article deals with the processes of location of environmentally hazardous activities. These processes illustrate the ‘peripheralisation’ of certain, already backward, regions. The political, economic and social characteristics of these peripheries and their relation to the core areas of the state seem to reproduce the pattern of social, spatial and environmental inequality. Evidence from case studies of the location of brickmaking and nuclear waste in the UK and of the location of hazardous industry in Belgium can be used to identify the process of peripheralisation and its consequences. Some political issues, including mechanisms of centralisation and measures of compensation that emerge from these findings are of considerable analytical importance.
89 citations
TL;DR: The European Union (EU) water policy process is an example of a rather loose and more open issue network or constellation of actors, rather than a closed and restricted policy community as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: European Union (EU) water legislation is now very extensive in scope and has major cost implications for the member states, for the water industry, and for consumers. Although participation in the policy formulation process was fairly narrowly based in the early development of this programme of legislation, more recently participation has become more extended. The EU water policy process is an example of a rather loose and more open issue network or constellation of actors, rather than a closed and restricted policy community. It is, however, possible to identify a core of central actors within this loose configuration. Even so, the agenda setting process remains unpredictable and issues are processed via the interaction of a series of advocacy coalitions which link epistemic communities of scientists (especially toxicologists) into a wider and more visible political world. Because of the high salience of water policy throughout the Union, issue expansion, rather than issue contraction, is likely to remai...
88 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries - England and Wales, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States - and at the level of the European Union.
Abstract: This volume assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries - England and Wales, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States - and at the level of the European Union. In addition to offering lively studies of such contemporary developments as the privatization of water in England, the dynamics of transformation in the changing setting of Central Europe and the emergent policy influence of the European Union, this book is an important addition to the literature on policy networks, comparative policy and environmental policy.
62 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries and the European Union.
Abstract: Network models for analysing public policy have become widely used in recent years. This symposium assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries and the European Union. Water policy is an important and increasingly salient subject, and the networks involved in the sector have altered recently in important fashions. Thus the topic is suitable for investigations of network dynamics and their impacts. In this article, some of the most significant lines of contribution to network research are reviewed, and the network concept is clarified. Preliminary assessments of the utility and limitations of network analysis are presented. In particular, it is argued that the network emphasis offers some analytical advantages in understanding policy processes. Network characteristics and some dimensions of network variability are sketched. Particular attention is paid to the dimension for whic...
50 citations
TL;DR: Although it is commonly held to constitute the dominant cleavage within green politics, the convention of dividing green politics into'shallow' and 'deep' aspects is problematic as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Although it is commonly held to constitute the dominant cleavage within green politics, the convention of dividing green politics into ‘shallow’ and ‘deep’ aspects is problematic. Exclusive reliance on it to map out green political theory can lead to a one‐dimensional and incomplete conception of the green political landscape. The distinction this division represents is primarily philosophical rather than political. A related issue concerns how the development of a realistic and coherent green politics is hampered by the continuing hegemony of this axis, due principally to the disproportionate influence of deep ecology. Green politics is about values and the moral dimension of human/social‐nature relations, but it is also about political and economic change. There is a connection between the two, but the deep/shallow dichotomy does little to make the character of this relationship clear. Debate is needed on the relationship between green philosophy and politics. In describing the nature of this relationsh...
46 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a 20-year analysis of the water policy process in England and Wales has been presented, showing that the sector has become more open, more conflictual and a wider range of interests, concerns, and ideas have been drawn into the policy process.
Abstract: Over a 20‐year period the nature of the water policy process in England and Wales has changed quite radically. Contrasting and contradictory images of the policy process can be constructed, reflecting the episodic nature of the policy process. However, some long‐term trends are discernible. Policy network concepts (particularly policy communities) have been helpful in understanding some of these changes, but the model has significant limitations in accounting for sector‐level policy change. Moreover, institutional reform and institutional structures have proved to be important in creating both constraints and opportunities for different policy actors. In general, the sector has become more open, more conflictual, and a wider range of interests, concerns, and ideas have been drawn into the policy process. All of these changes have taken place in the context of the increasing Europeanisation of policy‐making ‐ itself the biggest challenge to conventional analysis of British policy‐making.
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a characterisation of the water supply and ground water protection subsectors using two network variables, mutual commitment and interrelatedness, is presented, and the dynamics of change of these features and their relation with policy opportunities are examined.
Abstract: In addition to the well-known programme for flood protection, Dutch water policy consists of two main subsectors; water supply and ground water protection, and surface water quality management. In this contribution special attention is paid to the characterisation of these subsectors using two network variables; mutual commitment and interrelatedness. The dynamics of change of these features and their relation with policy opportunities are examined. The water supply sector was amalgated into larger companies and developed more cooperation as a result of the pressure of the environmental challenge, which made it impossible to continue pumping and billing. Though the sector in a sense became more integrated, this was accompanied by an increased need to do business with other interests, such as agriculture. The surface water quality subsector also moved from a very integrated community into a more open structure. This openness is, however, to a large extent organised by the sector itself, by incorporating other interests in their councils and committees. Both subsectors increasingly adopt a consensual approach in dealing with these other interests.
42 citations
TL;DR: The state of Victoria, in particular, has been considered progressive on an international level in the way it has fostered concern for managing the environment with its Local Conservation Strategy Programme as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Local government in Australia has only recently become concerned with environmental management in an integrated and holistic way. Even so, only a small number of municipalities have started to take the issue seriously and most of these have been in urban rather than rural areas. The state of Victoria, in particular, has been considered progressive on an international level in the way it has fostered concern for managing the environment with its Local Conservation Strategy Programme. However, the approaches in terms of determining the environmental issues and of developing and implementing these strategies have been varied. Depending on the municipality in question, strategies have been developed by consultants, by an Environment (or Conservation) Officer employed by the local council, or by municipal officers already working within a local government department. The different approaches have also varied in the extent to which the local community was involved in the process. This paper examines the process...
28 citations
TL;DR: In the Czech Republic, as elsewhere in east and central Europe, a neglected and abused environment symbolised many of the failures of the Soviet-style planned system as mentioned in this paper, and the environmental issue can be used as an indicator of the process of political change.
Abstract: In the Czech Republic, as elsewhere in east and central Europe, a neglected and abused environment symbolised many of the failures of the Soviet‐style planned system. In the post‐communist era the environmental issue can be used as an indicator of the process of political change. The transition is primarily a process of altering the legacies of over 40 years of communist rule. Dismantling the command economy and establishing free elections and a multi‐party system were merely the first steps in a lengthy process that had also to include the re‐establishment of civil society after years of repression by the state, and the re‐integration of the Czech Republic into Europe as an independent actor. In addition to the creation of new legislation, evidence of a decision‐making process based on an active role for the public, and discussion between policy‐makers and non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), will be the hallmarks of a new political order which has overturned the legacies of the communist past. The pro...
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries and the European Union.
Abstract: Network models for analysing public policy have become widely used in recent years. This symposium assesses the network idea by applying a common perspective on network analysis to the constellations involved in water policy formation and implementation in several countries and the European Union. Water policy is an important and increasingly salient subject, and the networks involved in the sector have altered recently in important fashions. Thus the topic is suitable for investigations of network dynamics and their impacts. In this article, some of the most significant lines of contribution to network research are reviewed, and the network concept is clarified. Preliminary assessments of the utility and limitations of network analysis are presented. In particular, it is argued that the network emphasis offers some analytical advantages in understanding policy processes. Network characteristics and some dimensions of network variability are sketched. Particular attention is paid to the dimension for which policy communities and issue networks constitute polar cases. A rationale for the comparative analysis of water policy networks across different settings is presented.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that international environmental regulation illustrates the classic problem inherent in forging collaborative policies in a world of sovereign states, and evidence is presented to show that the processes identified by Keohane and Nye are indeed at the core of the transnational actor approach.
Abstract: One approach to international relations theory, exemplified by the writings of Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, is concerned with identifying those conditions most likely to generate co‐operation among states. Initially labelled the transnational actor approach, it recognises two factors as particularly conducive for expanding international co‐operation: the diffusion of science and technology and the existence of institutions ‐ particularly non‐governmental organisations (NGOs). The approach provides a critique of the classic realist school which asserts that states are likely to be constrained from co‐operation by the anarchic condition characteristic of international politics. This essay will show that international environmental regulation illustrates the classic problem inherent in forging collaborative policies in a world of sovereign states. However, through a discussion of the debt‐nature swaps that follows, evidence is presented to show that the processes identified by Keohane and Nye are indeed at...
TL;DR: The authors identified the major dimensions of public opinion on environmentalism using national survey data collected in Australia in late 1990 and identified the role of political parties in politicising these dimensions. But they did not consider the role played by environmental groups and groups within the Australian party system.
Abstract: Public opinion on the environment is usually viewed as a homogeneous entity. This assumption can be questioned by identifying the major dimensions of public opinion on environmentalism using national survey data collected in Australia in late 1990. The public conceptualises the environment in terms of three dimensions: a cosmopolitan dimension, encompassing national and international concerns; a local dimension focusing on general concerns; and a local dimension concerned solely with damage to land. Cosmopolitanism has its roots in value change, stimulates increased environmental activism, and helps to mobilise support for and against the major political parties. By contrast, there is less popular support for self‐interested local environmental concerns, and this dimension has fewer political implications. The role of political parties in politicising these dimensions is central and raises questions about the continuing electoral presence of green parties and groups within the Australian party system.
TL;DR: A profound cleavage between a non-anthropocentric attitude and the Israeli 'Zionist ethos of development' has governed Israeli political thought since the 1930s is identified in this article.
Abstract: Environmental controversies in Israel are characterised by the dominance of non‐anthropocentric modes of reasoning. In that respect they are different from such debates in other Western countries. This is not accidental, but is related to a profound cleavage between a non‐anthropocentric attitude and the Israeli‐Zionist ethos of development, which has governed Israeli political thought since the 1930s.
TL;DR: The conflict between those who hitherto used the wild places for ‘interventionist’ recreational activities on the one hand and the proponents of World Heritage listing on the other hand portrayed in dramatic miniature the essence of the conflict between green paradigmatic assumptions and those of conventional liberal democratic politics, highlighting the intransigent nature of the difficulties inherent in accommodating the former to the latter as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Giving some 20 per cent of Tasmania's land surface World Heritage status has created major tensions in the politics of this Australian state, where the world's first green party was born. Within these tensions, the conflict between those who hitherto used the wild places for ‘interventionist’ recreational activities on the one hand and the proponents of World Heritage listing on the other portrays in dramatic miniature the essence of the conflict between green paradigmatic assumptions and those of conventional liberal democratic politics, highlighting the intransigent nature of the difficulties inherent in accommodating the former to the latter.
TL;DR: A survey of a western New York county revealed significant differences between non-farmers and farmers, but none between nonruralites and ruralites as discussed by the authors, suggesting that farmers were more environmentally protective and desirous of limits to technology, but less deeply eco-friendly than nonfarmers.
Abstract: Considerable debate surrounds the question of differences between non‐rural/non‐farm and rural/farm citizens on environmental issues. A survey of a western New York county reveals significant differences between non‐farmers and farmers, but none between non‐ruralites and ruralites. Farmers were more environmentally protective and desirous of limits to technology, but less deeply‐ecological, than non‐farmers. Specifications for education and political ideology, however, suggested some qualifications to the findings. The implications for research on environmental attitudes in town and country are then discussed.
TL;DR: The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) as discussed by the authors has played a central role in the conservation movement and its own internal politics have been tumultuous, and it has developed in a way that illustrates many of the general trends and tensions as it copes both with pro...
Abstract: Modern Australian interest groups show evidence of a number of characteristics including, among others, national organisation, professional administration, increasingly close consultative arrangements with government, a tendency to locate their headquarters in the national capital, Canberra, and growing involvement in electoral politics. These developments have led to internal strains within many groups as they attempt to hold together a membership with broad policy interests. This is happening against a background in which highly disciplined political parties play a dominant role in Australian politics and policy. These developments can be illustrated by a study of a major national environmental group, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), founded in 1965, which has played a central (and often controversial role) in the conservation movement. Its own internal politics have been tumultuous. It has developed in a way that illustrates many of the general trends and tensions as it copes both with pro...
TL;DR: German water policy making defies easy categorisation as discussed by the authors, focusing on the areas of drinking water supply and water pollution, the most important feature is the enormous importance of regional government in both the formulation and implementation of policy.
Abstract: German water policy‐making defies easy categorisation. Policy processes are highly complex, fragmented, and diverse. Concentrating on the areas of drinking water supply and water pollution, the most important feature is the enormous importance of regional government in both the formulation and implementation of policy. The role of local government, and of municipal water utilities, is also crucial. The various forms of horizontal cooperation between individual municipalities and between the Lander are important, the latter having become particularly important as the Lander try to preserve their strong influence in the face of increasing policy activism by the EU. Historically, cooperative solutions have dominated much of policy development since the nineteenth century. In the face of powerful agricultural and industrial interests, the creation of networks of cooperation is still at the heart of policy, but the state relies less on authority or common interest than on exchange, with financial policy instru...
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of the world environmental movement on patterns of cooperation and conflict between North and South is explored, focusing on the discussion on the concept of globalisation and referring specifically to new social movements as meaningful actors in international politics.
Abstract: This article explores the impact of the world environmental movement on patterns of cooperation and conflict between North and South. First, it casts the issue in a broader theoretical perspective, centring the discussion on the concept of globalisation and referring specifically to new social movements as meaningful actors in international politics. Secondly, it describes the global dimensions of environmental degradation (as a reflection of ordering principles and as a ‘commons’ problem), and explains how it can modify relations between rich and poor. Finally, in the main part, it examines specifically how environmental activist groups have stimulated or discouraged instances of interstate cooperation across the global divide. The article shows that the global environmental movement is evolving as a significant force in a global polity where it parallels, yet sometimes directly impinges upon, the system of states: empirical references include the Montreal Protocol, NAFTA, CITES, UNCED and the debt‐for‐n...
TL;DR: In this article, an ecopolitical theory rooted in fundamental realities of biogeochemical systems that no society can ignore and survive; it is not political philosophy in the normal sense of that term.
Abstract: Environmentalism is the first worldwide social movement to emerge in many decades. People are studying it as a socio‐political phenomenon and as a body of thought articulated by philosophers searching for the good life. We propose an ecopolitical theory rooted in fundamental realities of biogeochemical systems that no society can ignore and survive; it is not political philosophy in the normal sense of that term. The theoretical structure is elaborated to produce a set of societal maxims, public policies, and personal norms. This development brings many old ‘truths’ into question and sets quite a different path for societies to follow if they hope to become sustainable.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe and discuss ecological threats from land use, water and air pollution, drawing from the experience of policies implemented in the West, and the role of citizen participation in the implementation process.
Abstract: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are facing severe environmental challenges following their independence, in which environmental movements had played an important role. Ecological threats from land‐use, water and air pollution are described and discussed in this study, drawing from the experience of policies implemented in the West. These include those normative, economic and coercive policy instruments in national as well as international environmental regimes, and the role of citizen participation in the implementation process. The prospect of new and more effective ways of combating environmental problems in these newly independent countries will depend largely upon the commitment of grassroots organisations and public support to prioritise their environment during times of economic recession.
TL;DR: For example, this article found that the US water sector is characterized by multiple arrays but not an overarching sectorwide arrangement encompassing all the major decision-making participants, and that the structure of network organisation in the water sector has impacts on policy outputs.
Abstract: Evidence suggests that the US water sector is characterised by multiple arrays but not an overarching sector‐wide arrangement encompassing all the major decision‐making participants. The water policy field is marked by considerable fragmentation in structure, as well as by largely‐uncoordinated policy. Several forces ‐ including ‘metapolicy’ shifts, professionalism and alterations in professional dominance, and the tension between advocates of more integrated water policy‐making (on the one hand) and interests favouring the status quo (on the other) ‐ have influenced the dynamics of network changes over time. Evidence also suggests that the structure of network organisation in the water sector has impacts on policy outputs. The network idea adds to the understanding of policy change in the US case, but there are also reasons to expect network‐based investigations to face limitations in explanatory power in the field of comparative policy.
TL;DR: The 1990 Canadian Green Plan is useful as a case study in examining the five key political and policy imperatives essential in green plan formation, defined as systematic efforts by western governments to transform their environmental policy approaches from a remedial clean-up approach after pollution has occurred to a preventive approach intended to support sustainable development as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The 1990 Canadian Green Plan is useful as a case study in examining the five key political and policy imperatives essential in green plan formation, defined as systematic efforts by western governments to transform their environmental policy approaches from a remedial clean‐up approach after pollution has occurred to a preventive approach intended to support sustainable development. The five political and policy imperatives are prime ministerial leadership; sustained ministerial and bureaucratic coordination and leadership; strategic support by both environmental nongovernmental organisations (ENGOs) and business interests; a suitable conceptual framework for articulating and communicating the meaning of sustainable development in a world of mass‐media‐driven politics; and the right mix of policy instruments.
TL;DR: A brief description of the current arrangements for water management in Hungary provides a useful baseline from which to describe the institutional and societal context as well as the task environment out of which new patterns of water policy networks will develop.
Abstract: In the countries of Central Europe the dynamics of network change are more marked than in most countries of Western Europe. The discontinuities between traditional patterns of water management and the new political and economic conditions that are presently emerging are quite dramatic. An examination of the way in which post‐communist developments are modifying the traditional system of Hungarian water management illustrates nicely the processes of institutional development and network change which are likely to be important in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well. Although things are in a state of flux ‐ and even though we have relatively little empirical information on actual operations — a brief description of the current arrangements for water management in Hungary provides a useful baseline from which to describe the institutional and societal context as well as the task environment out of which new patterns of water policy networks will develop. Such an analysis can suggest ways in ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the 1993 Australian election was considered as a turning point for a fading green politics in Australian politics, and the authors discuss the effect of environmental pollution on Australian politics.
Abstract: (1994). The 1993 Australian elections ‐ a fading green politics? Environmental Politics: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 130-139.
TL;DR: In this paper, a strategy based upon the consistent application of animal welfare solutions to the problems of both wild and domesticated animals is both morally equitable and more likely to meet conservation goals.
Abstract: When the various philosophical approaches to the moral status of animals are examined and particular attention is paid to what each of them has to say about the nature of our relationship with wild animals, it can be seen that whilst anthropocentric justifications (which see the conservation of wildlife as merely a means of furthering human ends) are used particularly for public consumption, ecological and rights approaches are also important contributors to the debate. As a result, present practices in wildlife conservation have morally iniquitous consequences for some (wild and domesticated) animals and some humans. A strategy based upon the consistent application of animal welfare solutions to the problems of both wild and domesticated animals is both morally equitable and more likely to meet conservation goals.
TL;DR: The French greens' general assembly in Lille, 11−13 November 1993 as mentioned in this paper discussed the descente aux enfers and the importance of the environment in the French green movement.
Abstract: (1994). La descente aux enfers? The French greens' general assembly in Lille, 11–13 November 1993. Environmental Politics: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 318-325.