Climate Crisis in Democratic Theory – Normative Perspectives on Climate Litigation and Environmental Activism

Abstract

The climate crisis challenges key ideas in democratic theory. In this panel, we focus on strategic litigation and environmental activism in court. Climate litigation is at the center of recent public controversies (e.g. Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands) and there is a growing debate in both legal and sociological research. In Political Theory, however, research on legal mobilization remains at the margins. The aim of this panel is to start the conversation. It brings together papers on legal mobilization and strategic litigation in indigenous and climate politics with democratic theory papers reflecting on the normative implications of “taking environmental politics to court”. We focus on recent cases of legal mobilization and combine empirical insights with normative and conceptual discussions.

Title	Details
The Complex Consequences of Indigenous Rights Litigation: Assessing the Impact of Legal Mobilization in the Girjas and Fosen Cases	View Paper Details
Strategic Litigation and Legal Mobilization as a Challenge for Deliberative Democratic Theory	View Paper Details
Human rights and climate change litigation: potential for the fruitful relationship	View Paper Details