Environmental Politics

In many ways, environmental concerns have become mainstream. Major actors from the public, private, and research sectors now all declare their commitment to reducing carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and achieving a sustainability transition. Yet, there are important differences in visions of sustainability, priorities, and proposed solutions. At the same time, it is also increasingly evident that such a transition will also impose costs, and this has resulted in social protests and political backlash. In this evolving political context, this section aims to run ten in-person panels plus up to ten virtual panels focusing on current issues in and approaches to environmental politics and policy. We especially seek to put together panels that address interlinkages of environmental, social, and economic problems and their governance with the different ongoing, and lingering, crises (e.g., territorial war, energy, food, biodiversity, climate) at different levels (e.g., global, regional, sub-/national). This includes particular attention to environmental diplomacy and international relations, which has been little discussed at Environmental Politics Sections in previous years, as well as the analysis of democratic and populist backlash and eco-fascism against transformative politics and policies. Moreover, in order to capture these highly dynamic developments better, we welcome perspectives that transcend classical political science boundaries, such as the growing interest in sufficiency approaches; and we welcome the application of and reflection on new frameworks and methodologies, for instance the use of imaginaries or the perspective of eco-emotions which are becoming increasingly prominent. The overarching aim of the section is to draw together conceptual expertise and rigorous empirical analysis on the wide range of research fields and subjects of study under the umbrella of environmental politics. We want to facilitate both deep and broad discussions on the state and the future of environmental politics research. Against this backdrop and following the positive experiences from the past General Conferences, the idea is to have some sets of thematically related panels, which explore and discuss single issues with greater rigour and depth, combined with paper presentations that reflect the breadth of the environmental politics research and Standing Group meetups. With this, the section shall provide a stage for discussion within and across the various research fields and subjects, in order to explore, challenge, and re-configure theories surrounding environmental problems, both new and old. Reflective of ongoing scholarly debates in the field and current socio-political dynamics, we expect to attract a diverse range of panels from scholars across the political science community. In this way, we seek to inspire conversation, discussion, and networking opportunities forming the basis of future research and collaborations.