Environmental Politics

The importance of environmental issues is (superficially) recognised by almost everyone. However, the ‘failure’ of the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development is another indication of the difficulty of tackling environmental problems in the modern world. How is it possible to make progress and what is the goal towards which we should be progressing? This section aims to find new directions for environmental politics – both theory and practice. The panels will address two general questions: What are the political principles and institutions that should govern human relationships with the environment? How are current environmental policies shaped by political and social actors and institutions? This section has 10 panels covering important (and new) issues in green political theory and environmental policy. Proposals for papers (300 word abstract) should be submitted to the relevant panel chair (or, where there is no panel chair, the section chair).