Environmental Politics
Comparative Politics
Environmental Policy
Governance
Green Politics
International Relations
Political Parties
Political Theory
Social Movements
Endorsed by the ECPR Standing Group on Environmental Politics
Abstract
This Section aims to run eight Panels focusing on current issues in and approaches to environmental politics and policy. We expect to attract a diverse range of Panels from scholars across the academic political science community. Environmental themes are relevant to an increasing number of political research clusters, including (but not limited to) those specialising in public policy, parties and elections, international relations, social movements, and political theory.
The overarching aim of the Section is for all Panels to draw together conceptual expertise and rigorous empirical analysis in order to explore, challenge and re-configure theories surrounding environmental problems, both new and old.
For Prague 2016, we especially encourage Panels that propose innovative designs for encouraging interaction between presenters – as well as between presenters and the audience. This could include round-tables, debates, dedicated discussants, and shorter papers with more time for facilitated discussion.
We call for Panels which reflect both the more established core interests in the study of environmental politics and more recent or emerging areas of academic enquiry. Core topics include green political theory; green parties; environmental protest and civil society; environmental policy and regulation; sustainable development; the interface between environmental science and public policy; global environmental governance. Emerging topics include areas such as: the ethics and politics of climate engineering, eco-social innovations, energy policy/politics, eco-feminist politics, environmental justice, environmental politics in everyday life, and methodologies and pedagogies in environmental politics.
To date, we have already had several expressions of interest with regard to Panel proposals. Among these is the following:
Panel: Democracy and Climate Change
Panel Chairs: Graham Smith (University of Westminster, U.K.)
Democracy is said to be myopic: unable to deal effectively with complex, long-term issues. The apparent inability of democracies to mitigate (and adapt) to climate change has led to a rise of anti-democratic sentiments, particularly from within the science community. This Panel asks whether democracy is necessarily myopic and whether democratic institutions can be designed to respond more effectively to climate change. Papers that explore the potential of different democratic theories and/or the design of democratic institutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change are particularly welcome.
The ECPR Environmental Politics Standing Group has over 200 members and its Sections have been vibrant and over-subscribed at all nine of the ECPR General conferences to date.
At the 2015 Montreal conference, 33 Papers were run between ten Panels, producing a series of high-quality discussions on subjects ranging from earth system governance to energy policy to green parties and partisan politics to global trade and environmental governance. We expect an Environmental Politics section at Prague in 2016 to be similarly notable and stimulating.
ECPR Environmental Politics Standing Group Convenors:
Professor Brian Doherty (Keele University, U.K.)
Dr Sherilyn MacGregor (University of Manchester, U.K.)
Dr Hannes Stephan (University of Stirling, U.K.)