The Compromise of Liberal Environmentalism

The Compromise of Liberal Environmentalism

  • Auteur: Bernstein, Steven
  • Éditeur: Columbia University Press
  • ISBN: 9780231120364
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780231504300
  • Lieu de publication:  New York , United States
  • Année de publication électronique: 2001
  • Mois : Septembre
  • Langue: Anglais
The most significant shift in environmental governance over the last thirty years has been the convergence of environmental and liberal economic norms toward "liberal environmentalism"—which predicates environmental protection on the promotion and maintenance of a liberal economic order. Steven Bernstein assesses the reasons for this historical shift, introduces a socio-evolutionary explanation for the selection of international norms, and considers the implications for our ability to address global environmental problems.

The author maintains that the institutionalization of "sustainable development" at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) legitimized the evolution toward liberal environmentalism. Arguing that most of the literature on international environmental politics is too rationalist and problem-specific, Bernstein challenges the mainstream thinking on international cooperation by showing that it is always for some purpose or goal. His analysis of the norms that guide global environmental policy also challenges the often-presumed primacy of science in environmental governance.
  • [ CONTENTS ]
  • LIST OF ACRONYMS
  • PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION
    • THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE
    • EXPLAINING THE EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE
    • METATHEORETICAL ISSUES
  • Chapter 2. FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
    • IDENTIFYING NORMS
    • UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT (UNCHE)
    • WORLD COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (WCED)
  • Chapter 3. ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT, AND LIBERAL ENVIRONMENTALISM
    • FROM BRUNDTLAND TO RIO
    • UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCED)
    • LIBERAL ENVIRONMENTALISM AFTER RIO
    • CONCLUSIONS
  • Chapter 4. EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES, SCIENCE, AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE
    • EXPLAINING NORM CREATION AND CHANGE WITH EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES
    • THE ROLE OF SCIENTISTS AND SCIENTIFIC ECOLOGY
    • THE INFLUENCE OF SCIENTISTS AND SCIENTIFIC ECOLOGY
    • CONCLUSIONS
  • Chapter 5. ECONOMIC IDEAS, SOCIAL STRUCTURE, AND THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE
    • SOCIO-EVOLUTION AND GOVERNANCE
    • LIMITED SUCCESS: ECONOMIC IDEAS,THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE, AND ECODEVELOPMENT
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE OECD
    • THE “FIT” WITH SOCIAL STRUCTURE
    • UNCED OUTCOMES AND LIBERAL ENVIRONMENTALISM
    • CONCLUSIONS
  • Chapter 6. CONCLUSION
    • THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS
    • EMPIRICAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
    • CONCLUSION
  • NOTES
  • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • INDEX

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