The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernization and the Policy Process

by Maarten A. Hajer

Overview

Dr Hajer's path-breaking study opens the way for a better understanding of the environmental conflict, showing how language can be seen to shape our view of what environmental politics is really about and how those perceptions can differ between countries. The author identifies the emergence and increasing political importance of 'ecological modernization' as a new concept in the language of environmental politics. This concept, which has come to replace the antagonistic debates of the 1970s, stresses the opportunities of environmental policy for modernizing the economy and stimulating the technological innovation. Combining abstract social theory with detailed empirical analysis, Martin Hajer illustrates the social and political dynamics of ecological modernization in a detailed analysis of the acid rain controversies in Great Britain and the Netherlands. He concludes by reflecting on the institutional challenge of the environmental politics in the years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191521065
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/14/1995
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Scientific Council for Government Policy, The Hague

Table of Contents

Introduction1. The New Environmental Conflict2. Discourse Analysis3. The Historical Roots of Ecological Modernization4. Accumulating Knowledge, Accumulating Pollution? Ecological Modernization in the United Kingdom5. The Micro-Powers of Apocalypse: Ecological Modernization in the Netherlands6. Ecological Modernization: Discourse and Institutional Change

Editorial Reviews

"Excellent....The discourse of environmental problems ultimately redefines the cultural standards for environmental safety."—Choice

From the Publisher