The Politics of Environmental Discourse

Download or read book The Politics of Environmental Discourse written by Maarten A. Hajer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This path-breaking study open 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 book 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 formodernizing the economy and stimulating the technological innovation. Combining abstract social theory with detailed empirical analysis, the author illustrates the social and political dynamics of ecological modernization in a detailed analysis of the acid rain controversies in Great Britain and the Netherlands. The book concludes by reflecting on the institutionalchallenge of the environmental politics in the years to come.