Environmental Governance
- LAST REVIEWED: 29 September 2015
- LAST MODIFIED: 29 September 2015
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0120
- LAST REVIEWED: 29 September 2015
- LAST MODIFIED: 29 September 2015
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0120
Introduction
Environmental governance is a complex and multifaceted area of study, one that has emerged as a major focus of scholarly research and policy activity since the 1980s. Environmental challenges are both pressing and often representative of persistent “wicked” problems. This field is broad, spanning the various ways that actors and institutional structures both drive and respond to changes in the natural world. Environmental governance research focuses on how environmental ideas and impacts are produced, but also on how these systems are sustained, regulated, and transformed at multiple geographic levels. The literature in this bibliography emphasizes the role of state and nonstate actors as well as the complex processes used to exercise power and authority in the early 21st century. This approach contrasts with narrower ideas of environmental management with its focus on command-and-control regulation by states, represented by elite bureaucrats. Governance as a concept gained traction in the 1990s as part of a general recognition that governments were increasingly ceding authority “up” to transnational bodies, “down” to sub-national ones, and “out” to private and nonstate groups. This governance turn highlighted the importance of systemic thinking, transboundary connections, and new actors. The environmental governance literature is also deeply influenced by environmental scholars in the 1970s who stressed the vital role that natural systems play in our physical, spiritual, and economic lives, emphasizing the urgency of effective environmental stewardship. New research has proliferated in recent years as scholars have endeavored both to explain the genesis of collective action challenges surrounding issues like climate change and to illustrate how they may be overcome. For example, the widely cited shift away from command-and-control to more voluntaristic and network-based modes of governing is generally understood to open the possibility for novel, potentially more democratic and effective actors and processes. However, these new forms of governance may also be accompanied by less clarity, centrality, and enforcement capacity from the state at a time when crucial environmental tipping points and capacities are at hand. This bibliography provides an overview of central approaches to the study of environmental governance in order to provide a starting point for readers on this topic. It focuses on exploring governing actors (states, the private sector, civil society), levels (global, multilevel, and local), and modes (network, participatory). The final section focuses on the particular field of global climate governance.
General Overviews
Governance as an area of study is exceptionally broad, covering multiple scales, actors, fields (or issue areas), and processes. A number of excellent overview resources exist and should be used as a starting point for research. Three edited collections—Dryzek and Schlosberg 2005; Dauvergne 2012; and Durant, et al. 2004—provide comprehensive overviews of the major perspectives and issues in environmental governance, including seminal pieces on the tragedy of the commons and limits to growth. They also provide readers with a broad collection of economic and social perspectives within green political thought, including socialist, indigenous, and deep ecology perspectives. The Dauvergne volume is more directly organized around the challenges and debates in environmental governance, with an emphasis on the global level and political economy research, while Evans 2012 provides a textbook suitable for researchers new to the field and those teaching courses in this area. Ostrom 1990 contributes a Nobel Prize-winning perspective on common pool resource governance. This is essential reading for scholars seeking to understand the importance of institutional norms, rules and resource-appropriate policy interventions. The shift from looking beyond “government” and to “governance” is also usefully covered by Lemos and Agrawal 2006, which posits that market-led and state-led systems are more often hybrid and variable structures. Weiss 2000 is an excellent resource for graduate reading lists and an articulation of both normative and practical dimensions of governance research.
Dauvergne, Peter, ed. Handbook of Global Environmental Politics. 2d ed. Cheltenham, UK, and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2012.
Collection of forty chapters focused on national- and global-level environmental governance. The text provides a survey of research on regimes, global policymaking, as well as political economy–informed research on trade and nonstate actors.
Dryzek, John, and David Schlosberg, eds. Debating the Earth: The Environmental Politics Reader. 2d ed. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Comprehensive collection of forty-four chapters from leading classic and contemporary environmental thinkers. Includes useful section headings that prove an overview of the general approach as well as a list of further representative readings on the subject.
Durant, Robert, Daniel Fiorino, and Rosemary O’Leary. Environmental Governance Reconsidered. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004.
Edited volume with contributions from distinguished scholars in politics, public administration, law, and environmental economics. Focuses on a critical assessment of the shift from earlier “command-and-control” adversarial government toward more effective participatory, democratic, and networked processes.
Evans, James. Environmental Governance. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2012.
A comprehensive and nicely structured introductory textbook in environmental governance which looks at both the politics and processes of various type of governance: market, state network, and participatory. Features case studies in climate change issues.
Lemos, Maria Carmen, and Arun Agrawal. “Environmental Governance.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 31 (2006): 297–325.
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.energy.31.042605.135621
Clearly written review article of scholarship on environmental governance. The authors focus on four main areas: globalization, decentralization, market governance, and multiscale governance, ultimately calling for hybrid rather than “pure” forms. This piece would make a valuable addition to reading lists at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Perhaps the most influential piece of writing on institutional environmental governance, essential reading for graduate and undergraduate students. In it, Ostrom presents a rebuttal of the classic state vs. market dichotomy debate over common pool resource governance, and illustrates empirically creative and effective mechanisms for local and collective management.
Weiss, Thomas. “Governance, Good Governance and Global Governance: Conceptual and Actual Challenges.” Third World Quarterly 21.5 (2000): 795–814.
DOI: 10.1080/713701075
Provides an important overview of the development of governance as a framework for understanding state society processes. While the piece does not address environmental challenges specifically, it does usefully introduce and discuss the normative concept of “good governance,” particularly with reference to developing processes of localization and democratization. Useful text for graduate courses on governance and global governance.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Oceania, Gender, Indigenous and Ethnic Political Represent...
- Advanced Democracies, Electoral System Reform in
- Advanced Democracies, Public Opinion and Public Policy in
- Advertising and Election Campaigns in the United States
- Africa, Comparative Politics of
- Africa, Ethnic, Linguistic, Religious, and Regional Minori...
- Africa, Public Opinion in
- Africa, Women’s Political Representation in
- African Development, Politics of
- American Indian Politics
- Ancient Chinese Political Thought
- Arab Spring, The
- Arab-Israel Conflict, The
- Arendt, Hannah
- Argentine Government and Politics
- Aristotle's Political Thought
- Arms Race Modeling
- Asia, Environmental Politics in
- Asia, Public Opinion in
- Asia, Water Politics in
- Asian American Mobilization and Political Identities
- Australia and New Zealand, Comparative Politics of
- Authoritarian Regimes, Lawyers in
- Authoritarianism in Russia
- Authoritarianism in the Public
- Authoritarianism in Turkey
- Bicameralism in Stable Democracies
- Big Data in Political Science Research
- Biopolitics and State Regulation of Human Life
- Birthright Citizenship
- Brazilian Foreign Policy
- Brazilian Political Development
- Brexit, British Politics, and European Integration
- Business-State Relations in Europe
- Campaign Finance in the Era of Super-PACS
- Canadian Foreign Policy
- Canadian Government and Politics
- Candidate Emergence and Recruitment
- Caribbean, Elections and Democracy in the
- Celebrities in US Politics
- Channels of Electoral Representation in Advanced Industria...
- China, Political Economy of
- China's One-Child Policy
- China-Taiwan Relations
- Chinese Communist Party
- Chinese Economic Policy
- Chinese Nationalism
- Civil Society in South Asia
- Civil War in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Civil-Military Relations in Asia
- Class in American Politics
- Climate Change and Politics
- Collective Memory
- Colombian Politics and Government
- Comparative Capitalism Theory
- Comparative Industrial Relations in Europe
- Comparative Political Economy of Resource Extraction
- Comparative Politics of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bis...
- Comparative Politics of Chile and Uruguay
- Comparative Politics of Federalism
- Comparative Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
- Computational Social Science
- Congress, Defense, and Foreign Policy
- Congressional Reassertion of Authority
- Conservative Litigation Strategies and Groups in US Judici...
- Constitution, Ratification of the
- Constitutional Politics in Asia
- Constitutionalism
- Corruption in China
- Cosmopolitan Political Thought
- Crisis of European Integration in Historical Perspective, ...
- Critical Elections, Partisan Realignment, and Long-Term El...
- Critical Theory and the Frankfurt School
- Cuban Political Development
- Cycles of Protest
- Democracies, Political Clientelism in
- Democracy and Authoritarianism, Empirical Indicators of
- Democracy and Authoritarianism in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Democracy and Dictatorship in Central Asia
- Democracy and Minority Language Recognition
- Democracy in Latin America
- Democratic Citizenship
- Democratic Consolidation
- Democratic Peace Theory
- Democratic Theory
- Democratization
- Democratization in Africa
- Democratization in Central America
- Democratization in Mexico
- Democratization in the Muslim World
- Development of Survey Research
- Diasporas and Politics
- Direct Democracy in the United States
- Dual Citizenship
- East Africa, Politics of
- East and Southeast Asia, Political Party Systems in
- East and Southeast Asia, Women and Politics in
- East Asia, Civil Society and Social Movements in
- Economic Voting
- Effects of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on American Public O...
- Egalitarianism
- Election Forecasting
- Election Laws in Democracies
- Election Observation and the Detection of Fraud
- Electoral and Party System Development in Sub-Saharan Afri...
- Electoral Assistance
- Electoral Change in Latin America
- Electoral Institutions and Women’s Representation
- Electoral Reform and Voting in the United States
- Electoral Volatility in the New Democracies of Latin Ameri...
- Electronic Voting Systems
- Emotion and Racial Attitudes in Contemporary American Poli...
- Environmental Governance
- Environmental Politics among Advanced Industrial Democraci...
- Ethnic Diasporas and US Foreign Policy
- Ethnic Politics
- Eurasia, Comparative Politics of
- European Parliament, The
- European Social Democracy
- European Union, Politics of the
- Extension of Voting Rights to Emigrants
- Failed and Weak States in Theory and Practice
- Far-Right Parties in Europe
- Federalism in the United States
- Feminist Political Thought
- Field Experiments
- Filibuster, The
- Framing Effects in Political Communication
- Gender and Electoral Politics in the United States
- Gender and International Relations
- Gender and Political Violence
- Gender and Politics in South Asia
- Gender, Behavior, and Representation
- Gender Gap in US Public Opinion
- Gender Stereotypes in Politics
- Genetic Underpinnings of Political Attitudes and Behaviors
- German Politics and Government
- Global Inequality
- Globalization and the Welfare State
- Globalization, Health Crises, and Health Care
- Governance in Africa
- Governmental Responses to Political Corruption
- Gridlock and Divided Government in the U.S.
- Health-Care Politics in the United States
- Hegemony
- Historiography of Twentieth-Century American Conservatism,...
- Hobbes’s Political Thought
- Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of
- Hume’s Political Thought
- Hybrid Regimes
- Ideal Point Estimation
- Identity and Political Behavior
- Ideological Reasoning in Politics
- Illiberal Democracies and Democratic Backsliding
- Immigrant Incorporation in Canada
- Immigrant Incorporation in Western Europe
- Immigration and European Politics
- Immigration and International Relations
- Immigration Politics and Policy in the United States
- Impact of Campaign Contributions on Congressional Behavior...
- Impact of C-SPAN on US Democracy
- Implicit Attitudes in Public Opinion
- Income Dynamics and Politics in North America and Europe
- Income Inequality and Advanced Democracies
- Income Inequality in the United States, The Politics of
- Independent Voters, The Study of
- India, Corruption in
- Indian Democracy
- Indigenous Politics and Representation in Latin America
- Indigenous Rights and Governance in Canada, Australia, and...
- Indonesia, Politics of
- Informal Practices of Accountability in Urban Africa
- Institutional Change in Advanced Democracies
- Institutional Factors Affecting Women’s Political Engageme...
- Intellectual Property in International Relations
- Interest Groups and Inequality in the United States
- Interest Groups in American Politics
- Interethnic Contact and Impact on Attitudes
- International Conflict Management
- International Criminal Justice
- International Law
- International NGOs
- International Political Economy of Illegal Drugs
- Internet and Politics, The
- Intersectionality in Political Science
- Interstate Border Dispute Management in the Indo-Pacific
- Iran, Political Development of
- Israeli Politics
- Italian Politics and Government
- Judicial Supremacy and National Judicial Review
- Judiciaries and Politics in East Asia
- Kant's Political Thought
- Labor Migration: Dynamics and Politics
- Labor Politics in East Asia
- Land Reform in Latin America
- Latin America, Democratic Transitions in
- Latin America, Electoral Reform in
- Latin America, Environmental Policy and Politics in
- Latin America, Guerrilla Insurgencies in
- Latin America, Social Movements in
- Legal Mobilization
- LGBT Politics in the United States
- Liberal Pluralism
- Libertarianism
- Local Governments in the United States
- Machiavelli’s Political Thought
- Malaysian Politics and Government
- Marx's Political Thought
- Mass Incarceration and US Politics
- Mechanisms of Representation
- Media Effects in Politics
- Media Politics in South Asia
- Mexican Political Development
- Mexican Politics and Government
- Military Government in Latin America, 1959–1990
- Minority Governments
- Minority Political Engagement and Representation in the Un...
- Mixed-Member Electoral Systems
- Modern Dynastic Rule
- Modern Elections and Voting Behavior in Europe
- Motivated Reasoning
- Narrative Analysis
- National Interbranch Politics in the United States
- Nationalism
- NATO, Politics of
- Negative Campaigning
- Neoclassical Realism
- New Institutionalism Revisited, The
- Nigerian Politics and Government
- North America, Comparative Politics of
- Oil, Politics of
- Online Public Opinion Polling
- Organized Criminal Syndicates and Governance in Mexico and...
- Origins and Impact of Proportional Representation, The
- Outcomes of Social Movements and Protest Activities
- Partisan and Nonpartisan Theories of Organization in the U...
- Partisan Polarization in the US Congress
- Partisan Polarization in the US Electorate
- Party Networks
- Party System Institutionalization in Democracies
- Peace Operations
- Personality and Politics
- Personalization of Politics
- Philippine Politics and Government
- Plato’s Political Thought
- Policy Feedback
- Policy Responsiveness to Public Opinion
- Political Ambition
- Political Economy of Financial Regulation in Advanced Ind...
- Political Economy of India
- Political Economy of Taxation, The
- Political Geography in American Politics
- Political Humor and Its Effects
- Political Institutions and the Policymaking Process in Lat...
- Political Obligation
- Political Participation and Representation, Black
- Political Parties and Electoral Politics of Japan
- Political Roles and Activities of Former Presidents and Pr...
- Political Thought, Hegel's
- Political Thought of the American Founders, The
- Politics and Government, Australian
- Politics and Government, BeNeLux
- Politics and Policy in Contemporary Argentina
- Politics, Gender Quotas in
- Politics of Anti-Americanism
- Politics of Class Formation
- Politics of Disaster Prevention and Management
- Politics of Ethnic Identity in China
- Politics of Financial Crises
- Politics of Foreign Direct Investment in South Asia
- Politics of Higher Education in the U.S.
- Politics of Internal Conquest in the United States and Can...
- Politics of Japan
- Politics of Natural Disasters, The
- Politics of North Korea
- Politics of Science and Technology
- Politics of South Africa
- Politics of Southern Africa
- Politics of the American South
- Politics of the Philippines: From Rizal to Duterte
- Politics of the US-Mexico Border
- Populism
- Populism in Latin America
- Positive and Negative Partisanship
- Postcolonial Political Theory
- Postcolonialism and International Relations
- Post-Communist Democratization
- Preferential Trade Agreements, Politics of
- Presidential Candidate Selection in Comparative Perspectiv...
- Presidential Persuasion and Public Opinion
- Presidential Primaries and Caucuses
- Private Governance
- Protest Participation
- Public Opinion, Cross-National Surveys of
- Public Opinion in Affluent Democracies
- Public Opinion in Europe toward the European Union
- Public Opinion in New Democracies and Developing Nations
- Public Opinion on Immigration
- Public Opinion toward the Environment and Climate Change i...
- Public Presidency, US Elections, and the Permanent Campaig...
- Qualitative Methods, The Renewal of
- Race in American Political Thought
- Racial and Ethnic Descriptive Representation in the United...
- Recruitment and Selection for Elected Office
- Redistricting and Electoral Competition in American Politi...
- Referendums and Direct Democracy
- Regime Transitions and Variation in Post-Communist Europe
- Regional Integration
- Regional Integration in Latin America
- Regional Security
- Regulating Food Production
- Religion and Politics in Latin America
- Religion in American Political Thought
- Religion in Contemporary Political Thought
- Religion, Politics, and Civic Engagement in the United Sta...
- Republicanism
- Rousseau’s Political Thought
- Rule of Law
- Russia and the West
- Science and Democracy
- Science and Social Movements
- Secession and Secessionist Movements
- Semi-Presidential Systems
- Social Networks, Mass Publics, and Democratic Politics
- Social Policy and Immigrant Integration
- South Asian Political Thought
- South Korea, Politics of
- Southeast Asia, International Relations in
- Southeast Asian Politics
- Spanish Politics and Government
- Spectacle, The
- Sport and Politics
- State Building in Sub-Saharan Africa
- State Formation
- State, The Nature of the
- State-Society Relations in South Asia
- Stereotypes in Political Reasoning
- Supreme Court and Public Opinion
- Supreme Court of the United States, The
- Systemic Theories of International Politics
- Taiwan, Politics of
- Tea Party, The
- Thailand, Politics of
- The Crisis of European Integration in Historical Perspecti...
- The New Right in American Political Thought
- The Politics of Parenthood: Attitudes, Behavior, Policy, a...
- The Politics of Waste and Social Inequalities in Indian Ci...
- Third-Party Politics in the United States
- Tocqueville’s Political Thought
- Transboundary Pollution
- Transitional Justice
- Transnational Private Regulation
- Trust in Latin American Governing Institutions
- Turkey, Political Development of
- US Military Bases Abroad
- US Politics, Neoliberalism in
- US Presidency, The
- US Presidential Campaigns and Their Impact
- Venezuela, The Path Toward Authoritarianism in
- Voter Support for Women Candidates
- Voter Turnout
- Voter Turnout Field Experiments
- Voting Technology and Election Administration in the Unite...
- War, Factors Influencing Popular Support for
- Welfare State Development
- Welfare State Development in Latin America
- Welfare State Development in Western Europe
- West Africa, Politics of
- White Identity Politics
- Women and Conflict Studies
- Women’s Inclusion in Executive Cabinets
- Women’s Legal and Constitutional Rights
- Women’s Political Activism and Civic Engagement in Latin A...
- Women’s Representation in Governmental Office in Latin Ame...
- Women’s Representation in the Middle East and North Africa
- Workers’ Politics in China
- Youth and Generational Differences in US Politics