In Forging Environmentalism, Sheila Jasanoff examines the role of the law in the country case studies, both as a culturally specific expression of each society’s political and moral values and as a reflection of a universal commitment to lawfulness.
In this commentary chapter from Forging Environmentalism, Arun Agrawal analyzes the case studies to identify the values of modernity at play in them. He examines how different values influence and are reflected in social-environmental processes.
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Robert Melchior Figueroa
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05/01/06
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Robert Figueroa uses the cases from Forging Environmentalism to illustrate the various modes of injustice that often characterize environmental controversies. In every case, he points out, a community is forced to shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of a harmful industrial practice or an environmental policy, or is unjustly deprived of a resource.
Miller examines the implications of the case studies from Forging Environmentalism. Taking into account the culturally grounded ways in which people come to hold environmental values, he proposes three ways to view environmental values related to governance: framing, styles of reasoning, and trust.
This excellent book makes a key contribution to the literature on environmental movements by providing rich case material pertaining to four environmentally critical countries. The book's movement from specific cases to general discussion is particularly valuable. Forging Environmentalism will inform and instruct practitioners, students, and scholars alike.
—JAMES GUSTAVE SPETH
Yale University
The cross-cultural study of environmentalism must now take inspiration from this amazing book which almost miraculously explains the deepest motives of environmental policy, law, and politics by comparing important case studies from China, Japan, India, and the United States. These studies, all brilliantly described and deeply researched, show the reader how concepts such as legality, populism, justice, tenacity, and caring differ fundamentally across cultural contexts and yet retain a human commonality. This collection of riches will reward anyone who wants to understand environmentalism across nations and cultures.
—MARK SAGOFF
University of Maryland, College Park
Forging Environmentalism is an outstanding addition to the literature on environmental policymaking. The volume explores the decision making process in four countries—Japan, China, India, and the United States—through a set of rich case studies, each of which underscores the importance of culture in shaping understandings and approaches to environmental policy. Editor Joanne Bauer does a masterful job of weaving together these individual cases into a seamless story that makes the book valuable for specialist and student alike.
—ELIZABETH C. ECONOMY
Council On Foreign Relations
