Environmental Politics - Sciences Po Grenoble

Cours spécialisé, Bachelor, Sciences Po Grenoble, Spring Semester 2021-2022

                            Environmental Politics
         Simon Persico, Professor of political science, simon.persico@iepg.fr

Overview
While there is a scientific consensus on the severity of climate and biodiversity crises, the
political and democratic answer to these crises is yet to be found. Yet problems like air
pollution, decreasing biodiversity and climate change have come to the forefront of political
agendas in Western democracies since the 1960s. This has led to the birth and rise of green
movements and parties criticizing the ways in which industrial economies have developed.
Emerging environmental issues have also led to the establishment of a broad range of
institutions and policies.
How do environmental policies spread in the world? Have green parties transformed party
politics? What can individuals, consumers, and voters do in order to help preserve the
environment? Why are some countries better at protecting their environments than others?
The objective of the course is to explore the articulation between environmental attitudes and
worldviews, and how they contribute to shaping green political action in a context in which the
imminence of a global ecological crisis is no longer doubted. Having analysed how the industrial
and productivist revolutions have transformed humans’ enjoyment, understanding and
exploitation of nature in Western democracies, this course will first shed light on a distinctive
ideology – namely, ecologism – that developed in reaction to the ecological crisis. We will then
reflect on the role of individuals in contemporary politics, from collective mobilisation in
movements to the emergence of the “citizen-consumer”. The course will also contrast the
parliamentary (green parties, greening the mainstream) and the extra-parliamentary strategies
of environmental movements (from lobbying to direct action). The last lectures will explore
the challenges to environmentally friendly public policies at the national and international
levels.

Course objectives:
At the end of the lecture, each student will be able to:
Acquire in-depth knowledge of the ways in which Western societies have reacted to the
environmental crisis
Compare the politicization of the environment in different geographical and cultural contexts.

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Identify political institutions, policy processes, and power relations that bring about
environmental policy outputs and outcomes

Format
This course is mainly lecture-oriented. Yet, students are strongly encouraged to participate to
and engage in collective discussion. Each class will start with a 30-minute collective debate on
the 5-10-page readings handed out each week. These readings focus on a current topic related
to the day’s general theme. This discussion will be followed by a 90-minute lecture, during
which questions, disagreements and collective debates are more than welcome! All readings
and other teaching materials (including lecture’s slides) can be downloaded on the course
website. For any enquiries, feel free to contact the lecturer (simon.persico@iepg.fr), but please
make sure you have read the syllabus thoroughly before asking an already answered question.

Course work and grading
Readings and discussion (0%)
As this CS requires no mandatory attendance, readings and discussion will not be graded. This
does not mean that they do not matter. On the contrary, students are expected to come to class
having completed the 5-10-page readings the lecturer will hand out each week. Keeping up to
date with the readings is essential for understanding the lectures and engaging in class
discussions. This class will indeed provide the opportunity to raise questions and deepen your
understanding of concepts covered in lectures.

Paper (100 %)
The final exam will be based on the writing of a 4000-word essay discussing two books. The
essay must be structured around an overarching question/puzzle (problématique), and have a
clear and original outline. You need to discuss the main results presented in the two books,
connect these results to the material presented in the lectures, analyse where those two books
coincide or diverge, what you think are the more convincing arguments, and what you
personally drew out of the reading.
Essays can be written in French or in English. They are to be sent by email before Friday 13
May, 5.00 pm.

General bibliography
Carter, Neil (2018, 3rd ed.) The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy, Cambridge:
  Cambridge University Press.
Dobson, Andrew and Eckersley, Robyn (eds.) (2006) Political Theory and the Ecological Challenge,
  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dryzek, John, Norgaard, Richard, Schlosberg, David (eds.)(2012). The Oxford Handbook of
  Climate Change and Society, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Mitchell, Timothy, Carbon Democracy. Political Power in the Age of Oil (2013), London, Verso.
O’Lear, Shannon, Environmental Politics Scale and Power (2010), Cambridge University Press

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Outline

Session 1: Introduction. The environment as a political issue
Course presentation
1. The political nature of the environmental issues 3.
Environmentalism, conservationnism, ecologism…
4. Ecology vs. Productivity as a new cleavage?

Session 2: The productivist revolution and the ecological crises
1. An unprecedented economic modernisation
2. Human-induced ecological crises
3. The productivist consensus Readings:
Adam Vaughan, “Human impact has pushed Earth into the Anthropocene, scientists say”, The
Guardian, 7 Jan 2016.
Excerpts from: Robert J. Gordon, “IS US Economic Growth Over? Faltering Innovation
Confronts the Six Headwinds, NBER Working Paper Series, National Bureau of Economic
Research, Working Paper 18315, Aug 2012

Session 3: Green philosophy and political thought
1. The three worlds of environmental philosophy
2. Rethinking the relationship between Humans and Nature
3. Traditional political ideologies and the green challenge Readings:
George Monbiot, “I’ve converted to veganism to reduce my impact on the living world”, The
Guardian, 9 Aug 2016.
Michael Paul Nelson, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, John A. Vusetich, “Does nature have value beyond
what it provides humans?”, The Conversation, 2 Oct 2015

Session 4: Individuals, citizens, and the environment
Value change in Western democracies
The contrasted greening of public opinion
New lifestyles and green jobs
Readings
Julia Pyper, “Why Conservative White Males Are More Likely to Be Climate Skeptics”, The New
York Times, 5 Oct 2011
James Dong, “Why individual action matters for the environment”, Medium, Dec 2016.

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Annie Leonard, “Individual Actions Just Don’t Add Up to Environmental Change”, The New
York Times, 14 Dec 2012

Session 5: Green movements and green activism
1. A typology of environmental groups
2. The institutionalisation of the environmental movement
3. The resurgence of grassroots environmentalism
Readings
Kim Wilshner, “End of la ZAD? France’s ‘utopian’ anti-airport community faces bitter last
stand”, The Guardian, 28 Dec 2017
Excerpts from: Jason Mark, “Naomi Klein: 'Big green groups are more damaging than climate
deniers'”, The Guardian, 10 Sep 2013

Session 6: Green parties
1. Green parties© – Doing new politics since 1972
2. A diverse party family
3. Green parties’ performance: an overview
Readings
Emiliano Grossman, “Europe Ecologie Les Verts after the EU elections: Do or Die”, The Green
European Journal, December 2019.
Rupert Read, Bennet Francis, “Green Parties, Green Future: lessons from history for Green
politics”, The Ecologist, 8 Dec 2015

Session 7: Greening mainstream parties
1. The uptake of environmental issues by mainstream parties
2. Contrasted and conflicting positions on the environment
3. The fate of electoral pledges on the environment Readings:
George Jones, and Charles Clover, “Cameron turns blue to prove green credentials”, The
Telegraph, 21 Apr 2006
James Randerson: “Cameron: I want coalition to be the 'greenest government ever'”, The
Guardian, 14 May 2010
Rowena Mason, “David Cameron at centre of 'get rid of all the green crap' storm”, The
Guardian, 21 Nov 2013.

Session 8: Environmental policies
1. Ideas and interests of environmental policies
2. Institutions and instruments of environmental policies

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3. Obstacles to policy change
Readings
Lucas David, “Why aren’t environmentalists supporting a carbon tax in Washington state?”,
The Conversation, 30 Oct 2016.
Tim Smedley, “Goodbye nuclear power: Germany's renewable energy revolution”, The
Guardian, 10 May 2013

Session 9: Global environmental politics
1. Globalization and the environment
2. Building global environmental regimes
3. The paradox of international cooperation
Readings
Robert Kopp, “How bad could Trump’s Paris Agreement withdrawal be? A scientist’s
perspective”, The Conversation, 1 June 2017.
Robert H. Scott III, “Why Trump’s withdrawal from Paris doesn’t matter as much as you
think”, The Conversation, 2017
Daniel Michaels, “What Is the Paris Climate Agreement and Why Is Biden Rejoining Now?”,
the Wall Street Journal, 2021.

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