Issue 4, 2002   

 

Established Outsiders?
Discourses and Actors in Environmental Politics
Abstracts (english)

Frank Nullmeier: Civil Society - Forget It!?, FJ NSB 4/2002, pp.

In political discussions civil society seems to be the cure for various problems of the welfare state. Frank Nullmeier questions the potential of civil society to become a permanent und reliable actor in the welfare system. For permanent supply of services civil society organisations would need a permanent flow of donations and volunteering. Both would need a fundamental change in German culture, which seems unlikely. The political discussion on civil society does not recognise the dominant role by market mechanisms.

Peter H. Feindt: United Against Nobody. The Discourse on Environmentalism and Sustainability, FJ NSB 4/2002, pp.

Generally accepted arguments are the basis to give reasons for political decisions. Therefore discourses, i.e. widespread and generally accepted interpretations of situations and problems, are central for the options of coalition building and political action. In his contribution Peter H. Feindt discusses the changes in the discourse on environmentalism and sustainability. In the past several different interpretations of environmental problems and their treatment have been established. The author argues that in the recent sustainability discourse all major strands of former discourses have been integrated. Therefore sustainability has become a universal argument, which does not imply specific consequences and allows nearly all kinds of actions.

Jochen Roose/Dieter Rucht: Support for the Environmental Movement. Situational Analysis and Perspectives, FJ NSB 4/2002, pp.

How strong is the German environmental movement? The simple question becomes complicated if one takes a closer look. Jochen Roose and Dieter Rucht differentiate general sympathizers, formal members of environmental groups and organisations, active members of these organisations, and participants in environmental protest. The analysis is based on general opinion surveys, a protest event analysis, and a survey among environmental organisations, nationally and in Berlin. Whereas the number of passive, formal members has increased during the 1990s, active members and protest participants have stagnated or slightly decreased. A closer look at young people leaves the impression that the environmental movement will remain a player in German politics but a major impulse from the movement is not very likely.

Kristine Kern/Claudia Koll/Malte Schophaus: Local Agenda 21. Inner German and International Comparison, FJ NSB 4/2002, pp.

Ten years after the international conference in Rio de Janeiro, the authors evaluate the adaptation of the idea for a local agenda in Germany. Compared to other European countries Germany is a latecomer. However, now in many communities a process has started to discuss strategies for sustainability. The comparison with Sweden and the UK shows that economic, political-institutional and societal factors are relevant for the number of initiated local agenda 21-processes. While several factors, e.g. the size of local communities, cannot be changed in the short run, other support is also important: close cooperation with local government, financial support, and institutions for coordination and support of local agenda 21-processes.

Christopher Rootes: Idiosyncrasies of Environmental Movements. Environmental Protest in Germany in Comparative European Perspective, FJ NSB 4/2002, pp.

Allegations of a decline of environmental movements in Western Europe are mostly based on vague impressions rather than empirical grounding. Christopher Rootes presents data from a protest event analysis of seven EU member states covering 1988 to 1997. Surprisingly a clear decline in protest numbers can only be found in Greece and Sweden, while in all the other countries which were part of the research project protest increased or remained about the same. Environmental protest in Germany is marked by a number of idiosyncrasies. Only in Germany nuclear energy is the dominating protest issue. The author presents several findings with special emphasis on the British and the German case showing the impact of national circumstances for the pattern of environmental protest; a similar pattern in several EU member states cannot be found.

Heike Walk: Global Governance. Hope and Disappointment in International Climate Policy, FJ NSB 4/2002, pp.

The concept of Global Governance has gained a lot of attention in recent years. A cooperative mode of governance including national governments and civil society seemed to be the way to handle global problems including climate change. Ten years after the conference of Rio de Janeiro and shortly after the Johannisburg conference Heike Walk evaluates the concept of global governance. Contrary to former hopes global governance has not been the key to global climate protection. Single powerful nation states like the USA still have major influence. Non-governmental organisations gained access to several international negotiations and made them public but their chance to control the governments is very limited.