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Liberal Democracy and Environmentalism Is there still a need for environmental political thought? In recent decades, environmental issues have increasingly been incorporated into liberal democratic thought and political practice. Environmentalism and ecologism have become fashionable, even respectable schools of political thought. This apparently successful integration of environmental movements, issues and ideas in mainstream politics raises the question of whether there is a future for what once was a counter-movement and counter-ideology. The hypothesis that environmentalism is at an end can only be proved or disproved by establishing whether environmentalists still have a reason to be environmentalists. Beyond any empirical concern with the ‘greening’ of political practice lies the deeper question of ‘greening’ political thought. This book thus focuses on whether liberal democracy’s normative foundations can absorb or have absorbed the most fundamental green ideals and whether its institutions can incorporate them if they have not already. Liberal Democracy and Environmentalism provides a reflective assessment of recent developments, the social relevance and the future of environmental political theory, concluding that although the alleged pacification of environmentalism is more than skin deep, it is not yet quite deep enough. This book will appeal to social scientists and philosophers, students and researchers with an interest in environmental issues. Marcel Wissenburg is a Lecturer in Political Theory and Philosophy at the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Yoram Levy is a Junior Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science Edited by Thomas Poguntke, Keele University, UK and Jan W. van Deth, University of Mannheim, Germany on behalf of the European Consortium for Political Research The Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research - the leading organisation concerned with the growth and development of political science in Europe. The series presents high-quality edited volumes on topics at the leading edge of current interest in political science and related fields, with contributions from European scholars and others who have presented work at ECPR workshops or research groups. 1 Regionalist Parties in Western Europe Edited by Lieven de Winter and Huri Türsan 2 Comparing Party System Change Edited by Jan-Erik Lane and Paul Pennings 3 Political Theory and European Union Edited by Albert Weale and Michael Nentwich 4 Politics of Sexuality Edited by Terrell Carver and Véronique Mottier 5 Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations Edited by Bob Reinalda and Bertjan Verbeek 6 Social Capital and European Democracy Edited by Jan van Deth, Marco Maraffi, Ken Newton and Paul Whiteley 7 Party Elites in Divided Societies Edited by Kurt Richard Luther and Kris Deschouwer 8 Citizenship and Welfare State Reform in Europe Edited by Jet Bussemaker 9 Democratic Governance and New Technology Technologically mediated innovations in political practice in Western Europe Edited by Ivan Horrocks, Jens Hoff and Pieter Tops 10 Democracy without Borders Transnationalisation and conditionality in new democracies Edited by Jean Grugel 11 Cultural Theory as Political Science Edited by Michael Thompson, Gunnar Grendstad and Per Selle 12 The Transformation of Governance in the European Union Edited by Beate Kohler-Koch and Rainer Eising 13 Parliamentary Party Groups in European Democracies Political parties behind cl