Green Political Theory and the State: Context is Everything

Abstract

Green political theory generally emphasizes universal values and associated projects at the expense of particular contexts. However, these contexts affect the plausibility and attractiveness of theoretical projects. In light of the current spectrum of green political thinking from anarchist to statist poles, this paper shows that sometimes statist strategies make sense, sometimes more confrontational action is required, and sometimes a mix is appropriate. The kind of context highlighted is state structure as it faces civil society. Comparative historical analysis of four countries (the United States, Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom) is brought to bear.