Plan de cours - Sciences Po

Sciences Po
Collège universitaire
2 ème année
Autumn 2013
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Environmental Politics
Florence Faucher, Professor of political science, Centre d’études européennes
Nuria Garcia, Teaching Assistant and PhD student at the Centre d’études européennes
For all questions regarding the mid term essay and other in-class assignments, the weekly readings,
attendance and participation, please contact Nuria Garcia (nuria.garcia@sciences-po.org).
The objective of the course is to explore the articulation between environmental attitudes and
worldviews and how they contribute to shape green political action in a context where the
imminence of a global ecological crisis (global warming, threats on biodiversity, scarcity of
resources) is no longer really in question. Having analysed how different conceptions of nature
shape our attitudes to its enjoyment, understanding and exploitation, we will then reflect on the role
of individuals in contemporary politics, from collective mobilisation in movements and parties to
the emergence of the “citizen-consumer”. We will contrast the parliamentary (green parties,
greening the mainstream) and the extra-parliamentary strategies of environmental movements
(associations, the rise of lobbying) and analyse the role of the media and economic interests. We
will then explore the challenges to environmentally friendly public policies at the national and
international levels.
Programme
1. Thinking about the environment: contemporary challenges and why do we need
to think about environmental politics. 5/9
We will start the course with a discussion of the various environment-related crisis that the
planet are going through.
Rockström Johan, “A safe operating space for humanity”, Nature, 461(24), 2009
Speth Gus, “Towards a New Economy and a New Politics”, thesolutionsjournal.com
http://ecologie.blog.lemonde.fr/2013/05/10/explorez-comment-la-terre-a-evolue-ces-30-
dernieres-annees/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/10/carbon-dioxide-highest-levelgreenhouse-gas
2. Green philosophy and political thought 12/9
Ecological footprint. The origins and challenges of environmental thought and its links to
political ideologies and philosophical trends. Discuss the concepts of holism and
anthropocentrism, deep and shallow ecology.
Dobson Andrew, Green political thought, chapter 2.
Sarkar Sahotra, Environmental philosophy from theory to practice, chapter 2 “What is
the environment”.

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3. The challenges of collective action 19/9
Mobilising for the environment suffers from classic problems of collective action. We will
discuss theories of collective action and mobilisation.
Hardin Garrett Tragedy of the Commons, ”, in Ken Conca and Geoffrey Dabelko (eds),
Green Planet Blues. Environmental Politics from Stockholm to Kyoto, Westview, pp 40-
48.
James Connelly and Graham Smith, Politics and the Environment, Routledge, chapter 4
4. Individualized collective actions 26/9
Training on bibliographical research with a Eva Arfwedson from the Sciences Po library.
Discussion of the role that individuals may play or want to play: individual responsibilities
and barriers to action. We will focus on consumption as cause and solution of the current
environmental crisis.
Durning Alan (1998), “How much is enough”, in Ken Conca and Geoffrey Dabelko
(eds), Green Planet Blues. Environmental Politics from Stockholm to Kyoto, Westview,
pp 273-278
Maniates Michael F. (2002), “Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the
World”, in Princen Thomas, Michael F. Maniates and Ken Conca (2002), Confronting
Consumption, MIT Press, pp. 43-66 and the Lorax by Dr Seuss
5. The environmental movement 3/10
In this session we will look at the environmental movement and its history.
Philip W.Sutton (2004), Nature, Environment and Society, Palgrave, chapter 2.
MacDonald Christine (2010), “The New Environmental Activists”, emagazine.com
6. Green parties 10 /10
Green parties have emerged in the 1970s and have played a role in bringing environmental
issues to the fore of the political agenda. We will look at the specificities of organisations that
initially started as challenges to traditional party organisations and consider how they have
been transformed by their electoral successes.
Dolezal, Martin. 2010. « Exploring the Stabilization of a Political Force: The Social and
Attitudinal Basis of Green Parties in the Age of Globalization ». West European Politics
33 (3): 534‐552.
Rihoux Benoit, Wolfgang Rudig (2006), “Analyzing the Greens in Power: Setting the
agenda”, EJPR, 45, pp S1-33.
7. Greening the mainstream with Simon Persico (Centre d’études européennes)
17/10
In this session we will discuss how mainstream parties have responded to the challenges of
environmental politics, focusing in particular on their policies.
Dunlap Riley and Aaron McCright (2008), “ Widening gap: Republican and Democratic
views on climate change”, environmentmagazine.org.
Carter Neil (2006), “Party Politicization Of The Environment In Britain”, Party Politics,
12, 747-67.
8. Corporate environmental responsibility 24 /10
The session will consider how the capitalist system is responding to the critique of the
environmental movement and adapting to the challenges it may pause.
Cox Robert (2006), “Green Marketing and Corporate Campaigns”, Environmental
Communication and the public Sphere, Sage, pp. 367-409.
Vogel, David (2005), “Corporate responsibility for the environment”, in The market
for Virtue. The potential and limits of corporate social responsibility, Brookings.

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9. The environment as a policy issue 7 /11
This session will offer an opportunity to reflect on what makes environmental issues
challenging for politics-as-usual and the principles that have to be introduced when dealing
with potential irreversible and catastrophic changes.
Whiteside Kerry (2006), Precautionary Politics. Principle and Practice in confronting
environmental risk, MIT, pp. 61-88.
Whiteside, Boy, Bourg (2010), “France Grenelle de l’environnement: openings and
closures in ecological democracy”, Environmental Politics, 19(3).
10. Q and A and Brainstorming session 21/11
DEADLINE for Critical Reviews.
11. Class test 28/11
12. Concluding session on the environment in international negotiations 5/12
This session will analyse international agreements and negotiations relative to the
environmental crisis.
Screuder Yda (2009) “from Rio and Kyoto to beyond” in The Corporate
Greenhouse, Zedbooks.
Dimitrov Radoslv (2010)« Inside UN Climate Change Negotiations: The
Copenhagen Conference », Review of Policy Research, 27 (6), pp.795-821.
Assessment
Critical review 30% essay 30% test 30% participation 10%
1. Critical review
Write a critical review of Gustav Speth, The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the
Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, Yale University Press, 2008.
1000 word (+/-10%). Provide word count. NO FANCY OR COLOURFUL COVER/FRONT
PAGE. Police 12, justified and single spaced (margin 3 cm on the left, 2 otherwise). If you submit
an electronic copy (as well), it must be a Microsoft Word document.
2. Essay
Choose ONE essay question out of the following:
1. To what extent is “the tragedy of the Commons” restricting options
when dealing with a global ecological crisis
2. Take note of everything you eat during one full week. Write an essay
reflecting on where you food comes from, how it is produced and
what it means in terms of sustainability.
3. Are green parties the best way to promote the environment on the
political agenda
Submit a paper copy to both professor and teaching assistant by 17 October (beginning of the
class session).
Penalty 2 points per 24 hours.
2500 words (-+ 10%) - Provide word count.
Police 12, justified and single spaced. NO FANCY OR COLOURFUL COVER/FRONT
PAGE. The bibliography must follow the text immediately.

You can also submit an electronic copy. It must be in Microsoft Word and a SINGLE
document– the bibliography MUST be included in the document. No separate file for the
bibliography. The title of the file must be your name and title of course.
Bibliography/references:
A minimum of 5 academic sources not included in the course syllabus is required (peerreviewed
journals, academic publishers). There is no limit on the number of non academic
references (press, think tanks, specialist websites such as European Union policy briefings,
governmental whitepapers, etc.) you can use.
You are encouraged to conduct a bibliographic search. A good place to start is the Sciences Po
Library catalogue. A session with a librarian at the beginning of the semester can be organised
upon request.
You are invited to use the Harvard style for quoting sources. Check online for
innumerable explanations of how to use it if in doubt.
Note that plagiarism is not acceptable and that Sciences Po uses URKUND to check for
such occurrences.
3. Class test
There will be a 2 hour test, in class on 28 November.
4. Class contributions.
All classes are compulsory in Sciences Po and there is a roll call every time. You are responsible for
making sure that you have been noted present.
You are expected not only to be physically present but also to take an active role in discussions and
assignments. Computers and other electronic devices are not allowed in the seminar. I am tired of
students being physically present but very visibly absorbed in the virtual world.
Come prepared for each session, having read the required material. There will be short
unannounced quizzes during the semester.
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