Forging Environmentalism

Drawing on an unusually rich empirical base this timely and compelling book examines how environmental values are constructed and legitimized within the policy process. It trains the spotlight on four environmentally significant countries - China Japan India and the United States - representing a wide diversity of cultural social economic and political characteristics. Through a combination of case studies and comparative analysis the contributors illuminate cultural assumptions standards and analytic techniques that shape environmental actions and policies around the world. Forging Environmentalism provides valuable direction regarding what can be done to secure public support for environmental policies. Incorporating expert legal economic philosophical sociological and political perspective points the way toward the possibilities for a convergence of environmental norms and values across diverse cultures.