Comparative Environmental Politics and Policy

Catalog description

This seminar explores environmental politics comparatively, across national boundaries and over time. The course aims to provide students with a basic theoretical understanding of key themes in comparative politics as applied to the study of environmental politics and policy. We explore these issues by comparing governments, political parties, social movements, economic development paths, and systems of energy production and consumption, with particular focus on questions of environmental justice and inequality. The approach is interdisciplinary, as the politics of the environment cannot be adequately grasped through one discipline. Independent projects allow students to incorporate themes, concepts, and analytical tools provided in the course to pursue their own interests.