Environmental Politics

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to the politics of the formulation and implementation of environmental policy. Students will critically assess the nature of the public policy debates concerning environmental protection, conservation of natural resources, and energy production and use. Students will learn to think analytically about the governmental process that produces environmental policy and the associated motivations of politicians, bureaucrats, interest groups, and media elites who contribute to this process. While the course materials focus largely on the American context, attention will also be given to considering more generally how international actors and events can influence domestic environmental politics and to discussing the limitations of international laws designed to regulate the environmental policies of countries.