Description
The term Anthropocene denotes a new geological epoch characterized by the unprecedented impact of human activities on the Earth’s ecosystems. While the natural sciences have advanced their understanding of the drivers and processes of global change considerably over the last two decades, the social sciences lag behind in addressing the fundamental challenge of governance and politics in the Anthropocene.
This book attempts to close this crucial research gap, in particular with regards to the following three overarching research themes: (i) the meaning, sense-making and contestations emerging around the concept of the Anthropocene related to the social sciences; (ii) the role and relevance of institutions, both formal and informal as well as international and transnational, for governing in the Anthropocene; and (iii) the role and relevance of accountability and other democratic principles for governing in the Anthropocene. Drawing together a range of key thinkers in the field, this volume provides one of the first authoritative assessments of global environmental politics and governance in the Anthropocene, reflecting on how the planetary scale crisis changes the ways in which humans respond to the challenge.
This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of global environmental politics and governance, and sustainable development.
Table of Contents
1. Global environmental governance in the Anthropocene: An introduction Fariborz Zelli and Philipp Pattberg Part I Making Sense of the Anthropocene 2. The Anthropocene and the body ecologic Marcel Wissenburg 3. The sense of an ending? Nature and the Anthropocene Manuel Arias-Maldonado 4. Anthropocene: Delusion, celebration and concern Simon Hailwood 5. A fair distribution within the Anthropocene: A normative conception of sustainable development Simon Meisch PART II Institutions in the Anthropocene 6. Mapping institutional complexity in the Anthropocene: A network approach Oscar Widerberg 7. Transnational governance towards sustainable biofuels: Exploring a polycentric view Christine Moser and Robert Bailis 8. Governing the Artic in the era of the Anthropocene: Does corporate authority matter in Arctic shipping governance? Judith van Leeuwen 9. International river governance: Extreme events as a trigger for discursive change in the Rhine river basin Christine Prokopf PART III Accountability and Legitimacy in the Anthropocene 10. Democratic accountability in the Anthropocene: Toward a non-legislative model Walter Baber and Robert Bartlett 11. Monitoring commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol: An effective tool for accountability in the Anthropocene? Martina Kühner 12. The legitimacy and transformation of global climate governance in the Anthropocene: Implications for the global South Marija Isailovic 13. The practices of lobbying for rights in the Anthropocene era: Local communities, indigenous peoples and international climate negotiations Linda Wallbott 14. Conclusions: Complexity, responsibility and urgency in the Anthropocene Fariborz Zelli and Philipp Pattberg
