3. National Differences in Environmental Politics Politics of Sustainable Development

Why is it that… ”…faced with the same ”facts” about nature, Americans, for instance, fear cancer more than the British, the French tolerate nuclear power better than their German neighbors, and Americans are more receptive to biotechnology than Danes, Norwegians or Germans…” ”…faced with the same ”facts” about nature, Americans, for instance, fear cancer more than the British, the French tolerate nuclear power better than their German neighbors, and Americans are more receptive to biotechnology than Danes, Norwegians or Germans…” Sheila Jasanoff, 1999 Sheila Jasanoff, 1999

What National Culture Does Provides discursive frameworks Provides discursive frameworks colors the ways we think and talk colors the ways we think and talk Sets institutional conditions Sets institutional conditions shapes the ways we work and interact shapes the ways we work and interact Establishes habitual dispositions Establishes habitual dispositions affects the ways we behave and act affects the ways we behave and act

Where do Discursive Frameworks Come From? national mentalities (Spengler) national mentalities (Spengler) patterns of belief (Benedict) patterns of belief (Benedict) cultural traditions (Williams) cultural traditions (Williams) cognitive regimes (Foucault) cognitive regimes (Foucault) metaphysical biases (Jamison) metaphysical biases (Jamison)

For example… Swedish imperialist bias: Nature to be colonized, systematized, ordered Danish pragmatic bias: Nature to be cultivated, regulated, planned American pastoralist bias: Nature to be tamed, utilized, transformed

Institutional Conditions policy, or decision-making style policy, or decision-making style modes, or traditions of governance modes, or traditions of governance principles of public accountability principles of public accountability forms of public participation forms of public participation

For example… Sweden DenmarkUSA centralized decentralized federal bureaucratic consensual conflictual formal informal legal hierarchical populist mixed

Habits, or customs due to habitus, upbringing (Bourdieu) due to habitus, upbringing (Bourdieu) material, or class basis of behavior material, or class basis of behavior due to lifestyle, personality (Douglas) due to lifestyle, personality (Douglas) traditional, or cultural basis for action traditional, or cultural basis for action due to identity, experience (Bauman) due to identity, experience (Bauman) importance of context and situation importance of context and situation

Movement legacies, or national differences in terms of how environmental politics, and the experiences of the 1960s and 1970s have been appropriated, or remembered. in Sweden: dilemmas of polarization in Denmark: the paradoxes of success in Denmark: the paradoxes of success in USA: the power of the past

in Sweden nuclear debate highly contentious nuclear debate highly contentious strong industrial resistance to greening strong industrial resistance to greening state-supported sustainable development state-supported sustainable development focus on environmental integration focus on environmental integration

In Denmark effective opposition to nuclear energy effective opposition to nuclear energy importance of wind energy industry importance of wind energy industry ambitious state policies in the 1990s ambitious state policies in the 1990s influential political backlash in 2000s influential political backlash in 2000s

in USA fragmented, diversified movement fragmented, diversified movement strong institutionalization in 1980s strong institutionalization in 1980s weak processes of incorporation in 1990s weak processes of incorporation in 1990s nationalism and traditionalism in 2000s nationalism and traditionalism in 2000s