Environmental Movements in Asia

Global Environmental Politics, 2001

Despite the book's high level of philosophical abstraction, the authors' point of departure "is not the big picture of 'our common future', but examples of actual and public conºicts over the environment" (p. 3). Their theoretical claims are strongly grounded in real-world events. Throughout the book, they continually refer to three global environmental conºicts that occurred in 1995: the unsuccessful attempt by the Anglo-Dutch corporation, Shell, to sink one of its obsolete oil rigs in the North Atlantic; French underground nuclear testing in the Paciªc atolls; and the mining of metallic ores in Papua New Guinea by an Australian transnational mining ªrm. These three cases demonstrate a number of important factors: the truly global nature of many environmental conºicts; the interplay of governments, corporations, NGOs, and indigenous communities; and the persistent impact of inequity on outcomes. Perhaps the boldest and most controversial claim of the book is that real progress towards environmental and ecological justice will require some form of world government, not merely global governance. Given their clearly articulated concern for local communities throughout the book, the authors do not appear to be over-eager globalists. The primary justiªcation for their position is that "as long as there is global capitalism-and a global market-there must be a countervailing power of similar scale to provide the aegis under which an environmentally and ecologically just society of societies. .. may gradually take shape" (p. 175). In other words, global governance already exists, but its effects are neither environmentally or ecologically just. While the authors are careful to address a range of potential criticisms, readers will need to assess for themselves the soundness of the defense. Whatever one's conclusion might be, one must admire both the willingness of Low and Gleeson to put forward such a visionary proposal as well as the intellectual appeal of their arguments. Though the level of philosophical discourse is fairly sophisticated, the book is remarkably accessible even for those without a ªrm foundation in ethical philosophy. Having used the book successfully in two upper-level undergraduate courses, I have found that students can grasp the ideas with just a bit of explication. Indeed, they have been grateful for the opportunity to join Low and Gleeson in thinking big about big problems.

Environmental Movements and Politics of the Asian Anthropocene, 2021

“This collection provides a powerful and sophisticated analysis of how environmental movements influence politics in Asia, and how politics influences movements.” (John Dryzek, University of Canberra) “This important book reflects the challenges and questions currently foremost in scholars’, activists’ and policy- makers’ minds—the Anthropocene, environmental justice, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and post-politics—all addressed through the lens of environmental movements in Asia.” (Jonathan Rigg, University of Bristol) “This book shows convincingly that the concept of Anthropocene is as relevant in Asia as anywhere.” (Philip Hirsch, University of Sydney) “How have authoritarianism, democratization and political change affected environmentalism in East and Southeast Asia? How have environmental mobilization and demands for environmental justice at the grassroots influenced politics there? These are among the vital questions answered by this insightful and well-crafted volume.” (Paul Harris, Education University of Hong Kong) “Despite its claims to universality, the Anthropocene concept remains largely a Western phenomenon. Yet the importance of Asia for the Anthropocene can hardly be overstated. This book is crucial in correcting this view by putting environmental movements in Asia center stage.” (Eva Horn, University of Vienna)

Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 2015

Environmental movements are networks of informal interactions that may include individuals, groups, and organizations engaged in collective action motivated by shared identity or concern about environmental issues. This article reviews literature on environmental movements (including antinuclear energy movements) according to four main aspects: the social bases and values underlying the movements' mobilization, the resources supporting their mobilization, the political opportunities channeling their mobilization, and the cultural framing processes through which environmental issues are defined as social and political problems to be addressed through mobilization. In addition, we consider the historical antecedents and roots of environmental movements. Finally, we discuss the interplay between the local and the global levels and the movements' impacts, a long neglected issue in the social movement literature. Our review highlights three main features of environmental movement...

International journal of Taiwan studies, 2022

have portrayed East Asia's entirely different images in their edited volume Civil Society and the State in Democratic East Asia: Between Entanglement and Contention in Post High Growth. From civil society to protests and political parties to social inclusion, 12 chapters of this volume deal with the region's three democracies: South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Chiavacci and Grano start the book by outlining the high economic growth and rapid industrialisation that were the national priorities among elites in all three democracies, allowing the 'East Asian miracle of economic growth and public policy' (p. 12). This 'developmental citizenship' generated rampant pollution and resulted in environmental protection movements. It also created the problem of an ageing population. After providing a brief introduction about the economic growth, social movements, and challenges in an era of civil society and state in the Eastern democracies, the volume focuses on three significant issues, namely environmental matters, identity politics, and neoliberal and social inclusion. Simona Grano mainly focuses on environmental civil society and the state during two recent governments in Taiwan. She interviewed many activists, and examines the impacts of Taiwan's environmental movement (p. 37) and various environmental laws. She opines that quality of life, fairness, justice, and inclusiveness were the most critical issues for people who voted for Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Mary Alice Haddad discusses the networking of environmental organisations throughout East Asia by providing a brief history of environmental politics, including the '26 degree campaign' that started in Beijing (p. 70). Haddad describes three hub-and-spoke, horizontal, and vertical networks with an inductive examination of advocacy for ecological policy in East Asia. She uses snowball sampling in analysing the three networks among the ngo s of the region. Environment issues in East Asia are incomplete without discussing the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant incident. Therefore, Tabias Weiss focuses on the campaign for nuclear power before and after this catastrophe. He observes the emergence of various 'pro-nuclear consumer and environmental groups' in the 1990s and early 2000s (p. 94). He finds it difficult to evaluate their influence book reviews

World development, 2007

Tel: +44 207 955 6836 Fax: +44 207 955 6844 World Development 35: 12 211-30. ABSTRACT Environmental social movements in developing countries are often portrayed as democratizing but may contain important social divisions. This paper presents a new methodology to analyze the social composition and underlying political messages of movements. Nearly 5,000 newspaper reports 1968-2000 in Thailand are

Environmental politics, 2022

Environmental Politics, 2010

The East Asian region generally and Southeast Asia have long been associated with authoritarian rule. I argue that the intensification of a range of environmental problems means that authoritarian rule is likely to become even more commonplace in the future. Countries with limited state capacity will struggle to deal with the consequences of population expansion, economic development and the environmental degradation with which they are often associated. A resurgence of authoritarian rule is made even more likely by China’s ‘successful’ developmental example and the extent of the region’s existing environmental problems, both of which are detailed in the paper. Paradoxically, Southeast Asia’s authoritarian regimes—unattractive as they may be—may prove more capable of responding to the complex political and environmental pressures in the region than some of its democracies.

Earthly politics: Local and global in environmental …, 2004