Book Review

by Paul Ganderton

Connelly J. and Smith G. 1999. Politics and the Environment: from theory to practice. Routledge. pp viii + 340. ISBN 0 415 15068 X.

This text attempts to synthesise the myriad forms of political activity seen in environmental issues, to make some connections between seemingly disparate political acts and to provide the reader with an overview to many areas of politics. The 10 chapters that make up this book are divided into three parts. The first part deals with theory - environmental philosophy, ideology and a brief overview of the environmental movement. Without going into unnecessary depth the authors describe the main elements to key ideas, beliefs and organisations. An attempt is made to bring wide-ranging perspectives into some form of order so that the common elements can be more easily seen. Part two focusses on aspects needed for policy-making - power and decision-making, environmental valuation and organisations. This leaves part three to look at policy from a spatial perspective - globally to locally. The four chapters deal with a different scale - international, European, national and local. Again, examples are chosen to help provide some framework to the discussion. This book, one of the very few to tackle environmental politics from this perspective, has a number of advantages for readers. Its style is lucid even when tackling complex issues. It doesn't lapse into jargon cutting off senior school students who could use this text. Each chapter has a case study which illustrates that chapters overarching themes. It is also comprehensive in its coverage (as a copious reference section attests). Taken together, this produces an excellent text which deserves the widest readership.