Definitions Flashcards
Environmentalism
a political ideology according to which the natural environment should be protected
ideology
a set of values and believes
tragedy of the commons
collective action problem, people think of their own interests
people don’t act to save resources that are not allocated by markets bc think so else is going to
fractal
a metaphor about interactions between different systems
turbulence
a situation where events, demands and support interact and change in highly variable, inconsistent, unexpected or unpredictable ways
different from crisis
potential sources: systems, patriarchy, neoliberalism, white supremacy, racial capitalism, triggers, technological innovations, env change, legislative changes, geopo conflicts, policy gaps,…
ontology
theory and study of being of the nature of reality (What do we know ?, What is real?)
epistemology
theory and study of knowledge (How do we know what we know?)
positivism
importance of empirical observation and scientific methods in understanding the world
reflectivism (post-positivism)
importance of critical self-reflection and introspection in the pursuit of knowledge
critical theory
challenge + critique of existing social structures, power dynamics and forms of oppression, promotes social change and emancipation
(neo)realism
states are self-interested, no global gov, global politics is determined by the “balance of power” between states
(neo)liberalism
state-centric, individual rights, limited state, free markets, eco interdependence
liberal institutionalism
state-centric but faith in rules, norms and institutions to shape behavior (origin of ESG)
social constructivism
rejects rationalism, role of social interactions, culture and language in dev of knowledge
individuals actively construct their understanding of the world through social and cultural processes rather than absorbing objective truths
norms
collective expectations for the proper behaviour of actors with a given id
collective or shared meanings and ideas
marxism
critical analysis of capitalism
seeks to understand the nature of class struggle, the role of eco in society and the dynamics of historical change
neo-gramscism
understand the role of ideas, culture, power, and hegemony in shaping international politics and global relations
social structures
sets of social, eco and political norms and institutions, including culture and class
hegemony
supremacy of a social class/ruling coalition of actors
threatened by counterhegemonic movements
governmentality
the mechanisms of government
the processes/practices found inside and outside state institutions
globalization
a dynamic, ongoing and accelerating process, restructuring and integrating economies, institutions and civil society
- focus on structural economic factors
- transnational actors and forces
- dynamics go beyond eco interdependence between states
- extension of colonialism
colonization
a social structure and continuiting process, a practice of domination which involves the subjugation of one people to another + possession of the land
settler colonialism
distinct form of colonialism, dispossession of Indigenous lands and political authority
imperialism
often use synonymously with colonization, broader and more indirect means of control
neoliberal capitalism
an eco system and a way of organizing relations over distance
money as a social construction that flows through nature
confidence in markets, minimal state intervention, private ownership
decoupling
the process of separating eco growth and dev from its traditional reliance on the consumption of natural resources and the generation of env harm
shift away from the idea that eco growth and env degradation are intrinsically linked
optimism
assumes the best and its inevitability = leads to passivity
hope
taking risks, being vulnerable to the effects of loss, recognizing the uncertainty of the future and making a commitment to try and participate in shaping it
conviction that sth is worth doing no matter how it turns out
market liberalism
eco growth and high per capita income = essential to human welfare + maintenance of sustainable dev
globalization seen as positive because promotes eco-growth and global interaction
most env problems have the potential to improve in longer term
Institutionalism
need for stronger global institutions and norms, sufficient state and local capacity to constrain and direct the global political eco
ensures that global eco policies work to both improve the env and raise living standards
bioenvironmentalism
stresses “carrying capacity” of the Earth and how we have overstepped it
blames globalization for spreading Western patterns of consumption into the dev world + seen to encourage harmful production processes in poor countries that have lower env standards
Social greens
large-scale industrialism seen to encourage inequality + contributing to poverty and env degradation
capitalism leads to an unequal distribution of global income, power and env problems + a threat to human survival
rationalism
reasoned approach
states capable of developing shared norms
practices can ameliorate their condition and develop the rights of their citizens
English School
a reflectivist approach to international society
historically based interpretative approach
revolutionism
rejection of status quo
reform and ameliorate
sovereign states = part of the problem rather than potential promoters of a more sustainable world (“critical theorists”)
Foucauldian approach
the material world, including nature is meaningless until it is interpreted and assigned meaning by humans
to assign meaning is an act of power
Frontier
an organising principle of metropolitan wealth
Cheapness
a set of strategies to manage relations between capitalism and the web of life by temporarily fixing capitalism’s crisis
Capitalism
a concept in which money flows through nature
disposability
a tactic within a suite of efforts to move goods through, rather than merely into consumer households (ex: packaging)
self-purification
the amount of waste material that may be discharged into a receiving water without causing deleterious ecological effects
decolonization
Tuck and Yang: repatriating land to sovereign Native tribes and nations, abolition of slavery in its contemporary forms and the dismantling of the imperial metropole
modesty
you don’t talk about your accomplishments so that you don’t elevate yourself over others
humility
you are connected to others and it is the recognition that you cannot do anything without these many others
romantics
anti-modernist, distrust science, conservative, conservation
modern era
utilitarian , scientific, rationalism
metaphor
a type of cognitive shortcut, shape our theories of change
ex: tragedy of the commons, carbon lock-in, fractal carbon trap
the commons
resources that are not allocated by markets (groundwater, fisheries, forests)
constructivism
role of ideas, norms and social constructions in shaping how societies understand and address environmental issues
