Overview
- Introduces political ecology perspectives and concepts with particular focus on Africa and Norway
- Written in an engaging and accessible style with a diverse range of relevant case studies to enhance student understanding
- Challenges established views with research findings that may surprise readers
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- Political Ecology
- environmental justice
- Neo-Marxist
- post-structural theory
- environmental resources
- environment and development
- environmental identity
- social movements
- Development Studies
- alternative sustainabilities
- climate change mitigation
- Marxist political economy
- wildlife conservation studies
- bioprospecting
- feminist political ecology
- carbon mitigation
- fossil fuel-based economy
- undergraduate textbook
- graduate textbook
- Environmental Geography
About this book
Drawing on discourse and narrative analysis, Marxist political economy and insights from natural science, the book points at similarities, differences and inter-connections between environmental governance in the global North and South. A wide range of carefully curated case studies are presented, with a particular focus on Africa and Norway. Key themes of power, justice and environmental sustainability run through all chapters.
The authors challenge established views and leading discourses and present research findings that may surprise readers. Chapters cover topics including wildlife conservation, climate change and conflicts, land grabbing, the effects of population growth on the environment, jihadism in the African Sahel, bioprospecting, feminist political ecology, and struggles around carbon mitigation within a fossil fuel-based economy. This introductory text provides tools and examples for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to better understand on-going struggles about some of the world’s most urgent challenges.
Reviews
“Anyone wondering why political ecology has proliferated in the past few years, the new book by Tor Benjaminsen and Hanne Svarstad may have the answer. Filled with conceptually rich frameworks and illuminating case studies, this benchmark exploration into political ecology is a perfect primer for both those new to the field political ecology as well as advanced students and scholars alike. This undertaking is no small feat – mixing years of on the ground research with fresh takes on environmental justice, power and uneven development to deliver a powerful book that is exceptionally timely. Facing cascading social, political and ecological crisis, the multifaceted toolkit of political ecology is needed now more than ever.” (Ben Neimark, University of Lancaster, Lancaster Environment Centre, UK)
“The book describes our common present with unsentimental urgency. Benjaminsen and Svarstad demonstrate the complexity of human engagement with the scarce resourcesof our planet, and the analytical pathways offered by political ecology. The book’s many vivid examples underscore how power is always part of the equation: people + their environment.” (Christian Lund, University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Hanne Svarstad is a sociologist and Professor of Development Studies at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway. Her research is about climate change mitigation, land use conflicts, bioprospecting, power, environmental justice, education and alternative sustainabilities.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Political Ecology
Book Subtitle: A Critical Engagement with Global Environmental Issues
Authors: Tor A. Benjaminsen, Hanne Svarstad
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56036-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-56035-5Published: 09 February 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-56036-2Published: 08 February 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 249
Number of Illustrations: 12 b/w illustrations, 22 illustrations in colour
Topics: Environmental Policy, Sociology, general, Environmental Geography, Geography, general, Environment, general, Development Studies