Abstract
Both paradigms and discourses are a type of inter-subjective understanding that condition individual action, and social outcomes, in the international system no less than elsewhere. They have no formal existence resembling that of organisations, constitutions, laws, and treaties. Yet paradigms and discourses can be none the less effective in coordinating the behaviour of large numbers of actors, and this is especially true in a political system as decentralised as the international one, where formal sources of order are weak. It is impossible to understand international environmental law without getting to grips with the informal understandings that condition its creation and operation. This article explores basic concepts about paradigms and discourse, the transition from industrialism to environmentalism, and major environmental discourses including survivalism and its Promethean opposite, problem-solving discourses, sustainability, and green radicalism.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law |
Place of Publication | United States |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 1-15 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Volume | 9780199552153 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780191743740 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780199552153 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 18 Sept 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |