Paradigms and Discourses

Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in BookChapterpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

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 languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law
Place of PublicationUnited States
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages1-15
Number of pages15
Volume9780199552153
ISBN (Electronic)9780191743740
ISBN (Print)9780199552153
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Sept 2012
Externally publishedYes

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