International Environmental Politics

Booknews

Broadhead (political science, University College of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) writes from a "deepening concern that the very way environmental issues are thought about and the negotiations that result from their common framing are themselves leading to the further deterioration of the natural environment." The author owes her brand of critique to the Frankfurt School, especially in terms of its analysis of the Enlightenment notion of nature: scientifically knowable and technologically domitable. Showing how Enlightenment thought informs international relations, Broadhead targets "green diplomacy," the way that national and international financial bodies counter environmental critique; how globalization is sold as inevitable, irresistible, and beneficial; and how international agreements on ozone depletion and climate change fail their stated aims. So as not to end in dialectic negation, Broadhead offers positive alternatives to green diplomacy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)