Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
How can scientific knowledge be translated into political change? Ozone Discourse examines the first global environment treaty, the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent revisions, which was a highly effective collaboration among scientists, policymakers and activists.
The treaties were the work of a small group of experts who, without conventional political or economic resources, were able to persuade most of the world's nations to agree to reduce and then eliminate chlorofluorocarbons. These experts used their understanding of atmospheric science to supplement the policymakers' short-term perspective with a wider, intergenerational timeframe characteristic of global environmental problems.
Litfin argues that the discipline of international relations requires a broader conception of power in order to accomodate the knowledge-based problems such as environmental degradation.
Columbia University Press
Editorials
Alternatives
Litfin does a very good job of setting out the way in which scientific discourse was used by the two primary opponents in the negotiation of the Montreal Protocol:.... Liftin's argument... is convincing.
Alternatives
Litfin does a very good job of setting out the way in which scientific discourse was used by the two primary opponents in the negotiation of the Montreal Protocol: . . . . Liftin's argument . . . is convincing.In a comprehensive history of ozone politics from its emergence in the 1970s to the second revision of the Montreal Protocol in 1992, Litfin (political science, U. of Washington) applies a Foucauldian equation of power and knowledge to the ozone debate, demonstrating how scientific knowledge can be used to gain political clout. Discourse theory is used to show how rival groups used the available body of scientific knowledge to frame the issue in light of their favored policy options. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)