Rethinking Environmental Protection and Politics

The conventional theory of collective action related to environmental protection is that of social dilemmas. It is presumed that citizens will not cooperate to reduce the environmental externalities they produce. Thus, the major actor is presumed to be a national government, or for climate change issues, an international government. Citizens are seen as helpless. Empirical evidence has shown that citizens are not always helpless and are able to cope effectively with many, but not all, problems related to efficient use of water, forests, and other resources. Slowly a new theory of collective action has been crafted. Instead of always recommending external governmental actions, the importance of developing polycentric governance arrangements at multiple scales – from that of a neighborhood, a local community, to national or international governments – has been highlighted. The lecture will contrast the conventional theory of collective action with the new theory that is being developed in light of extensive empirical evidence.