Environmentalism in the United States

Environmentalism – defined here as activism aimed at protecting the environment or improving its condition – is undergoing significant change in the United States. Under attack from the current administration and direct questioning from its own ranks, environmentalism in the US is at a crossroads. This special issue will explore the changing patterns of and challenges to environmentalism in the contemporary US. More specifically, it will examine the following dynamics:

· the re-conceptualisation of core ideas and strategies defining US environmentalism;

· questions of identity and relations with other advocacy groups (including labour, global justice and women’s groups);

· institutional change (especially the shift away from regulatory policies and approaches);

· the expanding arenas of activism, to both above and below the state;

· environmentalists’ response to Bush administration policies and priorities.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Environmental Politics.

Elizabeth Bomberg is Senior Lecturer in Politics and the University of Edinburgh.

David Schlosberg is Professor of Political Science at Northern Arizona University.