In the last two decades, objects of analysis such as the state have increasingly been seen as uncertain and contested theoretical concepts. The very idea of the state as a recognizable object of analysis has been questioned. This work presents the argument that existing theories of the state can be taken seriously as a way of addressing the present problems of understanding governance. The book raises questions to highlight how existing theoretical approaches can provide useful tools for understanding contemporary political developments. For example: has governance deserted the state as...

This reader brings together material from ecological thought, environmental policy, environmental philosophy, social and political thought, historical sociology and cultural studies. The extracts tell the story of the way the natural environment has been understood in the modern world and how this has recently been questioned as contemporary societies are seen as characterised by uncertainty and complexity.
The literature guides the reader through the conventiaonal grounds for thinking about rights and obligations in relation to future generations, non-human animals and the biotic...

This reader brings together material from ecological thought, environmental policy, environmental philosophy, social and political thought, historical sociology and cultural studies. The extracts tell the story of the way the natural environment has been understood in the modern world and how this has recently been questioned as contemporary societies are seen as characterized by uncertainty and complexity. The literature guides the reader through the conventional grounds for thinking about rights and obligations in relation to future generations, non-human animals and the biotic...