Ecologically Unequal Exchange in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This special issue originated during planning for the 2008 American Sociological Association (ASA) meeting. The Political Economy of the World-System, Environment and Technology, and Marxist Sociology sections cosponsored a series of panels. These three sections of the ASA complement each other on many fronts and offer an impressive array of theory and research that grapples with many of the most pressing issues confronting the world today. It was collectively decided that the first co-editor of this special collection organize a panel that focused on ecologically unequal exchange, an emerging perspective that is logically situated at the nexus of the three sections and their complementary orientations. Works within this emerging perspective consider how the structure of the world-economy influences unequal material-ecological exchanges, often per petuating global inequalities and uneven environmental impacts, most of which disproportionately harm the environment and well-being of populations in lesser-developed countries. The resulting panel at the national meeting was very successful, stimulating much discussion and interest in building upon the engagement. The panelists and their presentations were methodologically diverse and theoretically rich, but with a common topical thread that highlighted the intersections of the three sections. Hence, this special issue consists of articles by the panelists at the meeting as well as contributions by other social scientists who significantly contribute to the study of ecologically unequal exchange in comparative perspective. The first two articles theoretically situate ecologically unequal exchange, establishing links with various traditions, articulating the goals of studies in this area, revealing the important social relationships to investigate, identifying the social forces of environmental degradation, and raising key considerations International Journal of Comparative Sociology © The Author(s), 2009. Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav http://cos.sagepub.com Vol 50(3–4): 211–214 DOI: 10.1177/0020715209105139