Environmental Political Theory and Republicanism

Abstract

This chapter attempts to broaden our understanding of the relatively under-investigated connection between civic republican and green perspectives. The chapter outlines key similarities between civic republicanism and more radical forms of environmentalism and highlights how both republicanism and environmentalism face an internal tension between communitarian values and a strong commitment to meaningful participatory politics. The author argues that greater engagement with republicanism by environmental political theory can promote a better grasp of environmentalism’s political implications and internal tensions. Moreover, engagement with republicanism can also yield insight into how we might address ecological threats, including climate change. Republican conceptions of dispersed sovereignty, civic virtue, and even the proper use of nature can help guide a more ecologically sustainable society.