Selin Publishes in Annual Review
Henrik Selin, Associate Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, has co-authored a research paper on the European Union’s mixed record in environmental governance in the prestigious scholarly journal, Annual Review of Environment and Resources (2015; Vol 40; 309-335).
The paper, co-authored with Prof. Stacy VanDeveer of the University of New Hampshire, is entitled “Broader, Deeper and Greener: European Union Environmental Politics, Policies, and Outcomes.” It continues the joint research that Selin and VanDeveer have published over the last many years on environmental governance in the EU.
“This article is based on my co-author and I having spent two decades studying different areas of European environmental politics and policy-making. Our joint work also resulted in our recent book European Union and Environmental Governance,” said Selin. “We will discuss our book and Annual Review article at a Pardee Center seminar on Friday, Nov. 13th.”
The argument of the research is laid out in the abstract:
The European Union (EU) is influential in environmental politics and policy-making across its 28 member states, around its periphery, and globally. Building on a diverse analytical and empirical literature, this article’s seven sections each highlights important research findings and outcomes from more than four decades of EU environmental governance. These include (a) a substantial transfer of legal authority from member states to the supranational level; (b) a growing involvement of EU bodies, advocacy groups, and civil society in regional goal-setting and decision-making; (c) the development of elaborate governance systems and mechanisms for making, implementing, and enforcing policy; (d) EU exercise of considerable influence over countries seeking membership before and after joining the Union; (e) increased EU participation and influence in international fora; (f) a mixed record of uneven implementation and varied environmental outcomes in Europe and across the world; and (g) continuing challenges in nascent attempts to engender greater resource efficiency and sustainability in Europe and beyond. All of these findings and outcomes suggest numerous areas and directions for additional research.
The research paper is available here.
Selin is the faculty coordinator for the IR & Environmental Policy program. He is also a faculty member of the Center for the Study of Europe, and a Fellow with the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of Longer-Range Future, Boston University. Learn more about him here.