The Shaping of French Environmental Policy - (Contemporary France) by Joseph Szarka (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Drawing on an extensive range of political, legal and sociological materials, the author presents and evaluates environmental policy-making in France at a time when environmental problems are growing in complexity and gravity.

He highlights the range of inputs to the policy process - including popular movements, green parties, interest group representation, EU legislation and international treaties - and evaluates the diverse nature of the outcomes which lead him to conclude that because new developments involve not only changes in policy content but also adaptation of policy style, environmental demands are progressively changing the shape of politics itself.

Review Quotes

"This excellent study combines considerable institutional and policy detail with an assured analysis of government and private sector agent interactions." - Modern and Contemporary France

"One of the main conclusions the reader of [this] book can draw is that the best specialists of French contemporary political movements come from the Anglo-Saxon academic world." - H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews OnLine

"... a most welcome contribution to [the development of environmental policy] ... Overall, this book is well worth buying, both from an individual and from an institutional perspective. It is excellent value for money and an excellent source of information on environmental policy development and practice that allows one's knowledge to be pushed beyond the traditional Anglo-American axis." - Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy

"[A] solid, insightful, fair-minded survey of French environmental policies" - Choice