New Book: Change in Global Environmental Politics
Michael Manulak
Dear Colleagues,
This new book, released today, might be of interest to those on the GEP-ED list:
Michael W. Manulak, Change in Global Environmental Politics: Temporal Focal Points and the Reform of International Institutions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022).
Why it might be of interest? For those on this list, the book might be of interest in that, beyond its theoretical contribution, it provides an extensive empirical investigation of the 50+-year history of UN environmental politics. I draw on thousands of pages of diplomatic documents on environmental negotiations (from eight archives in five countries) and interview many of the major players to provide a lot of new insights on the politics of institutional change in environmental governance.
Here is the publisher’s blurb: As wildfires rage, pollution thickens, and species disappear, the world confronts environmental crisis with a set of global institutions in urgent need of reform. Yet, these institutions have proved frustratingly resistant to change. Introducing the concept of Temporal Focal Points, Manulak shows how change occurs in world politics. By re-envisioning the role of timing and temporality in social relations, his analysis presents a new approach to understanding transformative phases in international cooperation. We may now be entering such a phase, he argues, and global actors must be ready to realize the opportunities presented. Charting the often colorful and intensely political history of change in global environmental politics, this book sheds new light on the actors and institutions that shape humanity's response to planetary decline. It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students of international relations, international organization and environmental politics and history.
If you’re ordering it for your personal library, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a 20% discount flyer code.
Michael W. Manulak
Assistant Professor
Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University