Theorizing state-environment relationships

Abstract

Scholarly work in geography has often fallen short of establishing the politicized connections between socio-ecological pressures, spatial dynamics and the changing patterns of the state apparatus. It is still necessary to better examine the failures of the responses to ecological problems in relation to the underlying politico-ideological factors that constrain state interventions. Environmental governance has been particularly influenced by Hegelian political theories about flexibility and legitimacy. The persistence of problems largely derives from the idealism of the Hegelian constitutional plan, which has facilitated the advance of capitalism over the more-than-human spheres of socionature mediated and promoted by the contemporary state.

Defiance from Down River: Deflection and Dispute in the Urban-Industrial Metabolism of Pollution in Guadalajara

“…In 2014, manufacturing industries accounted for 30.5% of global energy consumption, a similar proportion to the transport (30.6%) and residential sectors (24.9%) [13] (p. 175). Concomitantly, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that, accounting for indirect emissions, industry was the source of 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 [14] (p. 46). A significant proportion of water consumption is for industrial purposes, where industry including power generation absorbs 19% of water extraction globally, exceeding household consumption (12%) [15].…”

“…While advocating the need for a political ecological framework of the state, Ioris [46] (p. 167) delves into the "internally fractured and contradictory" role of the state as environmental actor. Taking up Marxist perspectives on the state, Ioris observes that, in addition to curbing social environmental conflicts, the main objective of environmental regulations is to decrease uncertainties and production costs and "to systematize the access and ownership of parts of socionature that have economic or political relevance" (p. 173).…”

Wastewater and wishful thinking: Treatment plants to “revive” the Santiago River in Mexico

“…The uneven, contested, and ambiguous nature of state power has been analyzed through the study of water and sanitation infrastructure (Harris, 2017), and this case brings to the fore the tensions in the role of the state in maintaining the conditions for social reproduction versus generating a “business-friendly” environment for capital. Ioris (2015) notes the “internally fractured and contradictory” nature of the state as an environmental actor, where the primary role of environmental laws and policies is to “systematize the access and ownership of parts of socionature that have economic or political relevance,” which includes access to water bodies as sites of disposal. These fractures are evident in a river restoration strategy that evades control of industrial effluents while centering the discourse and investment on public infrastructure.…”

Chapter 25: A Pan-Amazonian sustainable development vision

“…These values can overlap and co-exist in the same individual or across social groups and can be expressed under different contexts and practical situations. However, a historical imbalance of power and socio-economic inequality among different actors has led to the dominance of certain stakeholders' interests and values over others, and to the articulation of dominant monetary values in public policies and organizations within and outside Amazonian borders (Bebbington 2013;Ioris 2015). Over time, these visions have created a set of views based exclusively on monetary value, reinforcing the false rhetoric that standing forests do not produce development.…”