This chapter focuses on the environmental discourse of limits and survival and how it set the apocalyptic horizon of environmentalism. Population biologists and ecologists use the concept of ‘carrying capacity’ — the maximum population of a species that an ecosystem can support in perpetuity. When the population of a species grows to the point where carrying capacity is exceeded, the ecosystem is degraded and the population crashes, recovering only if and when natural processes restore the ecosystem to its previous capacity. One complicating factor when it comes to applying population biology to human societies is the possibility of economic growth. The chapter first considers the origins of survivalism before discussing the political philosophy of survival, discourse analysis of limits and survival, and limits and survival in practice. It also examines the challenges confronting the limits discourse, including the lack of international action on climate change.
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This edition examines the politics of the Earth through reference to discourses based on the argument that language matters, that the way we construct, interpret, discuss, and analyze environmental problems has all kinds of consequences. The goal is to elucidate the basic structure of the discourses that have dominated recent environmental politics, and to present their history, conflicts, and transformations. The text discusses four basic environmental discourses: environmental problem solving, limits and survival, sustainability, and green radicalism. This introduction provides an overview of the changing terms of environmental politics, questions to ask about discourses, the differences that discourses make, and the uses of discourse analysis.
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Tim Dunne and Brian C. Schmidt
This chapter examines the claim that realism offers the most powerful explanation for the state of war that is the regular condition of life in the international system. It first provides an overview of the theory of realism before discussing whether there is one realism or a variety of realisms. It argues that despite some important differences, all realist theories share a set of core assumptions and ideas. It goes on to consider these common elements, namely self-help, statism, and survival. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the extent to which realism is relevant for understanding the globalization of world politics. To illustrate the main ideas tackled in this chapter, two case studies are presented: one relating to the Melian dialogue and the other to strategic partnerships with ‘friendly’ dictators. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether U.S. hegemony is durable or fleeting.
Book
The Politics of the Earth provides an introduction to thinking about the environment, through investigation of related political discourses. The text analyses the various approaches which have dominated environmental issues over the last three decades and which are likely to be influential in the future, including survivalism, environmental problem solving, sustainability, and green radicalism. This new edition includes more on global environmental politics, as well as updated and expanded examples including more material on China. The text looks at the most modern discourses, including discussions surrounding climate change, and reworks the material on justice and green radicalism to include more on climate justice and new developments such as transition towns and radical summits.
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Or Rosenboim
This chapter examines the claim that realism offers the most powerful explanation for the state of war that is the regular condition of life in the international system. It first provides an overview of the theory of realism before discussing whether there is one realism or a variety of realisms. It argues that despite some important differences, all realist theories share a set of core assumptions and ideas. It goes on to consider these common elements, namely self-help, statism, and survival. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the extent to which realism is relevant for understanding the globalization of world politics. To illustrate the main ideas tackled in this chapter, two case studies are presented. The first looking at Kautilya%#x0027;s realistic thought. Kautilya was a key adviser to Indian king Chandragupta Maurya (c.317–293). The second case study considers the impact of Russia's annexation of the Crimea.
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Brian C. Schmidt
This chapter focuses on national security, a central concept in foreign policy analysis. A core objective of foreign policy is to achieve national security. However, there is a great deal of ambiguity about the meaning of the concept. Although the traditional meaning of national security is often associated with protecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the nation state, this does not exhaust all of the possible meanings. The chapter examines some of the competing conceptions of national security, beginning with the three main assumptions of realism that together help to account for the primacy of national security: statism, survival, and self-help. It then considers the field of security studies before concluding with an assessment of the theoretical controversy about the meaning of national security and how it relates to three American grand strategies: neo-isolationism, liberal internationalism, and primacy.
