Publication details
Ecological modernization at work? Environmental policy reform in Sweden at the turn of the century
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Scandinavian Studies |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40920789?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents |
| Field | Sociology, demography |
| Keywords | Sweden; Environmental Policy; Environmental Sociology; Ecological Modernization |
| Description | In the 1990s and into the 2000s, Swedish society debated the value of sustainable development. The government decided on an ambitious long-term program to achieve a 'sustainable society' by 2020. This paper seeks to understand the process by which this policy decision was made - as well as its practical implications, which include potentially sweeping impacts on social and economic life in the push for environmental improvements. In pursuit of an explanation, this paper asks whether the environmental sociological theory of ecological modernization describes the process of decision-making in Sweden during this time period. The hypothesis considered here is that Swedish environmental policy reform during this period was largely consistent with the model of social change predicted (and prescribed) by ecological modernization theory (EMT). To test this hypothesis, the Swedish decision-making process is described, ecological modernization theory is introduced, and empirical evidence is presented to compare the Swedish situation with the theory's predictions. |