Which governance for sustainable development? An organizational and institutional perspective

This chapter takes its point of departure in the observation that the main-stream literature on global environmental politics does not problematize institutions, neither when it comes to diagnosing the causes of the crisis, nor when it comes to addressing it (e.g., most recently, Speth and Haas 2006). More precisely, this literature does not problematize the state as an institution. Indeed, causes of the current global environmental crisis are said to be bad (or failed) policies, inefficient or even destructive technologies, lack of political will, ideas (or ideologies) that are detrimental to the environment (e.g., capitalism), the behavior of particularly evil actors (from transnational corporations to CEOs), culture (e.g., consumerism, individualism), misguided individuals, and more. Similarly, the solution to the global environmental crisis is said to ultimately come from better policies, new and different technologies, more political will, other ideas and ideologies (e.g., green thinking, anti-capitalism, etc.), the elimination of evil actors, or a change in culture, individual behavior, or consciousness.