New book by two Vanderbilt University professors, Michael P. Vandenbergh and Jonathan Gilligan: Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change.
If that's not enough it's reviewed by G. Tracy Mehan III, a frequent contributor to WaterWired, executive director for government affairs at the American Water Works Association and adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He writes great book reviews (and other things) so when he sends me something I post it. The review will be publsihed in the May/June 2018 issue of the The Environmental Forum.
The first few paragraphs:
Distinguishing government from governance, identifying the separate yet complementary roles of
the private and public spheres, say, in the realm of environmental management, and thinking seriously about the opportunities and barriers of an integrated or collaborative approach to confronting the challenges of the day — none of this would have made any sense to a citizen of the Roman Empire in the time of Augustus.
The classical view did not recognize anything like civil society beyond the Empire itself encompassing both political, social and religious aspects. It was only after centuries of struggle between Church and Empire, state and society, and the emergence of varying degrees of individualism, did the concept of a civil order and in- stitutions (church, family, community, labor unions, corporations), antecedent to and independent of the state, come to pass.
Without civil society, government and governance are essentially the same. With civil society government is simply part of the complex web of governance by which a society orders itself as well as the state. Thus, no longer is governance viewed as a synonym for government.
Cutting to the chase.....
Beyond Politics is provocative and challenging, well-sourced and full of insights as to motivational approaches to household and institutional behavior. Yet, no where in the dozen or so pages of the book’s index will the reader find any references to either adaptation or resilience in the face of climate change. The authors chose to focus ex- clusively on mitigation. Society, however, may be forced to consider other options given the stark political and economic realities of climate policy.
Be sure to read the entire review. I did, and my copy is in the mail.
Enjoy!
"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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