Republicanism Approach to Environmental Citizenship A Critique on the Book Green Citizenship: Democracy and Green Justice

Tavana, Mohammad Ali; Alipour, Mahmoud

doi:10.30465/crtls.2024.40392.2541

Republicanism Approach to Environmental Citizenship A Critique on the Book Green Citizenship: Democracy and Green Justice

Document Type : Research

Authors

Mohammad Ali Tavana ¹

Mahmoud Alipour ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

² Ph.D. in Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2024.40392.2541

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to review the book "Citizenship, Democracy and Green Justice" written by David E. Lowry and others. The book contains articles about environmental problems, human health and the environment, household consumption basket and environmental pollution, and green justice. The main idea of the collection of articles in the book is that sustainable development is not possible without citizenship, democracy, and green justice. The assumption of these articles is that green citizenship can be established based on ethical recommendations and changing laws and regulations. It seems that the humanistic and legalistic approach leads to a thin green citizenship. On the other hand, this article shows that the approach of civil society (republicanism) has more potential for building green citizenship. According to this approach, moral commitment and responsible action towards the environment requires, above all, belonging to a new society (inclusive natural civil society) in which the relations of citizens are not based on social contracts but on civil friendship. In practice there are serious obstacles to the formation of environmental citizenship: including competition for economic development and growth; Hardening of national identity; and Reducing human action to utilitarian action, especially against nature.

Keywords

Green Citizenship

Environmentalism

Natural Civil Society

Republicanism

Civic Friendship

Civic Ethics

Subjects

political science

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