Power and environmental assessment: Introduction to the special issue

Abstract

The significance of politics and power dynamics has long been recognised in environmental assessment (EA) research, but there has not been sustained attention to power, either theoretically or empirically. The aim of this special issue is to encourage the EA community to engage more consistently with the issue of power. The introduction represents a ground-clearing exercise intended to clarify the terms of the debate about power in the EA field, and to contribute to the development of a research agenda. Research trends in the field are outlined, and potential analytic and normative lines of inquiry are identified. The contributions to this special issue represent contrasting conceptual and methodological approaches that navigate the analytical and normative terrain of power dynamics in EA. Together, they demonstrate that power cannot be removed from EA policy or practices, and is a necessary research focus for the development of the field. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Environmental assessment; Power; Research agenda

Published in

Environmental Impact Assessment Review
2013, volume: 39, pages: 1-4
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC

SLU Authors

• Cashmore, Matthew

  • Aalborg University

• Richardson, Tim

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Aalborg University

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Management
Human Geography

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2012.08.002

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/52489