The Routledge Handbook of Democracy and Sustainability

This handbook provides comprehensive and critical coverage of the dynamic and complex relationship between democracy and sustainability in contemporary theory, discourse, and practice. Distinguished scholars from different disciplines, such as political science, sociology, philosophy, international relations, look at the present state of this relationship, asking how it has evolved and where it is likely to go in the future. They examine compatibilities and tensions, continuities and changes, as well as challenges and potentials across theoretical, empirical and practical contexts.

This wide-spanning collection brings together multiple established and emerging viewpoints on the debate between democracy and sustainability which have, until now, been fragmented and diffuse. It comprises diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives discussing democracy’s role in, and potential for, coping with environmental issues at the local and global scales. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of arguments, claims, questions, and insights that are put forward regarding the relationship between democracy and sustainability. In the process, it not only consolidates and condenses, but also broadens and captures the many nuances of the debate.

By showing how theoretical, empirical and practical accounts are interrelated, focusing on diverse problem areas and spheres of action, it serves as a knowledge source for professionals who seek to develop action strategies that do justice to both sustainability and democracy, as well as providing a valuable reference for academic researchers, lecturers and students.

Basil Bornemann is a senior researcher and lecturer at the Social Research and Methodology Group and the Sustainability Research Group, University of Basel. He has an interdisciplinary study background in environmental sciences and holds a PhD in political science from Leuphana University of Lüneburg and a venia legendi in political science and sustainability research from the University of Basel. His research focuses on sustainability-oriented governance transformations and their democratic implications in various areas such as energy and food. At present, he is involved in a research project on Sustainabilisation of the State funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Basil is further interested in principles and practices of transformative sustainability research.

Henrike Knappe is post-doc scholar and research group leader at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany. Previously, she was a research associate at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen and held guest fellowships at the University of Washington, Seattle and Stockholm University. Her research interests are future representations in global environmental politics, practices of translation, as well as postcolonial and feminist futures.

Patrizia Nanz is a political scientist and expert on democracy, citizen participation and sustainable transformations. Currently, she is Professor for Public Partcipation and Open Government at University of Potsdam and Vice President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE). She is also co-director of the Franco-German Forum for the Future, a dialogue forum for societal transformations. Previously, she has been Scientific Director at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Co-Chair of the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 for the German government and Professor of Transformative Sustainability Science at the University of Potsdam.