Understanding Environmental Policy Convergence: The Power of Words, Rules and Money

Over recent decades national environmental policies have become increasingly alike. This book analyses the driving forces of this process of policy convergence, providing an in-depth empirical analysis of the international forces at work. It does so by investigating how four countries - France, Hungary, Mexico and the Netherlands - have shaped their domestic environmental policies in the context of international institutions and relationships, while taking into account various domestic factors and national conditions. Employing a qualitative approach, the authors seek to deepen understanding of the processes and mechanisms through which international forces such as legal harmonisation, institutionalised information flows and global trade dynamics affect domestic environmental policy change. Together with its companion volume Environmental Policy Convergence in Europe: The Impact of Trade and International Institutions (2008) this book provides a 'showcase' of mixed methodologies, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches in an innovative way.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: theoretical framework and research design Duncan Liefferink, Helge Jörgens and Andrea Lenschow; 2. Is there convergence of national environmental policies? An analysis of policy outputs in 24 OECD countries Katharina Holzinger, Christoph Knill and Thomas Sommerer; 3. Regulation of industrial discharges into surface water Stephan Heichel, Jessica Pape and Jale Tosun; 4. Taming the 'tiger in the tank': explaining the convergence of limit values for lead in petrol Per-Olof Busch; 5. Cross-national convergence of traffic noise policies Dieter Pesendorfer; 6. National policies for cleaning up contaminated sites Sietske Veenman; 7. Converging ideas about risk regulation? The precautionary principle in national legal systems Dieter Pesendorfer; 8. From the outside in: explaining convergence in the legal recognition of the sustainability principle Per-Olof Busch and Helge Jörgens; 9. Complex causation in cross-national environmental policy convergence Andrea Lenschow, Duncan Liefferink and Helge Jörgens.

About the Author :
Helge Jörgens is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Freie Universität Berlin and Managing Director of the Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU). Andrea Lenschow is Professor of European Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at Osnabrück University, Germany, where she also holds a Jean Monnet Chair and directs the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in European Studies. In addition, she teaches at the College of Europe in Bruges. Duncan Liefferink is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Political Sciences of the Environment at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Review :
'We have long suspected that environmental policies are growing more similar, but systematic explanations have always eluded us. This intelligently designed book addresses this gap by blending quantitative and qualitative sources in a most novel and enlightening way. I do not think you will read a better edited book on environmental policy for a long time.' Professor Andrew Jordan, University of East Anglia 'This comprehensive and theoretically sophisticated volume makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the complex domestic and international dynamics of environmental policy convergence. Its national and policy focused case studies are well-researched and highly informative.' Professor David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley