ISSN: 0964-4016 (Print) 1743-8934 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.

com/journals/fenp20

Ecological modernisation around the world: An

introduction

Arthur P.J. Mol & David A. Sonnenfeld

To cite this article: Arthur P.J. Mol & David A. Sonnenfeld (2000) Ecological modernisation
around the world: An introduction, , 9:1, 1-14, DOI: 10.1080/09644010008414510

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010008414510

Published online: 08 Nov 2007.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 14344

View related articles

Citing articles: 18 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=fenp20
INTRODUCTION
 Ecological Modernisation Around the
World: An Introduction

ARTHUR P.J. MOL and DAVID A. SONNENFELD

Introduction
Many contemporary environmental social scientists and commentators
suggest that a major turn occurred in the 1980s with regard to the continuing
undermining of sustenance bases of western industrial societies. The
Brundtland report [WCED, 1987] is often denoted as the codification of that
transformation, which was marked by other historical events as well,
including the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED). Beyond this common understanding, divergent
interpretations have developed on (i) the nature of that transformation, (ii)
the actors and actions which have triggered innovations in societies'
interactions with external nature, (iii) the extent to which such
environmental improvements have reflected changing environmental
ideologies and discourses, and (iv) the social and geographical distribution
of those changes.
Numerous social scientists have analysed aspects of this turn, looking at,
for example, the changing role of the nation-state in safeguarding the
environment [cf. Janicke, 1993], and the role of social movements in
representing environmental interests vis-a-vis economic agents [cf.
Rawcliffe, 1998]. Few attempts have been made to formulate more general
explanations of current transformations of environmental practices,
discourses and institutions. One of the more sustained efforts to do so has
been a growing number of publications which can be brought together under
the label, 'ecological modernisation'. Scholars in different disciplines from
around the world have been developing and 'testing' this body of work for
nearly two decades.1
The present volume aims to contribute to the critical advancement of
Ecological Modernisation Theory. It tries to capture and evaluate the state
of the art of this approach's analysis of contemporary environmental
reforms, while also presenting fresh challenges from outside this school of
thought. Although Ecological Modernisation Theory is the central focus of
this work, neither we, the editors, nor the individual authors interpret it as
the only valid approach. Various articles in this volume give evidence of the
4 ECOLOGICAL MODERNISATION AROUND THE WORLD

limitations of the present state of the art of Ecological Modernisation

Theory and the need to confront it with other perspectives to develop it
further. Moreover, contributors to this volume vary in their 'support' for this
school of thought. Whether engaged or in debate with it, however, the
authors find Ecological Modernisation Theory to be one of the more
valuable points of reference in contemporary social sciences for analysing
society-environment interactions at the turn of the millennium.
In order to provide a conceptual framework in which to situate
individual contributions, we first outline the historical emergence of
Ecological Modernisation Theory and summarise its key features, before
outlining the contents of this volume.

The Emergence of Ecological Modernisation Theory

Ecological Modernisation Theory was first developed in the early 1980s
primarily in a small group of western European countries, notably Germany,
the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK). Social scientists such as
Martin Janicke, Volker von Prittwitz, Udo Simonis and Klaus Zimmermann
(Germany), Gert Spaargaren, Maarten Hajer and Arthur P.J. Mol (the
Netherlands) and Albert Weale, Maurie Cohen and Joseph Murphy (UK)
made substantial contributions to this scholarship (see the various
references in the different contributions to this volume). More recently,
empirical studies have also been carried out focusing on among others
Finland [e.g., Jokinen and Koskinen, 1998; Sarinen, forthcoming], Canada
[e.g., Harris, 1996], Denmark [e.g., Andersen, 1994], Europe [Neale, 1997],
Lithuania [e.g., Rinkevicius, 2000 and this volume], Hungary (e.g., Gille,
this volume), Kenya [e.g., Frijns et al, 1997] and Southeast Asia (e.g.,
Sonnenfeld; and Frijns et al, this volume). It is the German sociologist
Joseph Huber, however, who should arguably be seen as its founder [cf.
1982, 1985, 1991].
Even in its relatively short existence, Ecological Modernisation Theory
has developed with considerable diversity and debate, not only by national
background and theoretical foundation,2 but also chronologically. Reserving
a more detailed overview and analysis of this literature for elsewhere, we
believe it useful for the present purposes to distinguish at least three stages
in the development and maturation of this school of thought.
The first contributions, especially those by Joseph Huber [cf. 1982,
1985], were characterised by a heavy emphasis on the role of technological
innovations in environmental reform, especially in the sphere of industrial
production; a critical attitude towards the (bureaucratic) state;3 a favourable
attitude towards the role of market actors and dynamics in environmental
reforms; a systems-theoretical and rather evolutionary perspective with a
AN INTRODUCTION 5
limited notion of human agency and social struggles; and an orientation
towards analyses at the level of the nation-state.
The second period, from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, showed less
emphasis on technological innovation as the key motor of ecological
modernisation; a more balanced view on the respective roles of states and
'the market' in ecological transformation [cf. Weale, 1992; Jdnicke, 1991,
1993]; and more attention to institutional and cultural dynamics of
ecological'modernisation [cf. Hajer, 1995; Spaargaren and Mol, 1991,
1992; Cohen, 1997]. During this period, scholarship on ecological
modernisation continued to emphasise national and comparative studies of
industrial production in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) countries.
Since the mid-1990s, the frontier of Ecological Modernisation Theory
has broadened theoretically and geographically to include studies on the
ecological transformation of consumption; ecological modernisation in non-
European countries (newly industrialising countries, less developed
countries, the transitional economies in Central and Eastern Europe, but
also OECD countries such as the USA and Canada); and global processes.
Works in the present volume fit squarely in this third phase of Ecological
Modernisation Theory.4
Notwithstanding their temporal, national, and theoretical differences,
one can gather this scholarship together under the aegis of Ecological
Modernisation Theory. Such studies arguably have three broad perspectives
in common: (i) moving beyond apocalyptic orientations to see
environmental problems as challenges for social, technical and economic
reform, rather than as immutable consequences of industrialisation; (ii)
emphasising transformation of core social institutions of modernity - be it
not beyond recognition - including science and technology, production and
consumption, politics and governance, and the 'market', on multiple scales
(local, national, and global); and (iii) positioning in the academic field
distinct from counter-productivity/deindustrialisation, postmodernist/strong
social constructionist, and many neo-Marxist analyses.
We turn next to outlining some of Ecological Modernisation Theory's
core themes.

Core Themes of Ecological Modernisation Theory

From the initial contributions onwards, the aim of Ecological Modernisation
Theory has been to analyse how contemporary industrialised societies deal
with environmental crises. The core of all studies in the tradition of
Ecological Modernisation focuses on (existing and programmed)
environmental reforms in social practices, institutional designs and societal
6 ECOLOGICAL MODERNISATION AROUND THE WORLD

and policy discourses to safeguard societies' sustenance bases.

Some authors emphasise that these social transformations in institutions,
practices and discourses are paralleled by physical changes in tendencies of
environmental disruptions and material flows [e.g., Jdnicke et al., 1992].
According to these latter scholars, from the mid-1990s onwards, a process
of decoupling or delinking of material from economic flows emerged in
ecological front-runner5 nations such as Germany, Japan, the Netherlands,
Sweden and Denmark. In a number of cases (countries, industrial sectors,
issues), environmental reforms arguably even resulted in an absolute
decline of natural resources used and emissions produced, regardless of
economic growth in monetary or material terms (amount of products).6
Considerable debate has emerged about whether these improvements have
actually taken place and to what extent any such improvements are
structural or incidental.
It is not physical improvements per se, however, but rather social and
institutional transformations which have been and still are at the core of
much current scholarship on ecological modernisation. These
transformations can be grouped in five clusters:

(1) Changing role of science and technology: Science and technology not
only are judged for their role in the emergence of environmental problems
but also valued for their actual and potential role in curing and preventing
them. Traditional curative and repair options are replaced by preventive
socio-technological approaches incorporating environmental considerations
from the design stage of technological and organisational innovations.
Science and technology are not marginalised despite an apparent growing
uncertainty of expert knowledge regarding definitions and causes of, and
solutions for, environmental problems.

(2) Increasing importance of market dynamics and economic agents (such

as producers, customers, consumers, credit institutions, insurance
companies, etc.) as carriers of ecological restructuring and reform (in
addition to the more conventional categories of state agencies and new
social movements that prevail in almost all social theories on the
environment.

(3) Transformations in the role of the nation-state: More decentralised,

flexible and consensual styles of governance emerge, with less top-down,
national command-and-control environmental regulation - often referred to
as political modernisation [cf. Jdnicke, 1993; Jdnicke and Weidner, 1995].
More opportunities for non-state actors to assume traditional administrative,
regulatory, managerial, corporate,7 and mediating functions of the nation-
AN INTRODUCTION 7

states, referred to by some as subpolitical arrangements [cf. Beck, 1994;

Hogenboom et al., 1999]. Emergent supranational institutions also
undermine the nation-state's traditional role in environmental reform.

(4) Modifications in the position, role and ideology of social movements:

Increasingly, social movements are involved in public and private decision-
making institutions regarding environmental reforms, in contrast to having
been limited to the periphery or even outside of such processes and
institutions in the 1970s and 1980s.8 Along with this is a partial shift from
anti-systemic, demodernisation to reform ideologies. These changes, in
turn, have led to debates within social movement organisations regarding
tensions of dualistic strategies and ideologies.

(5) Changing discursive practices and emerging new ideologies: Complete

neglect of the environment and the fundamental counterpositioning of
economic and environmental interests are no longer accepted as legitimate
positions [cf. Spaargaren and Mol, 1992; Hajer, 1995]. Intergenerational
solidarity in dealing with the sustenance base has emerged as an undisputed
core principle.

Such social transformations feature as central topics of scholarship on

ecological modernisation in western industrialised countries, and
increasingly elsewhere as well. Two further positions can be identified in
these studies. Some scholars [cf. Weak, 1992; Mol, 1995; Spaargaren,
1997] use these premises as analytical tools to understand the social
dynamics of present-day processes of environmental reform. A second
group (including Christoff [1996]; Boons [1997]; Dryzek [1997]) moves
beyond this position, claiming that these premises have not only analytical
value but also normative merit in outlining desirable and feasible paths for
environmental reform - or they contest such premises.

Contents of this Volume

Essays collected in this volume reflect the core themes outlined above and
are a typical product of what we have labelled the third phase of Ecological
Modernisation studies. The contributions fall into two general groupings.
The first several are primarily oriented towards forwarding ecological
modernisation's theoretical foundations. They assess historical debates the
school-of-thought has been engaged in, extend Ecological Modernisation
Theory to address environmental aspects of consumption practices and
consumer behaviour, and examine the relationship between national
'knowledge orientations' and ecological modernisation, respectively. The
8 ECOLOGICAL MODERNISATION AROUND THE WORLD

subsequent papers draw from empirical case studies to assess the usefulness
of this theoretical framework in understanding environmental reform
processes in three sets of countries outside north-western Europe. Two
contributions focus on western OECD countries (the USA and Finland);
two others pay attention to transitional economies in eastern and central
Europe (Lithuania and Hungary); the final two concentrate on newly
industrialising countries in South-east Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia and
Thailand; and Viet Nam, respectively).
In the first selection, Arthur Mol and Gert Spaargaren review both older
and newer theoretical debates with which Ecological Modernisation Theory
has engaged. During the 1980s, proponents of this approach, including the
two authors, demarcated themselves from both 'counter-productivity'
(deindustrialisation or small-is-beautiful) and anti-capitalist perspectives.
More recently in the 1990s, ecological modernisation theorists clarified
differences between their approach of addressing environmental problems
and that of social constructionists, postmodernists, and radical (deep)
ecologists. Interestingly, some of the common roots and perspectives
between Ecological Modernisation Theory and eco-Marxism with respect to
social inequalities and ecological restructuring also are explored.
In the following contribution, Gert Spaargaren and Bas van Vliet
challenge environmental social scientists to address the environmental
implications of consumption practices and consumer behaviour. Rejecting
traditional social psychological studies of consumer behaviour as
inadequate for the task, they draw from Giddens' structuration theory,
Bourdieu's theory of distinction, Warde's and others' sociology of
consumption, and Cowan's, Otnes', Shove's and others' work on domestic
consumption, to outline an ecological modernisation perspective on the
greening of domestic consumption. Spaargaren and van Vliet suggest that
processes of ecological modernisation are affecting not only material
production, but also increasingly consumption as well, to the level of daily
practices of individual households. They call for improved social scientific
analyses and policies for understanding and encouraging green consumer
behaviour, and outline a conceptual model for doing so.
Maurie Cohen continues his contributions to Ecological Modernisation
Theory in the third study, exploring the importance of environmental values
and orientations in ecological modernisation, enriching its up till now
undertheorised cultural dimensions. He constructs an ideal-typical model of
environmental knowledge, combining variations of ecological
consciousness and epistemological commitment. Using the Netherlands as
a case study, he then suggests the usefulness of national studies of
'environmental knowledge orientations' to predict the likelihood of success
of ecological modernisation in different countries.
AN INTRODUCTION 9

David Pellow, Allan Schnaiberg and Adam Weinberg question the

validity of Ecological Modernisation Theory in the fourth selection, through
a case study of the social relations and environmental impacts of an urban
waste recycling programme in Chicago, USA. Among others, they
challenge one of Ecological Modernisation Theory's core hypotheses: that
production processes are increasingly designed and conducted using
ecological criteria. They observe that in Chicago, recycling has been placed
on an increasingly profit-oriented basis, to the detriment of both employees
of that industry and the natural environment. They argue that this case
validates Schnaiberg's well-known 'treadmill of production' thesis, in
which economic elites increasingly dominate all aspects of society and the
environment unless checked by grassroots social movements. The authors
call for continuing empirical research from both treadmill of production and
ecological modernisation perspectives, including on 'zero-sum moments' of
ecological decision-making when 'real and inherent conflicts among
stakeholders' must be confronted.
Across the world, Pekka Jokinen examines the impact of
Europeanisation on agri-environmental policies and practices in Finland,
paying special attention to changes in institutional arrangements, discourses
and practices. Although it has been suggested that ecological modernisation
is facilitated by processes of globalisation, Jokinen finds mixed results in
the Finnish case: discourses have changed, but institutional arrangements
have been transformed only marginally. Prior to joining the European Union
(EU), the Finnish state devoted considerable resources to supporting
progressive agri-environmental practices by Finnish farmers. Under the
terms of EU membership this was considered an unfair subsidy, however,
and had to be discontinued.
In the different setting of transitional economies, Leo Rinkevicius finds
Ecological Modernisation Theory useful in analysing shifts in culture and
institutional practices in the Baltic republic of Lithuania. Taking an
historical approach, Rinkevicius examines environmentalism in Lithuania
under Soviet rule, during national liberation, and in the current transition to
becoming a liberal, market-oriented society. Consistent with western
European experience, Rinkevicius finds that in Lithuania, too,
environmental activism has transformed from its formerly oppositional role
to being more integrated in society and institutions. At the same time, such
activism in Lithuania retains what he refers to as a 'mixed value-
orientation', with both 'eco-managerial' and 'romantic-idealistic' aspects.
Zsuzsa Gille analyses the relevance of contemporary notions of
industrial ecology and ecological moderenisation in understanding the
development of waste management practices from the Second World War
onwards in another transitional European society, Hungary. Provocatively,
10 ECOLOGICAL MODERNISATION AROUND THE WORLD

she argues that Hungary's state socialist leadership established some of the
first 'industrial ecological' programmes in the early years of Hungarian
socialism, in the 1950s - well before the popularity of such ideas in the
West. Waste re-use programmes were established in response to Western
blockades of industrial goods exports to Hungary. In later years, Hungary's
waste re-use programmes became progressively distorted from their
original intent, however, resulting in stockpiling of unused wastes and
waste-based products. Today in its postsocialist transition, Hungary faces a
very different dynamic, with western European countries and firms striving
to make the country a regional 'waste processing zone'. Gille invokes what
she argues are progressive aspects of Hungary's earlier waste utilisation
programmes, and calls for greater citizen and worker participation in the
formulation of contemporary waste management policies and practices.
The final two papers in this volume examine the relevance of Ecological
Modernisation Theory to newly industrialising countries in South-east Asia.
David Sonnenfeld explores what he posits are both accomplishments and
contradictions of ecological modernisation in South-east Asia's pulp and
paper sector. Faced with strong local and transnational social movements on
one hand, and favourable global market conditions on the other,
domestically owned manufacturing firms adopted cleaner process
technology in the construction of new facilities. In this case, adoption of
cleaner technology, Sonnenfeld suggests, was arguably only partially
'ecologically-modern' in that increased pulp production in South-east Asia
was predicated on expanded destruction of natural forests and establishment
of fast-growing exotic tree plantations in place of smallholder farming.
Greater attention should be paid by technology firms and technology-
exporting countries, he argues, to developing ecologically modern
approaches for small- and medium-sized enterprises, which provide
important sources of employment in developing countries.
Lastly, Jos Frijns, Phung Thuy Phuong, and Arthur Mol examine the
applicability of Ecological Modernisation Theory to one of Asia's newest
'tiger' economies, Viet Nam, also in transition from a 'command and
control' to a more market-oriented economy. With rapid industrial
development and increasing environmental threats, they find that Viet Nam
is only in the early stages of developing an environmental regulatory
apparatus and policy framework, has a hardly adequate programme for
encouraging technological change into more environmentally sound
directions, and lacks a strong national environmental movement that can
press for ecological reforms. They conclude that Ecological Modernisation
Theory has only marginal explanatory power for understanding
environmental reform processes in Viet Nam today. Frijns, Phung and Mol
do find in Ecological Modernisation Theory, however, a hopeful set of
AN INTRODUCTION 11

prescriptive principals with which Viet Nam could advance the

effectiveness of environmental policy and management structures and
practices. But Ecological Modernisation in such a context would differ from
the original Eurocentric version.

Conclusion
Taken as a whole, we believe the contributions to this volume push
Ecological Modernisation Theory forward on at least five fronts: its
geographical scope, coverage, and applicability; its theoretical stance
relative to other environmental social science and policy perspectives; its
coverage of dynamics of consumption as well as production; its attention to
issues of national and civic culture; and its relevance to transitional and
newly industrialising as well as advanced industrial countries.
It is too early to ascertain the full extent of Ecological Modernisation
Theory's applicability to different economic, cultural, political-institutional
and geographical settings and locations around the world. The studies
assembled here report mixed results. They converge, however, in finding
that the approach and tools of Ecological Modernisation Theory are useful
for social scientific analysis and policy formation, even where all conditions
for development of ecologically modern institutions do not yet exist. At the
same time, some processes of ecological modernisation are global (even
while others are not), and thus this body of theory remains at least partially
relevant around the world.
Ecological Modernisation Theory is very much a living and growing
school-of-thought. Although reared in the context of political and policy
debates in north-western Europe, its intellectual 'stock' becomes more
heterodox as its scope and influence expands. Old demarcations, such as
with certain forms of neo-Marxism and green politics in the western
European context are tested again in new contexts and encounters with
similar but different intellectual traditions from other parts of the world,
with challenging outcomes. Ecological Modernisation Theory's
accommodation with concerns about global and local inequality illustrate
this dynamic, as are efforts to 'stretch' it to address or explain dynamics in
the vastly different political contexts of transitional societies, both in
Europe and Asia.
As a maturing but still young school-of-thought, it is only natural for
Ecological Modernisation Theory to expand in exploration of important
dimensions of contemporary life inadequately addressed by other
environmental social scientific approaches. Here, Ecological Modernisation
Theory's roots in classical European social theory are real strengths - in
addressing issues of consumption practices and consumer behaviour, taking
12 ECOLOGICAL MODERNISATION AROUND THE WORLD

positions between 'realists' and social-constructivists, understanding the

development of cultural institutions and practices, and even taking up such
intellectually challenging topics as notions of 'national culture orientations'.
In undertaking such efforts, Ecological Modernisation Theory may
ultimately not only contribute to environmental social science and policy,
but also strengthen linkages between those transdisciplinary pursuits and
mainstream social science.
Being still a theory in the making, it should not surprise us that
numerous issues remain to be elaborated and addressed by Ecological
Modernisation Theory. Key outstanding issues include the nature of
requisite political and institutional cultures for successful (and 'reflexive')
ecological modernisation; the varying role and importance of environmental
and other social movements and non-governmental organisations in
ecological modernisation, especially in countries with weaker histories and
institutions of popular participation; global and domestic inequalities in
capacities to establish and maintain ecologically modern institutions,
technologies, and practices; and the dialectics of globalisation in its various
outlooks and dimensions, and ecological modernisation.
The final word on Ecological Modernisation Theory has yet to be
spoken, due in no small part to the changing nature of environmental reform
processes themselves. Much work remains to be done developing, testing
and analysing this school of thought, both in general, including its
theoretical premises, and more particularly in its applicability to different
social systems, political configurations and traditions, and geographical
regions around the world. We hope that this volume contributes to such
efforts as much as it is the beginning of them.

NOTES

1. Martin Janicke claims to have been the inventor of the concept and first introduced the notion
of ecological rnodernisationin the late 1970s during political discussions in the Berlin
Community Council, of which he was a member.
2. Theoretical traditions range from systems theory [e.g. Huber, 1985, 1991], to institutional
analysis [cf. Mol, 1995], to discourse analysis [Hajer, 1995; also Weale, 1992].
3. This perspective was shared by Martin Janicke in his early writings [cf. Jänicke, 1986].
4. But see for instance also some contributions brought together in a volume edited by
Spaargaren, Mol and Buttel [2000], as well as a special issue of the journal Geography
(forthcoming).
5. These nations are front runners not so much in absolute terms of minimal environmental
additions and withdrawals per country or per capita, but rather in terms of policies that
transform existing trends of increasing resource consumption and emissions [cf. Andersen
and Liefferink, 1997].
6. See, for instance, the studies of Janicke et al. [e.g. 1992], the publications of the European
Environmental Agency [cf. 1998], those in the tradition of dematerialisation and Factor 4 (or
10 or more); [cf. Reijnders, 1998], those in the tradition of the so-called green or
 AN I N T R O D U C T I O N 13

environmental Kuznets curve (see the special issues of the journals, Ecological Economics,
1998; Environment and Development Economics, 1996; and Ecological Applications, 1996).
7. In the case of the privatisation of parastatal organisations.
8. Although one can question whether it should be analysed as a social movement, the German
political party, Die Grünen (the Greens), stands as a model for this transformation in
ideology and position. The process leading ultimately to a position as coalition partner in the
German government from 1998 onwards has indeed been paralleled by major internal
debates and struggles.

REFERENCES

Andersen, M.S. (1994), Governance by Green Taxes: Making Pollution Prevention Pay,
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Andersen, M.S. and J.D. Liefferink (eds.) (1997), European Environmental Policy: The Pioneers,
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Beck, U. (1994), 'The Reinvention of Politics: Towards a Theory of Reflexive Modernization',
in U. Beck, A. Giddens and S. Lash, Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Traditions and
Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order, Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 1-55.
Boons, F. (1997), 'Organisatieverandering en ecologische modernisering: het voorbeeld van
groene produktontwikkeling', paper to the Dutch NSV conference, 29 May 1997.
Christoff, P. (1996), 'Ecological Modernisation, Ecological Modernities', Environmental
Politics, Vol.5, No.3, pp.476-500.
Cohen, M. (1997), 'Risk Society and Ecological Modernisation: Alternative Visions for Post-
Industrial Nations', Futures, Vol.29, No.2, pp.105-19.
Dryzek, J. (1997), The Politics of the Earth: Environmental Discourses, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
European Environmental Agency (1998), Europe's Environment: The Second Assessment, New
York/Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Frijns, J., Kirai, P., Malombe, J. and B. van Vliet (1997), Pollution Control of Small Scale Metal
Industries in Nairobi, Wageningen, Netherlands: Department of Environmental Sociology,
Wageningen University.
Hajer, M.A. (1995), The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernisation and the
Policy Process, Oxford: Clarendon.
Harris, S. (1996), 'The Search for a Landfill Site in an Age of Risk: The Role of Trust, Risk and
the Environment', dissertation, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
Hogenboom, J., Mol, A.P.J. and G. Spaargaren (1999), 'Dealing with Environmental Risks in
Reflexive Modernity', in M.J. Cohen (ed.), Risk in the Modern Age: Social Theory, Science
and Environmental Decision-Making, London: Macmillan, pp.83-106.
Huber, J. (1982), Die verlorene Unschuld der ÖKologie. Neue Technologien und
superindustriellen Entwicklung, Frankfurt am Main: Fisher Verlag.
Huber, J. (1985), Die Regenbogengesellschaft. Ökologie und Sozialpolitik, Frankfurt am Main:
Fisher Verlag.
Huber, J. (1991), Unternehmen Umwelt. Weichenstellungen für eine ökologische
Marktwirtschaft, Frankfurt am Main: Fisher Verlag.
Jänicke, M. (1986), Staatsversagen. Die Ohnmacht der Politik in der Industriegesellschaft,
München/Zürich: Piper.
Jänicke, M. (1991), 'The Political System's Capacity for Environmental Policy', Berlin:
Department of Environmental Politics, Free University Berlin.
Jänicke, M. (1993), Über ökologische und politische Modernisierungen', Zeitschrift für
Umweltpolitik und Umweltrecht 2, pp. 159-75.
Jänicke, M. and H. Weidner (1995), 'Successful Environmental Policy: An Introduction', in M.
Jänicke and H. Weidner (eds.), Successful Environmental Policy: A Critical Evaluation of 24
Cases, Berlin: Sigma, pp.10-26.
Jänicke, M., Mönch, Binder, M., et al. (1992), Umweltentlastung durch industriellen
Strukturwandel? Eine explorative Studie über 32 Industrieländer, Berlin: Sigma.
14 E C O L O G I C A L MODERNISATION AROUND THE WORLD

Jokinen, P. and K. Koskinen (1998), 'Unity in Environmental Discourse? The Role of Decision-
Makers, Experts and Citizens in Developing Finnish Environmental Policy', Policy and
Politics, Vol.26, No.1, pp.55-70.
Mol, A.P.J. (1995), The Refinement of Production: Ecological Modernisation Theory and the
Chemical Industry, Utrecht: Jan van Arkel/International Books.
Neale, A. (1997), 'Organising Environmental Self-Regulation: Liberal Governmentality and the
Pursuit of Ecological Modernisation in Europe', Environmental Politics, Vol.6, No.4,
pp.1-24.
Rawcliffe, P. (1998), Environmental Pressure Groups in Transition, Manchester: Manchester
University Press.
Reijnders, L. (1998), 'The Factor X Debate: Setting Targets for Eco-Efficiency', Journal of
Industrial Ecology, Vol.2, No.1, pp.13-22.
Rinkevicius, L. (2000), 'The Ideology of Ecological Modernisation in "Doiuble-Risk" Societies:
A Case Study of Lithuanian Environmental Policy', in Spaargaren, Mol and Buttel [2000].
Sarinen, R. (forthcoming), 'Governing Capacity of Environmental Policy of Finland: An
Assessment of Making the EIA-Law and CO2-Tax', dissertation, Helsinki: University of
Technology.
Spaargaren, G. (1997), 'The Ecological Modernisation of Production and Consumption: Essays
in Environmental Sociology', dissertation, Wageningen: Department of Environmental
Sociology, Wageningen University.
Spaargaren, G. and A.P.J. Mol (1991), 'Ecologie, technologie en sociale verandering. Naar een
ecologisch meer rationele vorm van produktie en consumptie', in A.PJ. Mol, G. Spaargaren
and A. Klapwijk (eds.), Technologie en Milieubeheer. Tussen sanering en ecologische
modernisering, The Hague: SDU, pp.185-207.
Spaargaren, G. and A.PJ. Mol (1992), 'Sociology, Environment and Modernity: Ecological
Modernisation as a Theory of Social Change', Society and Natural Resources, Vol.5, No.4,
pp.323-44.
Spaargaren, G., Mol, A.P.J. and F.H. Buttel (eds.) (2000), Environment and Global Modernity,
London: Sage.
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987), Our Common Future,
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Weale, A. (1992), The New Politics of Pollution, Manchester: Manchester University Press.