Parlamentets natur

Sociology as a discipline is concerned with relationships. The relationship addressed in this book, is the one between society and nature. More specifically, the process of making pollution and the environmental condition relevant for – and in – parliament is used as an analytical prism to gain bett...

Deskribapen osoa

Gorde:
Xehetasun bibliografikoak
Egile nagusia: Gisle Andersen
Formatua: Online
Hizkuntza:norvegiera
Argitaratua: Scandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget) 2021
Gaiak:
Sarrera elektronikoa:26700
Etiketak: Etiketa erantsi
Etiketarik gabe, Izan zaitez lehena erregistro honi etiketa jartzen!
_version_ 1869522676215709696
author Gisle Andersen
author_browse Gisle Andersen
author_facet Gisle Andersen
author_sort Gisle Andersen
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Sociology as a discipline is concerned with relationships. The relationship addressed in this book, is the one between society and nature. More specifically, the process of making pollution and the environmental condition relevant for – and in – parliament is used as an analytical prism to gain better understanding of that relationship. Building on theoretical perspectives from pragmatic moral-political sociology developed by Boltanski and Thévenot, the changing valuation of «nature» and «the environment» in Norwegian parliamentary debates is analysed: When and how is nature made a relevant for parliament? How is nature valued in these debates? How are decisions on environmental- and petroleum policy legitimated? What kind of knowledge is made relevant? In what ways have parliamentary debates changed over time and how can we understand these changes? Empirical data is an extensive sample of Norwegian parliamentary debates in the period 1945–2013. The book maps the historical trajectory of the political conflicts on the environmental consequences from industry in Norway, and the petroleum industry in particular. The analysis exposes how the form of valuable nature has changed substantially over time. That is, what makes nature valuable for parliament has changed over time. The changing form of valuable nature also has consequences for how pollution should be avoided and what kind of policy instruments that are considered relevant. In the early 20th century nature was primarily regarded as a robust and unchangeable entity. Starting from the early 1950s this understanding of nature is undergoing impor- 10 GISLE ANDERSEN | PARLAMENTETS NATUR tant changes. Rather than being viewed as a robust entity, nature is to larger extent seen as fragile and should be protected from humans: Nature should be conserved. During the next decades the relevant form of nature to protect is gradually redefined as «the environment». In contrast to the idea of protecting «nature» from humans, pollution was primarily a problem because it harmed the human environment. A significant change occurred during the 1990s. The Norwegian parliamentary debates from this period are characterised by a harsh ecological self-critique. This had several consequences, among them a new environmental statute in the Norwegian Constitution. A new way of valuing nature emerged: What is valued is not nature «itself» but the function that nature has for humans, the conservation of nature understood as a «life supporting production system» for humanity. This view of nature specified the valuation of nature as anthropocentric. Another important dimension of the new way of valuing nature is that it clearly limited what form of nature that should be protected: It is legitimate to pollute and to harm parts of nature, but only as long as one does not threaten the production system that humans depend upon. As long as an activity can go on without diminishing the functional utility of nature for humanity; use, change and destruction of nature can be considered legitimate. This could be understood as a minimum definition of sustainability. These changes are linked to the ways the modern societies today responds to, and tries to control, global environmental change.
format Online
id doab-20.500.12854ir-55679
institution Directory of Open Access Books
language nor
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher Scandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget)
publisherStr Scandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget)
record_format ojs
spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-556792023-12-20T15:54:28Z Parlamentets natur Gisle Andersen HM401-1281 JA1-92 bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFF Social issues & processes::JFFP Social interaction Sociology as a discipline is concerned with relationships. The relationship addressed in this book, is the one between society and nature. More specifically, the process of making pollution and the environmental condition relevant for – and in – parliament is used as an analytical prism to gain better understanding of that relationship. Building on theoretical perspectives from pragmatic moral-political sociology developed by Boltanski and Thévenot, the changing valuation of «nature» and «the environment» in Norwegian parliamentary debates is analysed: When and how is nature made a relevant for parliament? How is nature valued in these debates? How are decisions on environmental- and petroleum policy legitimated? What kind of knowledge is made relevant? In what ways have parliamentary debates changed over time and how can we understand these changes? Empirical data is an extensive sample of Norwegian parliamentary debates in the period 1945–2013. The book maps the historical trajectory of the political conflicts on the environmental consequences from industry in Norway, and the petroleum industry in particular. The analysis exposes how the form of valuable nature has changed substantially over time. That is, what makes nature valuable for parliament has changed over time. The changing form of valuable nature also has consequences for how pollution should be avoided and what kind of policy instruments that are considered relevant. In the early 20th century nature was primarily regarded as a robust and unchangeable entity. Starting from the early 1950s this understanding of nature is undergoing impor- 10 GISLE ANDERSEN | PARLAMENTETS NATUR tant changes. Rather than being viewed as a robust entity, nature is to larger extent seen as fragile and should be protected from humans: Nature should be conserved. During the next decades the relevant form of nature to protect is gradually redefined as «the environment». In contrast to the idea of protecting «nature» from humans, pollution was primarily a problem because it harmed the human environment. A significant change occurred during the 1990s. The Norwegian parliamentary debates from this period are characterised by a harsh ecological self-critique. This had several consequences, among them a new environmental statute in the Norwegian Constitution. A new way of valuing nature emerged: What is valued is not nature «itself» but the function that nature has for humans, the conservation of nature understood as a «life supporting production system» for humanity. This view of nature specified the valuation of nature as anthropocentric. Another important dimension of the new way of valuing nature is that it clearly limited what form of nature that should be protected: It is legitimate to pollute and to harm parts of nature, but only as long as one does not threaten the production system that humans depend upon. As long as an activity can go on without diminishing the functional utility of nature for humanity; use, change and destruction of nature can be considered legitimate. This could be understood as a minimum definition of sustainability. These changes are linked to the ways the modern societies today responds to, and tries to control, global environmental change. 2021-02-11T22:12:23Z 2021-02-11T22:12:23Z 2018-05-09 13:44:27 2017 book 26700 9788215028132 9788215028149 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/55679 nor image/png Attribution 4.0 International https://www.universitetsforlaget.no/nettbutikk/parlamentets-natur-papirbok-uf.html https://www.idunn.no/parlamentets-natur Scandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget) 10.18261/9788215028132-2017 10.18261/9788215028132-2017 85e3f3b2-1b54-434a-a3b6-6147724464f4 9788215028132 9788215028149 670 open access
spellingShingle HM401-1281
JA1-92
bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFF Social issues & processes::JFFP Social interaction
Gisle Andersen
Parlamentets natur
title Parlamentets natur
title_full Parlamentets natur
title_fullStr Parlamentets natur
title_full_unstemmed Parlamentets natur
title_short Parlamentets natur
title_sort parlamentets natur
topic HM401-1281
JA1-92
bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFF Social issues & processes::JFFP Social interaction
topic_facet HM401-1281
JA1-92
bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFF Social issues & processes::JFFP Social interaction
url 26700
work_keys_str_mv AT gisleandersen parlamentetsnatur