The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology

The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology presents a comprehensive and authoritative examination of the rapidly growing field of political ecology. Located at the intersection of geography, anthropology, sociology, and environmental history, political ecology is one of the most vibrant and conceptually diverse fields of inquiry into nature–society relations within the social sciences. With contributions from over 50 leading scholars, the Handbook presents a systematic overview of political ecology’s origins, practices, and core concerns, and aims to advance both ongoing and emerging debates. While there are numerous edited volumes, textbooks, and monographs under the heading “political ecology” these have tended to be either collections of empirically based (mostly case study) research on a given theme, or broad overviews of the field aimed at undergraduate audiences. The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology is the first systematic, comprehensive overview of the field. With authors from North and South America, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere, the Handbook provides a state-of-the-art examination of political ecology; addresses ongoing and emerging debates in this rapidly evolving field; and charts new agendas for research, policy, and activism.

The Handbook opens with several chapters that critically reflect on political ecology and situate it within the broader scope of nature–society scholarship. These are followed by a section on the practice of political ecology: ethics, methods, activism, and policy. The remainder of the book comprises five sub-sections that examine fundamental concepts at the heart of political ecology: environmental knowledge, environmental change, environmental governance, environmental identities, and environmental politics.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology introduces political ecology as an interdisciplinary academic field. It will serve as an excellent resource for graduate and advanced undergraduate teaching, and as a key reference text for geographers, anthropologists, sociologists, environmental historians, and others working in and around the fields of political ecology, environmental politics, and the political economy of environmental change.