ABSTRACT
After more than two decades of public environmental concern there is now a growing disquiet among many environmentalists that the regulative ideals and institutions of liberal democracy may be inadequate to the task of addressing the ecological crisis.1 While most environmentalists would concede that liberal democratic states have proved their relative superiority to single party communist states on the issue of environmental protection (as in many other areas), very few would regard this comparison as a vindication of liberal democracy (or of capitalism). To be sure, liberal democratic institutions have provided scope for the political mobilisation of environmental concern, ranging from mass protests to the formation of green parties. Moreover, it has been argued that environmental activism on the part of citizens and non-governmental organisations has, in turn, helped to enhance liberal democratic institutions and processes [Paehlke, 1988].
