ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the primacy of the state through the work of a number of prominent theorists of the green state, notably Robyn Eckersley, John Barry and John Dryzek et al., and considers the implications of transformations in environmental statehood for international politics. The green state is usually defined as a state that makes environmental protection a central priority, in contrast to welfare states that prioritise social reproduction, health and education. Ecological modernisation theory usually places greater weight on domestic factors in explaining relative environmental performance. The European Union is a particularly noteworthy example of how regional organisations can drive state greening. Of course, the degree to which particular states commit to these processes, institutions, practices, norms and values varies considerably. Germany and Sweden are some of the best cases of state greening and they demonstrate the importance of international and transnational politics in explaining the diffusion of environmental policies.
