ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the nature of international environmental cooperation. Environmentalism is becoming a dominant political force in nations all over the globe. In many countries, environmental concern has manifested itself in the development of green movements and green political parties. The main doctrines of political systems focus on the scope of political freedom accorded to the individual, including personal freedom to interact, organize, and dissent. Capitalist nations, where private ownership of industry is the norm, are driven by the profit motive in a free-market economy. Central planning in the communist command economy determines how, for what purposes, and in what relative proportions available capital resources and labor are to be allocated. A summary of environmental problems in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the conditions that led to these problems illustrate the utility of alternative political systems for providing wise environmental management.
