ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the function of the interfaces of law and politics for environmental law across cultures. It focuses on historical and political contexts shaping the character of environmental law. The interfaces between the two are most often exemplified in the political process of choosing law-makers and the indirect result those political choices have on the law that will be made by them. The political identity of cultures might also be seen as an articulation of their historical development and cultural influences. The emergence of green politics is inextricably linked to social movements and activism which appeared in Western countries in the 1960s and 1970s. The emergence of the environmental movement in the 1970s, accompanied by the developments at the international level, influenced also the role of the European Union in the environmental field. Within party political systems, citizens can indirectly interface with the law by voting for law-makers.
