Theory of International Relations

Essay Submitted by: Meha Lodha

1st year MA International Relations
University of Wroclaw
January 2010

Green Politics – Philosophy, Parties & Issues

Table of Contents
Green Politics – Philosophy, Parties & Issues.....................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................2
Green Voices....................................................................................................................3
Jean-Jacques Rousseau................................................................................................3
Henry David Thoreau..................................................................................................3
Leo Tolstoy..................................................................................................................3
Mohandas Gandhi........................................................................................................4
Martin Luther King, Jr.................................................................................................4
Green Philosophy and Social Movements.......................................................................4
Peace Movement..........................................................................................................5
Civil Rights Movement................................................................................................5
Environmental Movement...........................................................................................5
Labour Movement........................................................................................................6
Green Ideas used by Green Parties..................................................................................6
Non Violence...............................................................................................................7
Ecological Wisdom......................................................................................................8
Social Justice................................................................................................................8
Grassroots Democracy.................................................................................................9
Green Parties in International Relations..........................................................................9

Green Party Features....................................................................................................9

Global Greens............................................................................................................10
Green Charter Principles............................................................................................10
Green Federations......................................................................................................11
Focus of Green Parties...............................................................................................12
Green Policy Issues........................................................................................................12
Scope for improvement in practice................................................................................13
Sources...........................................................................................................................14
Introduction

Green politics is a political ideology which places high importance on

environmental goals, and on achieving these goals through broad-based, grassroots,
participatory democracy. Green politics is advocated by supporters of the Green
movement, which has been active through Green parties in many nations since the early
1980s.

Supporters of Green politics, called Greens, share many ideas with the ecology,
conservation, environmental, feminist, and peace movements. In addition to democracy
and ecological issues, green politics is concerned with civil liberties, social justice and
nonviolence.

Green politics is considered by its advocates to be an alternative to both left and

right views and parties, although adherents to both views tend to view Greens as "on the
other side". These views are complex and contradictory, but certainly it is true that Green
parties advocate measures that appear to conventional politicians to appeal to, or repel,
different groups than those conventionally grouped into "left" (or "labour") and "right"
(or "capital") by economic interests.

A Green party or ecologist party is a formally organized political party based on

the principles of Green politics. These principles include environmentalism, reliance on
grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and support for social justice causes. "Greens"
believe that the exercise of these principles leads to the health of people, societies, and
ecosystems.
Green Voices

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The philosophical roots of environmentalism can be traced back to enlightenment

thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau in France.

Rousseau was a philosopher, writer, and composer of the eighteenth-century

Enlightenment, whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and the
development of modern political and educational thought.

"God makes all things good; man meddles with them and they become evil."
(Émile, Dutton, NY,1966, pg. 5.)

Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic,
surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for his
book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil
Disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral
opposition to an unjust state.

He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the Fugitive Slave
Law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending abolitionist John
Brown. Thoreau’s philosophy of civil disobedience influenced the political thoughts and
actions of such later figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King,
Jr.

Leo Tolstoy
 His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of
God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century
figures as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mohandas Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India
during the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of satyagraha—resistance
to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total
nonviolence—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights
and freedom across the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent
leader in the African-American civil rights movement. In 1964, King became the
youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation
and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.

“We will wear you down with our capacity to suffer”

Green Philosophy and Social Movements

The four pillars define a Green Party as a political movement that inter-relates its
philosophy from four different social movements, the peace movement, the civil rights
movement, the environmental movement, and the labour movement.
Peace Movement

A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the
ending of a particular war (or all wars), minimize inter-human violence in a particular
place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. Means to
achieve these ends usually include advocacy of pacifism, non-violent resistance,
diplomacy, boycotts, moral purchasing, supporting anti-war political candidates,
demonstrations, and National political lobbying groups to create legislation. The political
cooperative is an example of an organization that seeks to merge all peace movement
organizations and green organizations which may have some diverse goals, but all of
whom have the common goal of peace and humane sustainability.

Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality
before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by
much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many
countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives.
In its later years, the Civil Rights Movement took a sharp turn to the radical left in many
cases.

Environmental Movement

The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green
movements, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing
environmental issues.
 Environmentalists advocate the sustainable management of resources and
stewardship of the environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior.
In its recognition of humanity as a participant in (not enemy of) ecosystems, the
movement is centered on ecology, health, and human rights.

The environmental movement is represented by a range of organizations, from the

large to grassroots. Due to its large membership, varying and strong beliefs, and
occasionally speculative nature, the environmental movement is not always united in its
goals. At its broadest, the movement includes private citizens, professionals, religious
devotees, politicians, and extremists.

Labour Movement

The term labour movement is a broad term for the development of a collective
organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment
from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of
specific laws governing labour relations. Labour unions and trade unions are collective
organizations within societies, organized for the purpose of representing the interests of
workers and the working class. Many elite-class individuals and political groups may also
be active in and part of the labour movement.

In some countries, especially the United Kingdom and Australia the labour
movement is understood to encompass a formal "political wing", frequently known by
the name labour party, which complements the aforementioned "industrial wing".

Green Ideas used by Green Parties

 Provided below are some basic ideas based on which Green Political ideologies
are formed:

Non Violence

Nonviolence has been a central concept in green political philosophy. It is

included in the Global Greens Charter. Greens believe that society should reject the
current patterns of violence and embrace nonviolence. Green Philosophy draws heavily
on both Gandhi and the Quaker traditions, which advocate measures by which the
escalation of violence can be avoided, while not cooperating with those who commit
violence. These greens believe that the current patterns of violence are incompatible with
a sustainable society because it uses up limited resources and many forms of violence,
especially nuclear weapons, are damaging for the environment. Violence also diminishes
one and the group.

Some green political parties, like the Dutch GroenLinks, evolved out of the
cooperation of the peace movement with the environmental movement in their resistance
to nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

As Green Parties have moved from the fringes of society towards becoming more
and more influential in government circles, this commitment to nonviolence has had to be
more clearly defined. In many cases, this has meant that the party has had to articulate a
position on non-violence that differentiates itself from classic pacifism. The leader of the
German Greens, for example, was instrumental in the NATO intervention in Serbia,
arguing that being in favor of nonviolence should never lead to passive acceptance of
genocide. Similarly, Elizabeth May of the Green Party of Canada has stated that the
Canadian intervention in Afghanistan is justified as a means of supporting women's
rights.

This support for military action by Green Party leaders has led to criticism from
within its membership in Canada and Germany, because the bombing of Serbia and
military movements against the Afghan Taliban are viewed as clear violations of
nonviolent principles.

Ecological Wisdom

The term ecological wisdom, or ecosophy, is a philosophy of ecological harmony

or equilibrium. It was introduced by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in 1973. The
concept is the outgrowth of the environmentalism of the 1960s and has become one of the
foundations of the deep ecology movement.

All expressions of values by Green Parties list ecological wisdom as a key value
—it was one of the original Four Pillars of the Green Party and is often considered the
most basic value of these parties.

It is also often associated with indigenous religion and cultural practices.

In its political context, it is necessarily not as easily defined as ecological health

or scientific ecology concepts. It refers in part to biomimicry (imitating the efficiency of
nature's services and bodily forms).

Social Justice

Social Justice (sometimes "Social Equality and Global Equality and Economic
Justice") is one of the Four Pillars of the Green Party and is sometimes referred to as
"Social and Global Equality" or "Economic Justice". The Canadian party defines the
principle as the "equitable distribution of resources to ensure that all have full
opportunities for personal and social development". As one of the 10 key values of the
party in the United States, social justice is described as the right and opportunity of all
people "to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the
environment."
Grassroots Democracy

Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where

as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest
geographic level of organization.

Green Parties in International Relations

A Green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of

Green politics.

Around the world, there has been an explosion of Green Parties over the last 30
years. Green Parties now exist in most countries with democratic systems: from Canada
down to Peru; from Norway to South Africa; from Ireland to Mongolia. There is Green
representation at national, regional and local levels in many countries around the world.
Even in some countries without democratic systems, there are now Green NGOs: for
instance, in China there is Green-Web.

Most of the Green Parties are formed to win elections, and so organize themselves
by the presented electoral or political districts. But that does not apply universally: The
Green Party of Alaska is organized along bioregional lines to practice bioregional
democracy.

Green Party Features

Most Green Parties around the world have the following features:
 • They work towards empowerment of people especially minority and backward
groups

• Green parties are very active locally. Grassroots organizations exist in contrast to
so-called participatory systems, which tend to allow individuals equal access to
decision-making irrespective of their standing in a local community, or which
particular community they reside in.

• Very high priority is given to ethics, human values and nature.

• Most Green parties coordinate intensely with other Green Parties at all levels –
local, regional, national, continental and global. The network of Green Parties
achieves their goals through unified, cooperative planning and action.

Global Greens

The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements.
It was founded in 2001 in Canberra, Australia at the second Global Greens Conference,
where the Global Green Charter was approved.

The Global Greens has a 12-member steering committee called the Global Green
Coordination and a network of members called the Global Greens Network. The Global
Green Network brings together Green parties and interested individuals from Africa, the
Americas, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Green Charter Principles

 The Global Greens Charter is a document that 800 delegates from the Green
parties of 72 countries decided upon a first gathering of the Global Greens in Canberra,
Australia in April 2001.

The signatory parties and political movements of the Global Greens Charter
commit themselves to global partnership and to six guiding principles. These principles
are:

• Ecological wisdom
• Social justice
• Participatory democracy
• Non-violence
• Sustainability
• Respect for diversity

Green Federations

The member parties of the Global Greens are organized into four continental
federations – the Federation of Green Parties of Africa, the Federation of Green Parties of
Americas, the Asia-Pacific Green Network and the European Green Party.

The table below shows the number of member parties, the number of observer
parties and the total number of countries represented in each of the Green Federations.

Member Observer Represented

Continental Greens Parties Parties Countries

Federation of Green Parties of Africa 15 33 32

Federation of Green Parties of11 _ 11

 Americas

Asia-Pacific Green Network 9 7 12

European Green Party 37 7 40

Focus of Green Parties

Most Green parties focus on the following issues:

• Combating Climate Change

• Efficient consumption of energy, promoting use of renewable sources of energy
• No to nuclear energy
• Creating and maintaining a sustainable transport system which includes public
transport, cycling, walking
• Respect for diversity
• Gender Equality
• Animal Rights
• Human Rights

Green Policy Issues

A few issues affect most of the green parties around the world, and can often
inhibit global cooperation. Some affect structure, and others affect policy:

• Fundamentalism vs. Realism

• Ecoregional Democracy
• Electoral Reform
 • Land Reform
• safe trade
• Indigenous peoples
• Primate extinction
• Rainforest destruction
• Biosafety
• Biosecurity
• Health security
• Natural Capitalism

On matters of ecology, extinction, biosafety, biosecurity, safe trade and health

security, "Greens" generally agree. There are very substantial policy differences between
and among Green Parties in various countries and cultures, and a continuing debate about
the degree to which natural ecology and human needs align. Agreement on particular
issues is often reached using a consensus decision making process.

Scope for improvement in practice

According to Aidan Rankin, in more recent times, the green movement has sought
to heal the wounds between human beings, and between humanity and nature, by looking
at politics from a holistic point of view. But like other "progressive" movements, green
politics have fallen into the win/lose, conflict-based trap. This is because the inspiration
behind the green movement has come largely from the left, and from the currents of
political and social protest that began in the 1960s and have developed traditions on their
own. For too many greens, "ecology" has become in practice yet another single issue, a
green stripe in a "rainbow" coalition, rather than the new paradigm that it promised to be.

Rankin continues to say that green politics has not fulfilled the promise of holism
because its main advocates have not disentangled themselves, emotionally or politically,
from the negative, leftist emphasis on struggle against "enemies". The key to a new
approach to green politics is to learn to be at once radical and conservative. Radicalism in
its true sense means the ability to explore an issue or a problem to its roots.
Conservatism, in its true sense, means recognizing the need for rootedness. By combining
the two approaches, green politicians might find their way out of the present political
impasse.

Sources

A New Approach to Green Politics by Aidan Rankin for European Business Review 2004
Global Greens Charter, Canberra 2001
Website of the Global Greens
Website of Green Party of United States
Website of Green Party of Canada
Knowledgerush Encyclopedia
Wikipedia