49
2
Following Cook and Swyngedouw (2012), Holifield (2015) comments that
mainstream EJ focuses primarily on patterns of socio-environmental inequalities,
while PE is concerned with explaining the production of such inequalities.
Nevertheless, Holifield recognizes contributions from critical and radical scholars
from the early history of EJ, noting that by the turn of the millennium, such contributions ‘had set the stage for deeper engagements between political ecology and
alternative approaches to environmental justice’ (Holifield 2015: 589).
Ranganathan and Balazs (2015) demonstrate the fruitfulness of drawing from
a blend of EJ and urban political ecology perspectives in their comparative analysis of two cases of water marginalization across the Global North/South divide.
They include within EJ scholarship what they see as health-oriented, as well as
critical theoretical strands, combining this with urban political ecology based on
Marxist approaches, post-colonialism, and with an explicit focus on power relations regarding access to clean and safe water.
Definition
Today, the dominant approach within EJ is what we call a radical EJ approach
(Svarstad and Benjaminsen 2020), which emerged when Schlosberg (2004) adopted
the three elements of distribution, recognition and procedural justice from the field
of political philosophy, in particular the work of Nancy Fraser (1998, 1999), but
also that of Iris Young (1990) and Axel Honneth (1995, 2001). Nancy Fraser
initially proposed a two-dimensional focus on distribution and recognition, but in
the second half of the 1990s she included representation as a third dimension
(Fraser 1998, 1999), while Young (1990) had already included these three
dimensions along with others.
With a focus on the three elements of distributive justice, recognition and
procedural justice, radical EJ has evolved rapidly into a sort of leading template
for many EJ studies. It was later expanded in various ways by Schlosberg and
other scholars, notably by adding a radical version of capabilities theory as a
fourth element (Schlosberg 2007; Walker 2012; Sikor 2013).
The importance of pluralistic approaches is often emphasized within the
radical EJ framework (Schlosberg 2004, 2007). Reflecting on these developments,
Holifield et al. (2018: 4) observe that
» … scholars have increasingly addressed and theorized the multidimensionality of the justice in environmental justice. In addition to distributive justice,
which remains a key focus of much quantitative and spatial analysis, a growing body of literature now attends to procedural and participatory justice,
justice as recognition, and justice as capabilities, as well as the interrelations
among these dimensions.
Distributive justice refers to the distribution of burdens and benefits related to
environmental interventions. Justice as recognition concerns who is given respect
(or not) and whose interests, values and views are recognized and taken into
account. Procedural justice is about who is involved and has influence in terms of
decision-making, while capabilities theory focuses on the extent to which people
are able to live the lives they consider to be valuable.
2.5 · The Interface Between Political Ecology...
2
Following Cook and Swyngedouw (2012), Holifield (2015) comments that
mainstream EJ focuses primarily on patterns of socio-environmental inequalities,
while PE is concerned with explaining the production of such inequalities.
Nevertheless, Holifield recognizes contributions from critical and radical scholars
from the early history of EJ, noting that by the turn of the millennium, such contributions ‘had set the stage for deeper engagements between political ecology and
alternative approaches to environmental justice’ (Holifield 2015: 589).
Ranganathan and Balazs (2015) demonstrate the fruitfulness of drawing from
a blend of EJ and urban political ecology perspectives in their comparative analysis of two cases of water marginalization across the Global North/South divide.
They include within EJ scholarship what they see as health-oriented, as well as
critical theoretical strands, combining this with urban political ecology based on
Marxist approaches, post-colonialism, and with an explicit focus on power relations regarding access to clean and safe water.
Definition
Today, the dominant approach within EJ is what we call a radical EJ approach
(Svarstad and Benjaminsen 2020), which emerged when Schlosberg (2004) adopted
the three elements of distribution, recognition and procedural justice from the field
of political philosophy, in particular the work of Nancy Fraser (1998, 1999), but
also that of Iris Young (1990) and Axel Honneth (1995, 2001). Nancy Fraser
initially proposed a two-dimensional focus on distribution and recognition, but in
the second half of the 1990s she included representation as a third dimension
(Fraser 1998, 1999), while Young (1990) had already included these three
dimensions along with others.
With a focus on the three elements of distributive justice, recognition and
procedural justice, radical EJ has evolved rapidly into a sort of leading template
for many EJ studies. It was later expanded in various ways by Schlosberg and
other scholars, notably by adding a radical version of capabilities theory as a
fourth element (Schlosberg 2007; Walker 2012; Sikor 2013).
The importance of pluralistic approaches is often emphasized within the
radical EJ framework (Schlosberg 2004, 2007). Reflecting on these developments,
Holifield et al. (2018: 4) observe that
» … scholars have increasingly addressed and theorized the multidimensionality of the justice in environmental justice. In addition to distributive justice,
which remains a key focus of much quantitative and spatial analysis, a growing body of literature now attends to procedural and participatory justice,
justice as recognition, and justice as capabilities, as well as the interrelations
among these dimensions.
Distributive justice refers to the distribution of burdens and benefits related to
environmental interventions. Justice as recognition concerns who is given respect
(or not) and whose interests, values and views are recognized and taken into
account. Procedural justice is about who is involved and has influence in terms of
decision-making, while capabilities theory focuses on the extent to which people
are able to live the lives they consider to be valuable.
2.5 · The Interface Between Political Ecology...