Green Germany
Local Pathways to Global Sustainability
Carol Hager author Thomas M Lekan author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Publishing:31st Jan '27
£25.00
This title is due to be published on 31st January, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Explores how a German culture of sustainability emerged through grassroots mobilization and networking across ideological and social lines.
Germany is an environmental pathbreaker among industrial societies, yet many are unaware that ordinary citizens – not bureaucrats or industry – generated its most durable policy solutions. Through a range of local case studies, this book explores how residents mobilized and networked across ideological and social lines to advance sustainability.Germany is an environmental pathbreaker among industrial societies, maintaining its export-driven economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and committing to carbon-neutrality by 2045. Yet it was ordinary citizens rather than bureaucrats or industry who generated its most durable policy solutions. Drawing on a range of case studies from the twentieth century to the present, Carol Hager and Thomas M. Lekan show how local residents combined social and ecological agendas and often defied government officials or corporate interests. These citizens promoted renewable energy, accessible public transportation, sustainable housing, biosphere reserves, and urban green spaces. Each chapter advances a three-pronged understanding of Germany's sustainability culture anchored by a deep sense of place; a 'do-it-yourself' mentality; and the generative power of conflict. By showing how a highly industrialized country became ecologically wiser, this study seeks to re-energize conversations about climate action and green transitions in societies across the globe.
'Through rigorous scholarship and elegant storytelling, Green Germany traces the grassroots foundations of one of the world's most important sustainability leaders. Hager and Lekan demonstrate how the creative resourcefulness of ordinary people can drive enduring environmental progress, thus offering inspiration and practical wisdom for anyone seeking democratic pathways to ecological renewal.' Sonja K. Pieck, Bates College
'Rather than understanding German environmentalism through top-down policies, Hager and Lekan reveal an ongoing process of grass-roots community-building and persistent engagement through conflict: it is as much about democracy as sustainability. In a moment when many have dismissed 'Green Germany' as wishful thinking, this book shows why it matters more than ever.' Seth Peabody, Carleton College
'With these stories of plucky ordinary people with courage, creativity, and conviction who do not take no for an answer and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds by working together across differences, Hager and Lekan teach us something entirely new about the German Energiewende: working for a sustainable future can be fun!' Sabine von Mering, Brandeis University
'Carol Hager and Thomas Lekan's book is a richly-conceived testimony to the power of the grassroots to reshape humans' relationship to nature. Exploring how Germans transformed ecology into a motor of social change both before and after 1989, Green Germany is compelling reading for anyone interested in historic and contemporary paths toward a sustainable future.' Tim Brown, Northeastern University
ISBN: 9781009465687
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
300 pages