Environmental Protections in Constitutions: Do They Matter?

• In Event: Poster Session: Comparative Politics I & II
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Comparative Politics II

Abstract

Many states have provisions in their constitutions designed to protect the environment. Current theories of environmental politics hold that states must achieve a certain level of economic development before environmental protection will occur, however. The prevailing assumption is that once people reach a certain level of economic satisfaction, they are no longer willing to accept environmental degradation in return for a greater standard of living.
Yet there are cases of poor states reaching environmental goals without first achieving a median-level per-capita income. How do some states reach environmental goals without the assumed demands of the citizenry? This paper tests whether environmental provisions in a constitution can have a hands-tying effect on national governments and actually result in environmental improvement. This will mark the first time this question is tested cross-nationally, using quantitative data.

Author

• Andrew Kirkpatrick, Christopher Newport University