Russia and the West: Environmental Discourses in the European Arctic (Routledge Research in Environmental Politics, 3)

182 Pages·2003·0.87 MB·English

by  Geir Hønneland

Russia and the West
How do Russian and Western perceptions of Arctic environmental affairs
differ? Does the way we talk about the environment affect politics in the
area?
The Russian part of the European Arctic contains some of the gravest
environmental problems to be found in Europe today and this book discusses
the East–West interface in Arctic environmental affairs since the early 1990s,
tracing the dominant discourses in Russia and the Nordic countries.
Russia and the West traces similarities and differences between Russian
and Western perceptions of these problems, of what causes them and of how
they are being dealt with at the international level. It focuses on how
environmental problems are framed and how this affects politics. Using a
distinctive cross-cutting focus on environmental discourse and East–West
relations, the author provides an in-depth analysis of the interface between
Russia and Western countries over environmental issues such as nuclear
safety, air pollution and the management of living marine resources.
Geir Hønneland is a political scientist and Director of the Polar and Russian
Programme at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway. He has published
widely on the management of natural resources and the environment in the
European Arctic.
Environmental Politics/
Routledge Research in Environmental Politics
Formerly edited by Stephen C. Young
The fate of the planet is an issue of major concern to governments throughout the
world and is likely to retain its hold on the agenda of national administrations due to
international pressures. As an object of academic study, environmental politics is
developing an increasingly high profile: there is great need for definition of the field
and for a more comprehensive coverage of its concerns. This new series will provide
definition and coverage, presenting books in the following broad categories:
(cid:1) New social movements and green parties
(cid:1) The making and implementations of environmental policy
(cid:1) Green ideas
The series consists of two strands:
Environmental Politics addresses the needs of students and teachers, and the titles
are published in hardback. Titles include:
Global Warming and Global Politics
Matthew Paterson
Politics and the Environment
James Connelly and Graham Smith
International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought towards Synthesis
Edited by Eric Lafferière and Peter Stoett
Planning Sustainability
Edited by Michael Kenny and James Meadowcroft
Routledge Research in Environmental Politics presents innovative new research
intended for high-level specialist readership. These titles are published in hardback
and include:
1 The Emergence of Ecological Modernisation
Integrating the environment and the economy?
Stephen C. Young
2 Ideas and Actions in the Green Movement
Brian Doherty
3 Russia and the West
Environmental co-operation and conflict
Geir Hønneland
Russia and the West
Environmental co-operation
and conflict
Geir Hønneland
First published 2003
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.
© 2003 Geir Hønneland
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-39143-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-39192-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-29835-0 (Print Edition)
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables ix
Preface xi
1 The study of environmental discourse 1
2 The environment and institutions in the European Arctic 17
3 Discourses on marine living resources 41
4 Discourses on nuclear safety 85
5 Discourses on industrial pollution 113
6 Conclusion 127
Notes 141
Bibliography 155
Index 163

Figures
1.1 The European Arctic as defined in this book 3
2.1 The Barents Sea 19
2.2 Important Northwest Russian sites in a nuclear safety context 28
2.3 Location of the RAO Norilsk Nickel companies and shipment
route from Norilsk to the Kola Peninsula 34
2.4 Approximate forest damage zones in the vicinity of
Monchegorsk and Nikel and the visible damage zones
on the Kola Peninsula and in Finnish Lapland 37
3.1 The Fishery Protection Zone around Svalbard 65

Tables
1.1 Classifying environmental discourses defined in terms of
departures from industrialism 12
2.1 Number of ships in the Northern Fleet in 1991 and 1998 25
3.1 Recommended and established total allowable catch
(TAC) for Northeast Arctic cod during the period 1999–2001 43
3.2 ICES reference points for the Northeast Arctic cod stock 48
3.3 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalitions and story
lines of the ‘sustainability discourse’ 74
3.4 The main assumptions, entities, discourse coalition and story
lines of the ‘Cold Peace discourse’ 77
3.5 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalition and story
lines of the ‘seafaring community discourse’ 78
3.6 The main entities, discourse coalition and story line of the
‘pity-the-Russians discourse’ 81
4.1 The main entities, discourse coalition, story line and metaphor
of the ‘nuclear disaster discourse’ 100
4.2 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalition and story
line of the ‘Barents euphoria discourse’ (A) 101
4.3 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalition and story
line of the ‘nuclear complex discourse’ 104
4.4 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalition and story
line of the ‘environmental blackmail discourse’ (A) 108
4.5 The main assumptions, entities, discourse coalition and story
line of the ‘Cold Peace discourse’ 109
5.1 The main entities, discourse coalition, story line and metaphors
of the ‘death clouds discourse’ 119
5.2 The main discourse coalition, story line and metaphor of the
‘anti-hysteria discourse’ 121
5.3 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalition and story
line of the ‘Barents euphoria discourse’ (B) 123
5.4 The main assumption, entities, discourse coalition and story
line of the ‘environmental blackmail discourse’ (B) 125
6.1 Main discourses on the environment in the European Arctic
during the 1990s 137