The Third World in Global Environmental Politics

Rating:
Summary: Third World vs. First World: Business as Usual
Review: The author of this text maintains a generally objective tone throughout, but reaches conclusions to which diehard defenders of free trade will no doubt object. Nonetheless, Miller's scholarly review of the available evidence argues persuasively that the globalization of international business creates serious environmental risks for many Third World countries. Transnational corporations (TNC) have become more powerful than many nations and, despite pressure from various organizations and the institutionalized regulation of environmentally destructive practices, continue largely to operate in ways that perpetuate the neo-colonial status quo of exploitation and one-sided profit. The environment is becoming increasingly polluted and stressed (in Third World countries), and profits accrue almost entirely to TNC management and the "economic elite" of the Third World (the haves), leaving ordinary workers and citizens (the have-nots) to suffer and survive as well as possible in an environmentally degraded world. Miller establishes a new way of looking at three main environmental problem areas by categorizing them as "regimes": the ozone-depletion regime, the hazardous waste regime, and the biodiversity regime. While the word "regime" may not be the most accurate term for these three critical areas of environmental concern, by examining each area/regime separately (and noting many common connections) Miller presents a reasonably thorough overview of the recent historical (since approximately 1972) and continually evolving major international political developments related to each regime. Acknowledging significant progress toward resolving the one problem shared by all humanity (ozone destruction), Miller then concludes with an assessment of the most viable options for change in the other two regimes: Third World nations must link trade policies with improved benefits (i.e., greater technical and financial assistance) for their countries as a whole and must also work together with other Third World nations to form unified and consistent policies that will reduce and ultimately stop the environmental devastation that now accompanies so many international business operations. The rigorous academic approach to this topic lends authority to Miller's work; at the same time, it also reflects a little of the pedantic repetition characteristic of so many doctoral dissertations, which in turn causes countless valuable contributions to go unread by the general public. While not especially readable, this slender volume does much to underscore the intractability of environmental problems linked so intimately to the international profit motive.

Rating:
Summary: Third World vs. First World: Business as Usual
Review: The author of this text maintains a generally objective tone throughout, but reaches conclusions to which diehard defenders of free trade will no doubt object. Nonetheless, Miller's scholarly review of the available evidence argues persuasively that the globalization of international business creates serious environmental risks for many Third World countries. Transnational corporations (TNC) have become more powerful than many nations and, despite pressure from various organizations and the institutionalized regulation of environmentally destructive practices, continue largely to operate in ways that perpetuate the neo-colonial status quo of exploitation and one-sided profit. The environment is becoming increasingly polluted and stressed (in Third World countries), and profits accrue almost entirely to TNC management and the "economic elite" of the Third World (the haves), leaving ordinary workers and citizens (the have-nots) to suffer and survive as well as possible in an environmentally degraded world. Miller establishes a new way of looking at three main environmental problem areas by categorizing them as "regimes": the ozone-depletion regime, the hazardous waste regime, and the biodiversity regime. While the word "regime" may not be the most accurate term for these three critical areas of environmental concern, by examining each area/regime separately (and noting many common connections) Miller presents a reasonably thorough overview of the recent historical (since approximately 1972) and continually evolving major international political developments related to each regime. Acknowledging significant progress toward resolving the one problem shared by all humanity (ozone destruction), Miller then concludes with an assessment of the most viable options for change in the other two regimes: Third World nations must link trade policies with improved benefits (i.e., greater technical and financial assistance) for their countries as a whole and must also work together with other Third World nations to form unified and consistent policies that will reduce and ultimately stop the environmental devastation that now accompanies so many international business operations. The rigorous academic approach to this topic lends authority to Miller's work; at the same time, it also reflects a little of the pedantic repetition characteristic of so many doctoral dissertations, which in turn causes countless valuable contributions to go unread by the general public. While not especially readable, this slender volume does much to underscore the intractability of environmental problems linked so intimately to the international profit motive.