Perhaps a key question regarding identity is "identity defined by whom?" The identity of actor A as defined by A, or defined by actors B, C, etc.? This query could lead to theorizing green identity as self-image versus image. Identity based on patterns of behavior (perceived by others) versus identity based on ideas (self-perception). This takes us to the ubiquitous connection between ideas and behavior (granted: "everything is ideas").
Radoslav S. Dimitrov Assistant professor Department of Political Science University of Western Ontario Social Science Centre London, ON Canada N6A 5C2 tel.(1)(519)661-2111 ext.85023 fax 1-519-661-3904 Quoting Paul Steinberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: " Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 21:01:14 +0000 " " Following Leonard's note, I should elaborate briefly on Costa Rica's green " identity. We need to distinguish between the "identity" portion of Beth's " query and the larger issue of accomplishments in the environmental " arena. I interpret the identity question to mean does a state (or, " alternatively, does a society) conceive of itself and/or present itself as " pro-environment. So refining the question requires clarifying achievements " vs identify; state vs social identity; and identify as notion of self or " one's identity in the eyes of others. " " Costa Rica is an interesting test case for Beth's question, not because of " its achievements (which are considerable, and are documented in my book and " elsewhere) but because its leaders have gone to great lengths to present a " green image to the world. Nearly every Costa Rican president since the " early 1970s has paid considerable attention to environmental policy, both " rhetorically and in terms of policy decisions. Beginning in the mid-1980s " the country's policy elites started to project this image abroad, making it " a central piece of foreign policy, positioning the country at the leading " edge of a wide variety of international initiatives (debt-for-nature swaps, " joint implementation, payment for ecosystem services, etc) and advertising " Costa Rica as a major ecotourism destination. " " The domestic dynamic is very different, with PLN party leaders choosing " sustainability as a suitable conceptual framework for the post-Cold War " era, bipartisan alliances ensuring continuity in environmental programs, " and widespread, autonomous social mobilization for the environment that " proceeded in lock-step with state initiatives. What is the connection " between social green identify and the national green identify touted by " leaders? So many questions, so little time. " " Paul " " Beth, Paul, et al, " " Costa Rica certainly has a "green" self-identity: that is what it tells " the world it is. But Costa Rica also has a rapidly growing population, " fairly rapid industrialization, and one of the highest rates of " deforestation in the world, among other environmental problems. I spent " about a quarter of last year in Costa Rica and did not see (using " non-quantitative measures) that it was evidently sustainable, despite " its good scores on sustainability metrics (from CIESIN, for example). " Apart from public finance problems, gross under funding of " sustainability policies, much illegal logging, and an almost complete " absence of central government participation in many rural areas, it " imports most liquid fuels (but exports hydro-electricity - so you can " see that it has intervened in many watersheds) and many consumer goods. " It is beautiful but far from perfect. " " Identity is of interest not for its existence but its effects and as " Paul comments, it is wise to dissect "identity" into smaller particles " (especially separating self- from other). As Beth comments her student " is interested in "the concept of states developing (and acting upon) " green identities." For several reasons Costa Rica has not acted well " upon its green self-identity. It has a very high national debt load and " a weak and corrupt central government (its last three or four presidents " from both sides of the political spectrum have been indicted). Its " government finances are heavily burdened by large inefficient " parastatals that, however, contribute much to a quite enviable equality " of development across the country. So, even in that paragon " "self-identity" has not translated into really effective government " action. However, if the country tells itself enough times that it is " green its people begin to get the idea. What is truly amazing in Costa " Rica is how much of the green identity is put into practice at the " community level with assistance from many local NGOs. I have been " assisting one community association in its search for funding to buy and " expand the last local stands of primary forest (if you know of any good " $$ sources, please let me know). Thus, identity may be more important as " an educational tool than as a policy motivator and as I concluded in my " 2000 book, sustainable development ultimately is about changing the " minds of the people, " " Cheers, " " Neil " " " From: Adil Najam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [ Save Address ] " To: Leonard Hirsch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, " <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[email protected]> " Subject: Re: Green "identity" of states? " Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:36:13 +0000 " " Dear all " " This is fascinating stuff. I do not have an answer to the original question " (on literature) but it does strike me that at some point we might want to " distinguish between image' and 'identity'. " " My sense is that image is what you project (or seek to project), identity is " what drives your actions irrespective of whether you seek to project that " identity or not. " " From a non-environmental realm that covers some of my recent research, it " seems to me (totally loud thinking here) that a country like the US has a " very strong Christian (maybe, Judeo Christian) identity in how it operates " and is organized, however it does not have (or seek to project a strong " Christian identity). On the other hand, Turkey is actually a MUCH more " secular place than America but has a strong Islamic image (at least in Europe " and despite its efforts to proclaim otherwise) but not a strong Islamic " identity... Interestingly, Malaysia has a rather strong Islamic identity, but " NOT a strong Islamic image in the outside world. (One could actually " conceive of a neat 2x2 matrix analysis of the two, since both of them can " operate together, or independently). " " This might help us unlock the questions about Costa Rica discussed here. Any " country where ecotourism is a major economic sector WILL ALWAYS seek a strong " green image, whether its part of its identity or not. In Costa Rica's case, " I think it IS actually also identity, but in the case of a number of " Caribbean islands it may be image and not identity. Take Germany, then, " seems to be (my view, non-empirical) that it has a very decent green " identity, but a less strong green image (and mild desire to project that " image). Many Scandinavian countries seem to have very strong green " identities and not always strong green images. " " I know this is all horribly opinionated and very broad (would never let a " student get away with this).... But maybe we can begin unlocking the puzzle " with such a framework.... How would one measure identity and image.... " Identity is probably function of the structures, policies, politics (maybe " even Krasner's norms, principles, rules, decision-making structures) that a " country puts in place. Image, is about how it talks about itself and how " others talk about it.... " " Anyhow... Enough venting, now back to grading! " " Adil " " ------------------------- " ADIL NAJAM " Associate Professor of " International Negotiation & Diplomacy " The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy " Tufts University " " 160 Packard Avenue " Medford, MA 02155, USA " " Phone: 617 627 2706 " Fax: 617 627 3005 " Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] " From: Adil Najam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [ Save Address ] " To: stacy vandeveer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Neil E Harrison " <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Leonard Hirsch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, " <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[email protected]> " Subject: Re: Green "identity" of states? " Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 21:44:07 +0000 " " I too agree that identity (or image) should not be confused with " effectiveness (or impact). Building on what Stacy was saying, Pakistan or " Saudi Arabia, for example, has a very strong sense of Muslim identity, but by " any count is not very Islamic' in any reading of what that means (neither " mine nor that of the extremists). If you would allow me to be flippant, one " could suggest that the notions of democracy' and freedom' is very central " to US identity... Could could find people, I am sure, who would suggest that " the US actually does only marginally well on either and has much to improve " in both. That, however, doe snot mean that the average AMERICAN believes' " that democracy and freedom is central to his identity just as the average " Pakistani feels that Islam is central to hers. " " So, I do think identity should be kept separate from questions on efficacy of " implementing the determinants of that identity. The interesting question, " then, is why countries that have strong green identity do not always " actualize the elements of that identity. Sometimes it might just be an issue " of image (i.e., the state equivalent of green-washing). However, and " importantly, it may also be a factor of the fact that countries (like people) " have MULTIPLE IDENTITIES. So, yes, Costa Rica HAS a strong green identity " but it probably has an even STRONGER identity as a developing (dare I say, " Southern) country. And national identities do clash. So, just as my " identity as a Pakistani-Muslim-Male (and I am proud of being all three) " sometimes comes into clash with my identity as a generally " liberal-secular-globalist (again, I am equally proud of being all three; and, " no, being a Muslim-secular is NOT an oxymoron) is a reality I cope with and " manage every day, being GREEN and being DEVELOPING is a reality that Costa " Rica and Costa Ricans deal with every day... And, in my humble views, deal " with amazing grace. " " Lets take Germany which also has a strong green identity but has many " policies that are detrimental to the environment because of its other " identities (e.g., as a country that loves fast cars). Or some Scandinavians " who reconcile their strong greenness with a whaling. " " The point, of course, is that when looking at identity let us not forget that " countries have multiple identities. That is not a contradiction, that is a " reality. The real essence is how they negotiate with those multiple " identities. " " Where I will disagree with Stacy is on the utility of this debate. The " reason it IS important to think about this is that identity CAN (and often " does) inform policy and action. Once countries decide and verbalize an " Islamic or a green identity [ actually, Islamic identity IS green ;-) ], " they often do take steps to actualize that identity. Hence, policy opening " emerge for real action. So, Beth, don't discourage your student from this " line of research ;-) " " Adil " " " On 3/12/05 4:16 PM, "stacy vandeveer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: " " Neil, " " Identity, as I understand much of the literature on it from multiple " fields, is constucted and often ascriptive. If I identify as a muslim, I do " not need to be constantly "acting like one" in order to have a muslim " identity. Likewise, if I am a gay man, I need not be "acting gay" in order " to sustain the identity. Others may say I am not "religious enough" or "gay " enough," but I may still identify as such. If I do identify as such, it " certainly might be very interesting to know how that identify effects some of " my choices, actions and other aspects of my identity. This is a different set " of questions than are invloved by a researcher or student measuring my " identity against a set standard for "gayness." " Back to Costa Rica and Beth's student: I fail to see the utility in " attempting to 'assess' whether or not costa rica is 'green enough' to meet " the standards of environmental professors and researchers like many of the " folks on this list. I do think there are a host of other useful and " interesting questions. There is a literature on "national identity" (related " to the literature on political culture), as I recall from the distant time of " my comparative politics comp exams. The approaches in that more general " literature might be a nice place for Beth's student to begin. " BETH: you might send the student to the "annual reviews" of " anthropology, sociology, psych and polisci. I don't have specific citations " in from of me, but I know these publications have published reviews of the " literature and research on various aspects of identity in recent years. " " --Stacy " " " At 09:53 AM 3/12/2005 -0700, Neil E Harrison wrote: " " Adil: " " Despite your "venting", you make a good point and a useful " distinction. If Costa Rica looks green to the world and yet much less so from " inside (on the ground and in the eyes of its ordinary citizens), there would " seem to be a disconnect between image and identity. However, if identity is " what drives actions, should it (identity) be measured (assessed) at the level " of government, by the beliefs of the citizenry or by their actions, or at the " ecological level in terms of deforestation rates, monoculture activity, and " herbicide use? Is your identity what you say, what you believe, or how you " act? " " Cheers, " " This is fascinating stuff. I do not have an answer to the original " question (on literature) but it does strike me that at some point we might " want to distinguish between image and identity . " " My sense is that image is what you project (or seek to project), identity " is what drives your actions irrespective of whether you seek to project that " identity or not. " " From a non-environmental realm that covers some of my recent research, it " seems to me (totally loud thinking here) that a country like the US has a " very strong Christian (maybe, Judeo Christian) identity in how it operates " and is organized, however it does not have (or seek to project a strong " Christian identity). On the other hand, Turkey is actually a MUCH more " secular place than America but has a strong Islamic image (at least in Europe " and despite its efforts to proclaim otherwise) but not a strong Islamic " identity... Interestingly, Malaysia has a rather strong Islamic identity, but " NOT a strong Islamic image in the outside world. (One could actually " " Stacy D. VanDeveer " 2003-06 Ronald H. O'Neal Professor " Department of Political Science " University of New Hampshire " Durham, NH 03824 " " T: 603-862-0167 " F: 603-862-0178 " E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] " " "
