Long problems : climate change and the challenge of governing across time / Thomas Hale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hale, Thomas (Thomas Nathan), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--Government policy.

Climatic changes.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 244 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2024.

Summary:

No detailed description available for "Long Problems".

"Political strategies for tackling climate change and other "long problems" that span generations Climate change and its consequences unfold over many generations. Past emissions affect our climate today, just as our actions shape the climate of tomorrow, while the effects of global warming will last thousands of years. Yet the priorities of the present dominate our climate policy and the politics surrounding it. Even the social science that attempts to frame the problem does not theorize time effectively. In this pathbreaking book, Thomas Hale examines the politics of climate change and other "long problems." He shows why we find it hard to act before a problem's effects are felt, why our future interests carry little weight in current debates, and why our institutions struggle to balance durability and adaptability. With long-term goals in mind, he outlines strategies for tilting the politics and policies of climate change toward better outcomes. Globalization "widened" political problems across national boundaries and changed our understanding of politics and governance. Hale argues that we must make a similar shift to understand the "lengthening" of problems across time. He describes tools and strategies that can, under certain conditions, allow policymakers to anticipate future needs and risks, make interventions that get ahead of problems, shift time horizons, adapt to changing circumstances, and set forward-looking goals that endure. As the climate changes, politics must, too. Efforts to solve long-term problems-not only climate change but other issues as well, including technology governance and demographic shifts-can also be a catalyst for a broader institutional transformation oriented toward the long term. With Long Problems, Hale offers an essential guide to governing across time."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1. Long Problems

A Carbon View of Politics

The Argument in Brief

Defining Problems and Their Length

Why We Need to Govern Long Problems

About This Book

2. Why Long Problems Are Hard to Govern

Short-Termism: The Tyranny of the Present

Shadow Interests: Decision-Takers Have No Power over Decision-Makers

Institutional Lag: Dynamic Problem Structures

The Early Action Paradox: Uncertainty, Salience, Obstructionism, and Muddling Through

3. Forward Action: Addressing the Early Action Paradox

Information and Foresight: Making the Future Known and Salient

Experimentalism: Overcoming Uncertainty

Catalysts: Eroding Obstructionism

4. The Long View: Addressing Shadow Interests

Representation: Voices for Future Generations

Trusteeship: Insulation and Tying Our Hands

Horizon-Shifting: Changing Preferences

5. Endurance and Adaptability: Addressing Institutional Lag

Endurance: Goal-Setting

Reflexive Governance: Updating Institutions

Triggers and Reserves: Combining Durability and Adaptability

6. Studying Long Problems

Taking the Period of Analysis Seriously

Existing Tools

Rates of Change

Dynamic Problem Structure Chains

Empirical Analysis of the Future

7. Governing Time

An Institutional Agenda on Climate Change

How Do We Get There: Climate Change and Institutional Change

Learning to Fly

Appendix 1: Why We Face More Long Problems Now

The Collision of Human and Planetary Timescales

Science and Technology Allow Us to See the Future More Clearly and to Affect It More Decisively

A Changing Normative Frame? The Growing Moral Shadow of the Future

Appendix 2: The Role of Acceleration

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Hale, Thomas Long Problems

ISBN:

9780691238135 (electronic book)

9780691238135

0691238138

OCLC:

1416747715