This book reflects a continuing interest in environmental politics that was stimulated some time ago when, as a student at the University of Hamburg, I was captivated by the rise of new social movements that challenged the development of nuclear power in Germany. As I argue in this book, there are strong parallels between the concerns of environmentalists in Europe, in North America and in Australia. There are also definite similarities in the responses emanating from established political institutions. Although much of the empirical detail in this work is derived from Australia, links are made with patterns of political change in other countries. Above all, the work is located in intellectual traditions and challenges to these traditions that have emanated from and apply to many different contexts. This will become obvious as the reader works through the text.

What does need to be made transparent in the preface is the contribution by certain friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Anya Moore, apart from being a true companion, made numerous constructive comments on the entire manuscript. John Braithwaite, Peter Corrigan and Ian Marsh provided encouragement and detailed commentary on many aspects of the work. Conversations with and work by Ian McAllister, Clive Bean, Jan Pakulski, John Warhurst, Eric Livingston, Graham Maddox, Uma Pandey, Leslie Sklair, Barry Hindess and Bob Jackson have all been most helpful.