"The Tragedy of the Greens: Comparative Politics of Green Parties across Europe"
Edited by Alexander Etkind, Kacper Szulecki Scheduled with CEU Press for 2026
We are inviting authors for contributing to the collected volume that we are preparing for the CEU Press, The Tragedy of the Greens: Comparative Politics of Green Parties across Europe. Chapters of the volume will be structured by individual countries as well as by relevant political issues. Authors will sign contracts with the CEU Press, and will be included in the network of the Open Society for the Politics of the Anthropocene at CEU.
We will run two workshops in Vienna, in late 2024 and again in 2025. We will cover travels expenses and, in certain cases, will give research grants for writing the agreed chapters. This volume tells the story of the Greens in four parts: Greens in power (this includes e.g. Austria, Germany, Finland), Greens in opposition (France, Poland, Serbia, etc), Greens that failed (this could include the US and UK), and Greens in authoritarian regimes (Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan). Bringing a comparative perspective to the issue that has been largely viewed only within the national boundaries and provincial epistemologies, this book will gather contributions from several disciplines such as political science, sociology, history and environmental humanities.
We focus on the material, in a Latourian sense, character of Green politics in its relationship with nature and the state. The conflict between Green political forces and their various opponents will define much of 21s century politics, much like the social question did the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. We argue that along with the confrontation between the New Green and the community of petrostates (also known as OPEC+), a renewed dialogue between the New Green movements and modern technologies will determine the outcome of the current crisis.
The recent physical attacks at campaigning Green politicians which took place in Germany highlight the "tragedy" we have in mind: as the Anthropocene unfolds an the planetary crisis becomes increasingly apparent, the Greens are gaining new opportunities for political outreach but are also increasingly vilified in populist pushback. Playing on the name of one of the key movement organizations, "friends of the Earth" are cast as "enemies of the people".
Green political parties have now become a permanent feature in many democratic party systems. The strongest Green parties of Western Europe have an intimate relationship with grassroot environmental movements, often growing out of anti-nuclear and peace movements of the Cold War era. The historical trajectory from extra-parliamentary opposition to current democratic mainstream has influenced the character of green politics in many different ways. One could anticipate the formation of the New Green agenda, which would confront not only the climate crisis but also the wars of petroaggression. The future is green. The role of the Greens is uncertain.
The deadline for submitting your short (200-500 words) chapter proposals is 1 June 2024. Submission of the finalised manuscript will take place in December 2025. Please address your proposals to Alexander Etkind (etkinda@Ceu.edu) and Kacper Szulecki (kacper.szulecki@nupi.no)