Environmental Politics: Theories, Concepts, and Debates

By Dr. Preeti Singh, Dr. Punita Pathak | Banaras Hindu University

Learners enrolled: 161

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Environmental issues have emerged as a key component across disciplines- Natural Science, Humanities, Law, and Social Science, and have widened the scope of interdisciplinary research. It has led to redesigning the existing boundaries of the disciplines by introducing new concepts and methodologies. The present Eight-Week Course looks into the recent debates on environmental issues from the lens of Political Science, International Relations, and Governance. The Course aims to familiarize the learners with the emergence and growth of environmentalism and to introduce them to basic concepts like ecology, sustainability, holism, environmental ethics, and environmental justice. It will enable the learners to reflect on how integrating environmental issues has contributed to expanding the scope of Political Theory and International Relations. The learners will get a deep understanding of the dynamics of the ecological movement and the role played by these movements in shaping national and international politics. An overview of the contemporary environmental governance framework will be given to the learners. The Course would further enable the learners to critically examine the changing dynamics of domestic and global politics in the context of challenges of environmental protection, on the one hand, and the pressure of not lagging in the development race, on the other. The present Course will equip the learners with a comprehensive understanding of environmental politics and a critical perspective to engage in interdisciplinary research. It will prepare them to critically examine policy and programmes from an environmental perspective and explore the opportunities to work with environmental organizations to get practical exposure to environmental advocacy.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG and PG Students of Social Science and Humanities; NET-JRF Aspirants

PREREQUISITES: No special course is required as a prerequisite. A foundational knowledge of the basic concepts of social science will be sufficient.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Organizations working in the area of Environment Conservation and Environmental Advocacy

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	8 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	2
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	18 Aug 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	18 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	29 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	24 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 7.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Environmental Concerns in Political Theory: Rise and Growth of Environmentalism

Week 2: Environmentalism and Political Ideologies

Week 3: Environmental Movements at the Global Level

Week 4: Environmental Movements in India

Week 5: Environmental Politics & Environmental Advocacy: Green Parties and Pressure Groups

Week 6: Changing Dynamics of Global Politics: Global Initiatives to Address Environmental Concerns

Week 7: Environmental Governance at the Global Level: Institutions and Legislation

Week 8: Environmental Governance in India: Institutions and Laws for Environmental Protection

Books and references

• A. L. M. Miller, The Third World in Global Environmental Politics, Boulder Colorado, Lynne Rienner, 1995

• A. Crosby, Ecological Imperialism, New York: Cambridge, 2004.

• A. Dobson, Green Political Thought, London: Unwin Hyman, 1990.

• Aarmin, Rosencranz, et al., (eds.,), Environmental Law and Policy in India, Oxford, 2000.

• Bina Agrawal, Gender and Green Governance: The Political Economy of Women’s Presence Within and Beyond Community Forestry, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2010.

• Carolyn, Merchant, Radical Ecology: The Search for a Liveable World, New York and London: Routledge, 2005.

• John Barry, Rethinking Green Politics: Nature, Virtue and Progress, London: Sage Publications, 1999.

• Jon Barnett, The Meaning of Environmental Security. London: Zed Books, 2001.

• John S. Dryzek, and David Schlosberg, Debating the Earth: The Environmental Politics Reader, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

• Neil Carter, The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,2007.

• Peter, Christoff, “Ecological Citizens and Ecologically Guided Democracy”, in Brian Doherty and Marius de Geus (eds.), Democracy and Green Political Thought: Sustainability, Rights and Citizenship, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 150-166,1996.

• Robyn, Eckersley,). Environmentalism and Political Theory: Toward an Ecocentric Approach, London: UCL Press,1992.

• Radha, Kumar, History of Doing, New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1993.

• Richard L., Riversz, et.al. (eds.), Environmental Law, the Economy and Sustainable Development, Cambridge, 2000.

• R. Dalton, The Green Rainbow: Environmental Groups in Western Europe, New Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1994.

• Vandana, Shiva and M. Mies, Ecofeminism, London and New York: Zed Books Ltd, 1993

Instructor bio

Dr. Preeti Singh

Banaras Hindu University

Prof. Preeti Singh is Professor and Teacher In-Charge, Department of Political Science, Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat (Admitted to the Privileges of Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi. She did her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science, Banaras Hindu University and Specialized Courses on ‘State, Nation and Ethnicity’ and Intermediate Course on ‘Analysis of Politics’ from Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. Her areas of specialization include Political Theory, Political Thought and Feminist Theory. She has two authored books and three edited books to her credit. She has published papers in reputed journals and chapters in edited books. Dr. Singh has completed a major UGC project on ‘Eurocentrism in Political Theory: Explorations in Indian Political Thought’ as Co-Investigator and one CWSD Project on ‘Concept of Stridhan in Ancient Hindu Law’, Centre for Women’s Studies and Development, Banaras Hindu University. Dr. Singh has also contributed in development of OER, e-Contents and Self-Learning Materials for national level platforms like e-PG Pathshala (under MHRD’s Project NME-ICT) and State & Central Universities as Content Writer and Content Reviewer. She has designed and introduced two Add-on Courses forstudents in the College: ‘Career Planning & Career Development Skills’ as Course Coordinator and ‘Indian Knowledge System’ as Course Co-coordinator. She has organized a number of Workshops, Seminars, Webinars & Capacity Building Programmes for students and faculty members.

Dr. Punita Pathak

Dr. Punita Pathak is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat (Admitted to the Privileges of Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi. At present, she is also working as the Coordinator of Mass Communication in the college. She has teaching experience of more than 13 years. She has completed her Master’s and Ph.D. degree from Banaras Hindu University. Her areas of interest are Gender Studies, Feminist Theory, International Relations and Public Administration. She has participated and presented papers in various national and international seminars/conferences. Dr. Pathak has got various papers published in national and international journals. She co-edited a book on Gender Equality: Different Dimensions and has also contributed to the development of e-content for e-PG Pathshala (under MHRD’s Project NME-ICT). Dr. Pathak has also worked as a subject expert in Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission, Indore. She has also been awarded by Women Leadership Forum, New Delhi and Professor Harihar Nath Tripathi Foundation (BHU).

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: 25 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 6 assignments out of the total 8 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI Team