Geopolitics and the Environment: The Case of Central Europe

Abstract

Environmental issues have been continuously ascending the ladder of political relevance to become, during the past two or three decades, an integral part of any political equation. This is true for local, regional and national levels, which have seen a permanent greening of their respective political patterns, as well as for the international political scene. These shifts correspond to the broad recognition that environmental problems are international and global.

Some recent events, apart from the ever deeper understanding of the environmental crisis, seem to promote the process: above all the envisaged extended integration of the European Community in 1993 and the collapse of the Soviet bloc in and after 1989. In both cases, the environmental implications are worth emphasising strongly since they have clearly become one of the key dimensions of European integration. This is obviously a great challenge for geography and for a modern geopolitics.

A conceptualisation of the handling of the ‘green blend’ in contemporary European geopolitics helps to respond to this challenge. Moreover, the geopolitical settings themselves may influence capacities for solving environmental problems in individual countries and regions. Europe as a whole and central Europe in particular may serve as a case study to illuminate these arguments.