2013 Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages 75-97
Environmental policy history studies is a newly launched research field that conducts historical analyses of the formulation and implementation of environmental policy. This paper serves as an introduction to this newly emerging area. First, the various currents of historical research on environmental policy are traced and the reasons why the development of environmental policy history as an area of academic inquiry is so necessary are substantiated. Second, the environmental policy history perspective is shown to be a useful tool for shaping the future of environmental policy because it provides a close examination of the realities influencing the environmental policy of the past, and it illuminates the transformation of environmental policy over time. Next, consideration is given to the potential for environmental policy history studies to serve as an intermediary between the rapidly emerging, yet increasingly fragmented, subdisciplines related to environmental policy studies, such as environmental economics, environmental politics, environmental law, and environmental sociology. In addition, the point is made that one aim of the field of environmental policy history in Japan is to revive “kogai” (pollution) research and encourage further development based on this body of work.
