Environmentalism is one of the major issues of our time, and its rise has attracted substantial interest among students of politics and social change. A key question is how responsive are our institutions to the great challenges posed by environmental concerns? This book uses the issue of environment to explore and test speculation about institutional change and the character and effectiveness of the political system. It examines how effectively political institutions and organisations are able to address concerns about the deterioration of the environment. The book considers the key players in environmental debate and policy-making: social movements, interest groups, political parties, the media, the parliaments and the bureaucracy. This stimulating and original book makes an important contribution not only to environmental politics, but to the ways in which our institutions can become more effective and responsive to social forces. It will be of interest not only to political scientists and sociologists, but to environmental activists and policy-makers themselves.