An Unfinished Foundation

Ken Conca is Professor of International Relations and Director of Global Environmental Politics at American University.

• Preface ; List of Figures and Tables ; List of Acronyms ; 1. An Unfinished Foundation: The Global Environment and the Four Pillars of the UN System ; 2. Law among Nations, Development within Them: Origins and Growth of the UN's Environmental Framework ; 3. The Limits of Law and Development and the Case for Peace and Rights ; 4. The Dignity and Worth of People in Nature: Strengthening Environmental Human Rights ; 5. Greening the Response to the Scourge of War: Environment, Resources, Conflict and Peace ; 6. A Stronger Foundation for Global Environmental Governance Notes ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

"A careful reconstruction of how environment has been framed in UN deliberations." --Geopolitics"The work's novelty resides in the unique balance that it manages to strike in calling for change without discrediting the international organization responsible for effecting that very change. A commendable job." --Columbia University Journal of Politics & Society"...an intriguing, innovative analysisof the problematic nature of the UN's currentfocus on development and international legal structures as pillars of its environmental policy, and the need to expand the grounding of that policy to include human rights and conflict resolution considerations. [A] well-reasoned, extesnively documented argument." --American Library Association"Reading An Unfinished Foundation convinced me that Conca has a credible case to make. He writes clearly, accessibly, and engagingly, carefully marshaling argument and evidence. His argument is a measured one--that the reforms he is proposing will improve environmental governance, not that they will fix it. Furthermore, he makes it in a way that addresses the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the UN system." --lH-Diplo"Conca provides an intriguing, innovative analysis of the problematic nature of the UN's current focus on development and international legal structures as pillars of its environmental policy, and the need to expand the grounding of that policy to include human rights and conflict resolution considerations. His well-reasoned, extensively documented argument highlights significant weaknesses of current, more-reactive environmental initiatives to addressunderlying causes of environmental degradation, bring about meaningful change, and address the environmental needs of all sectors of humanity." --CHOICE"This book is the first to connect the evolution of global environmental governance to the mission of the United Nations in its entirety and to explain the history, interconnections, and significance of the UN's work across its mandate to the global environmental and sustainability agenda. Moreover, the book does so seamlessly, effortlessly, and compellingly." -Maria Ivanova, University of Massachusetts Boston"...reading An Unfinished Foundation convinced me that Conca has a credible case to make. He writes clearly, accessibly, and engagingly, carefully marshaling argument abd evidence." -J. Samuel Barkin, University of Massachusetts Boston"Conca leads us through the journey of how the UN has developed, specifically how the environmental aspect has evolved, and what opportunities exist for promoting better global environmental governance within it."-Hannah Keren Lee, Environment & Urbaniziied'"Conca focuses on the present without ignoring the past; in fact, he argues in favor of the integration of rights-based policies combining envrionemntal sustainability with peacbuilding."-Iris Aikaterini Frangou, Columbia University Journal of Politics & Society'"This book examines the origins, effectiveness, and limitations of the United Nations system's approach to global environmental governance."-Academic Council On The United Nations System