Here are 100 books that Environmentalism and Global International Society fans have personally recommended if you like Environmentalism and Global International Society. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Governing the Commons

Yanina Welp Author Of The Will of the People

From my list on understand political and social change.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born in southern Entre Ríos, Argentina, where my father worked as a beekeeper. From an early age, I witnessed how external markets and unpredictable weather shaped livelihoods—long before I had the words to describe these forces. Later, at the University of Buenos Aires, I developed a deep passion for understanding political and social change in a country undergoing the process of consolidating democracy while facing recurrent economic crises and institutional tensions. My experiences in Spain and Switzerland further enriched my perspective, teaching me the importance of context as well as collective action. Curiosity and commitment have been the driving forces behind my research ever since.

Yanina's book list on understand political and social change

Yanina Welp Why Yanina loves this book

I love this one because Elinor Ostrom challenges the idea that only states or markets can manage shared resources. Her work, grounded in rich field research, proves that communities can sustainably govern common goods through cooperation and trust.

Beyond legal frameworks, she focuses on real-world institutions and human interaction, making this book an enduring inspiration for those rethinking governance, sustainability, and collective action today.

By Elinor Ostrom ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Governing the Commons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. Both state control and privatization of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market have been uniformly successful in solving common pool resource problems. After critiquing the foundations of policy analysis as applied to natural resources, Elinor Ostrom here provides a unique body of empirical data to explore conditions under which common pool resource problems have been satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily solved. Dr Ostrom uses institutional analysis to explore different ways - both successful and unsuccessful - of…


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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of Toward a Politics of the Planet Earth

Peter M. Haas Author Of Epistemic Communities, Constructivism, and International Environmental Politics

From my list on global environmental governance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been interested in the environment my entire life. I studied international environmental politics in college at the University of Michigan and in graduate school at MIT. I research and taught international environmental politics at the University of Massachusetts for 33 years. I have published extensively on global environmental governance, focusing on the role played by science, international organizations, transnational actors, and governments. I have consulted for the United Nations, and the governments of the USA, France, and Portugal.   

Peter's book list on global environmental governance

Peter M. Haas Why Peter loves this book

Toward a Politics of the Planet Earth is one of the most important foundational texts in global environmental governance. 

The authors recognize the urgency and scope of global environmental problems, and identify their salient properties along with developing a novel holistic approach which reflects the complexity of ecosystems.

They stress the need for scientific knowledge, the challenges to the international system from environmental threats, and the probabilistic nature of human behavior.

They also introduced the concept of an “ecological world view” which has come to inform much of global environmental governance.

By Margaret Sprout , Harold Sprout ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Toward a Politics of the Planet Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"No one can possibly forsee all the changes in store for individuals, for social classes, for sovereign national communities, and for the world community as a whole. The future will surely bring many surprises. But as we speculate on these matters, the thought keeps recurring that we may just possibly be already far advanced in a historic transformation in the management of human affairs upon our increasingly crowded, denuded, depleted, and polluted planet". Thus the authors of Toward a Politics of the Planet Earth set the stage for an in-depth examination of international politics with a socio-ecological perspective. This unique…


Book cover of Globalization and the Environment: Capitalism, Ecology and Power

Peter M. Haas Author Of Epistemic Communities, Constructivism, and International Environmental Politics

From my list on global environmental governance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been interested in the environment my entire life. I studied international environmental politics in college at the University of Michigan and in graduate school at MIT. I research and taught international environmental politics at the University of Massachusetts for 33 years. I have published extensively on global environmental governance, focusing on the role played by science, international organizations, transnational actors, and governments. I have consulted for the United Nations, and the governments of the USA, France, and Portugal.   

Peter's book list on global environmental governance

Peter M. Haas Why Peter loves this book

Newell’s Globalization and the Environment provides a thorough overview of the international political economy forces which shape global environmental governance. 

He applies a critical gaze to the roles of capitalism, trade, finance, and multinational corporations, along with a focus on the power exercised by the private sector which makes effective global environmental governance difficult. 

By Peter Newell ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Globalization and the Environment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Globalization and the Environment critically explores the actors, politics and processes that govern the relationship between globalization and the environment. Taking key aspects of globalisation in turn - trade, production and finance - the book highlights the relations of power at work that determine whether globalization is managed in a sustainable way and on whose behalf. Each chapter looks in turn at the political ecology of these central pillars of the global economy, reviewing evidence of its impact on diverse ecologies and societies, its governance - the political structures, institutions and policy making processes in place to manage this relationship…


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Book cover of AcClaim

AcClaim by Jean Thesquare,

AcClaim is a dark, high-society romance about Beatrix Winslow-Hale, a successful romance author who believes desire can be negotiated and controlled—until enigmatic billionaire Dorian Wolker crosses the line between consensual surrender and violation. Publicly humiliated and emotionally shattered, Beatrix turns to Manon de Rochemaure, her fiercely loyal best friend and…

Book cover of The Environment and International Relations

Peter M. Haas Author Of Epistemic Communities, Constructivism, and International Environmental Politics

From my list on global environmental governance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been interested in the environment my entire life. I studied international environmental politics in college at the University of Michigan and in graduate school at MIT. I research and taught international environmental politics at the University of Massachusetts for 33 years. I have published extensively on global environmental governance, focusing on the role played by science, international organizations, transnational actors, and governments. I have consulted for the United Nations, and the governments of the USA, France, and Portugal.   

Peter's book list on global environmental governance

Peter M. Haas Why Peter loves this book

Kate O’Neill’s The Environment and International Relations provides a thorough overview of the actors and processes involved in global environmental governance. 

She deftly captures the political nature of global environmental threats, and looks at the roles of states and transnational actors in the governance of a variety of global environmental issues.

By Kate O'Neill ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Environment and International Relations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new edition of this exciting textbook introduces students to the ways in which the theories and tools of international relations and other social science disciplines can be used to analyse and address global environmental problems. Kate O'Neill develops an innovative historical and analytical framework for understanding global environmental issues, integrating insights from different disciplines, and she identifies the main actors and their roles, thereby encouraging readers to engage with the issues and equip themselves with the knowledge they need to apply their own critical insights. Revised and updated, the new edition features new figures, examples, textboxes, and a new…


Book cover of Oil Sparks in the Amazon: Local Conflicts, Indigenous Populations, and Natural Resources

Bruce E. Johansen Author Of Resource Devastation on Native American Lands: Toxic Earth, Poisoned People

From my list on Native Americans and lethal uranium mining.

Why am I passionate about this?

I retired in 2019 after 38 years of teaching journalism, environmental studies, and Native American Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. About half of my employment time was set aside for writing and editing as part of several endowed professorships I held sequentially between 1990 and 2018. After 2000, climate change (global warming) became my lead focus because of the urgency of the issue and the fact that it affects everyone on Earth. As of 2023, I have written and published 56 books, with about one-third of them on global warming. I have had an intense interest in weather and climate all my life.

Bruce's book list on Native Americans and lethal uranium mining

Bruce E. Johansen Why Bruce loves this book

This book has worthwhile attributes, such as clear writing on the nature of uranium poisoning and its history, personal interviews, and vital coverage of local peoples’ reactions to damage done to their lands and their families, as well as their homelands by profit-mined mining companies.

Vasquez’s coverage centers on the Amazon with a focus on several extractive industries. This book stands alone in its coverage of resource extraction issues in the Amazon Valley because this area has so many other important issues to cover.

By Patricia I. Vasquez ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Oil Sparks in the Amazon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For decades, studies of oil-related conflicts have focused on the effects of natural resource mismanagement, resulting in great economic booms and busts or violence as rebels fight ruling governments over their regions' hydrocarbon resources. In Oil Sparks in the Amazon, Patricia I. Vasquez writes that while oil busts and civil wars are common, the tension over oil in the Amazon has played out differently, in a way inextricable from the region itself.

Oil disputes in the Amazon primarily involve local indigenous populations. These groups' social and cultural identities differ from the rest of the population and the diverse disputes over…


Book cover of Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes

Robert R. Prechter Jr. Author Of The Socionomic Theory of Finance

From my list on finance that throws cold water on your face.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have produced twenty books/DVDs and three academic papers on finance and social-mood theory. I also write a monthly publication on markets titled The Elliott Wave Theorist. For a bio, visit robertprechter.com. My recommended titles convey financial markets’ nonrational nature in a visceral way. If you understand that feature, if you feel it, you will have a fighting chance to succeed at investing.

Robert's book list on finance that throws cold water on your face

Robert R. Prechter Jr. Why Robert loves this book

When I was at Yale, Professor Irving Janis became aware of my interest in mass psychology and asked if I would be interested in seeing a manuscript he was working on. I jumped at the chance and soon was reading Victims of Groupthink.

The book relates histories of bureaucratic decision-making that went wrong. Janis postulated that in a group setting, people defer the hard work of reasoning to others, whom they assume must be working on the problem. As a result, no one works on the problem, and whatever decision emerges derives from the dynamics of group psychology. This book is out of print and hard to find.

By Irving Lester Janis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Victims of Groupthink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

talk harmoniously even when in disagreement


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Book cover of The Silent Women

The Silent Women by Tara Lynn Masih,

"A profound and often affecting story of resilience." —Kirkus Reviews

The Silent Women, an extraordinary novel inspired by the real women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee—the Manhattan Project’s “Secret City," where thousands kept the deadliest secret of World War II—is a sweeping, absorbing, and deeply human story about chosen…

Book cover of America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier

Steven A. Cook Author Of The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square

From my list on understanding the Middle East.

Why am I passionate about this?

Steven A. Cook is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for the Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine and an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S. Middle East policy. 

Steven's book list on understanding the Middle East

Steven A. Cook Why Steven loves this book

Vitalis' meticulously researched volume is about Saudi Arabia and the United States. In lucid prose, he makes the controversial case that American oil prospectors in the 20th century recreated the patterns of domination that dominated the exploitation of resources in the American West in Saudi Arabia. The argument smashes long-held truths and myths about the origins of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

By Robert Vitalis , Robert Vitalis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked America's Kingdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

America's Kingdom debunks the many myths that now surround the United States's "special relationship" with Saudi Arabia, or what is less reverently known as "the deal": oil for security. Taking aim at the long-held belief that the Arabian American Oil Company, ARAMCO, made miracles happen in the desert, Robert Vitalis shows that nothing could be further from the truth. What is true is that oil led the U.S. government to follow the company to the kingdom. Eisenhower agreed to train Ibn Sa'ud's army, Kennedy sent jets to defend the kingdom, and Lyndon Johnson sold it missiles. Oil and ARAMCO quickly…


Book cover of The Ugly American

Matthew Masur Author Of Understanding and Teaching the Cold War

From my list on Cold War info that will keep you engaged.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of history who specializes in the United States and the Cold War. A large part of my job involves choosing books that are informative, but that the students will actually want to read. That means I often select novels, memoirs, and works of history that have compelling figures or an entertaining narrative. After more than twenty years of teaching, I’ve assigned many different books in my classes. These are the ones that my students enjoyed the most. 

Matthew's book list on Cold War info that will keep you engaged

Matthew Masur Why Matthew loves this book

I recommend this book because it encapsulates an attitude that gained currency in the late 1950s: the United States was losing ground in the “Third World” because it didn’t understand Third World countries and the people who lived there.

What fascinates me about the novel is that the authors seem to make a similar mistake. Their description of people in decolonized areas is stereotypical and often highly patronizing. It doesn’t really provide a prescription for a better policy in the developing world—rather, it inadvertently helps to illustrate America’s long-standing difficulty in winning “hearts and minds” during the Cold War. 

By William J. Lederer , Eugene Burdick ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ugly American as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14.

What is this book about?

A piercing expose of American incompetence and corruption in Southeast Asia, The Ugly American captivated the nation when it was first published in 1958. The book introduces readers to an unlikely hero in the titular "ugly American"-and to the ignorant politicians and arrogant ambassadors who ignore his empathetic and commonsense advice. In linked stories and vignettes set in the fictional nation of Sarkhan, William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick draw an incisive portrait of American foreign policy gone dangerously wrong-and how it might be fixed.

Eerily relevant sixty years after its initial publication, The Ugly American reminds us that…


Book cover of Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World

Anna Simons Author Of The Sovereignty Solution: A Common Sense Approach to Global Security

From my list on understand why our foreign policy fails often.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became an anthropologist by accident. I never liked school, but I loved to travel, and I got a PhD so that I could rail against development and the perils of cross-cultural misunderstanding in print. Naively, I thought maybe someone would listen. Luckily for me, I discovered I also liked teaching. I first taught at UCLA and then at the Naval Postgraduate School, where I had mostly mid-career U.S. and international special operations officers in class. More serendipity: my two decades at the Naval Postgraduate School bracketed the Global War on Terror, which unfortunately proved to be a witch’s brew of cross-cultural misunderstanding.  

Anna's book list on understand why our foreign policy fails often

Anna Simons Why Anna loves this book

I’ve always paired this book with Promised Land, Crusader State, not only because Mead is such an elegant writer, but I don’t think anyone surpasses him at explaining how and why we lurch back and forth between foreign policies. Mead’s account made such an impression on me when I first read it that it’s left me in a quandary ever since.

If I could recommend only one of these two books to time-strapped officers, which would benefit them more? Here is where, like a good academic, I always punted and told everyone to read both.     

By Walter Russell Mead ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Special Providence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"God has a special providence for fools, drunks and the United States of America."--Otto von Bismarck

America's response to the September 11 attacks spotlighted many of the country's longstanding goals on the world stage: to protect liberty at home, to secure America's economic interests, to spread democracy in totalitarian regimes and to vanquish the enemy utterly.

One of America's leading foreign policy thinkers, Walter Russell Mead, argues that these diverse, conflicting impulses have in fact been the key to the U.S.'s success in the world. In a sweeping new synthesis, Mead uncovers four distinct historical patterns in foreign policy, each…


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Book cover of Broken Boots, Redeemed Soul: A Veteran’s War with Sin and Salvation

Broken Boots, Redeemed Soul: A Veteran’s War with Sin and Salvation by Brian Lofton,

Broken Boots, Redeemed Soul: A Veteran’s War with Sin and Salvation, is a raw and faith-centered memoir about life after military service—and the internal battles many never see. Brian Lofton shares his journey through addiction, shame, identity loss, and spiritual distance, revealing how the hardest struggles often begin after…

Book cover of The International Relations of the Persian Gulf

Birol Baskan Author Of Turkey and Qatar in the Tangled Geopolitics of the Middle East

From my list on the Persian/Arabian Gulf international politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

The events/developments that unsettle international politics of the Gulf are two kinds: internal and external to the region. Yet, no matter whether it is internal or external, its consequences concern us all, no matter where we live in. What happens in the Gulf does not stay in the Gulf. It unleashes ripple effects that reach directly or indirectly into our pockets and hence our lives. I am one of them and a non-resident scholar in the Middle East Institute, broadly speaking, writing on Turkey, the Persian/Arab Gulf, and the Middle East. 

Birol's book list on the Persian/Arabian Gulf international politics

Birol Baskan Why Birol loves this book

The US is indisputably the hegemonic power in and the gendarmerie of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. And the Arab states on that Gulf’s southern littoral are perfectly content with that and even concerned that the US might no longer serve in that role. This book provides a comprehensive and in-depth historical account of how that happened, weaving together a complex set of factors, regional and international events and developments, into one coherent narrative. As such it is the first to be picked and consumed by any inquirer into the topic.

By F. Gregory Gause III ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The International Relations of the Persian Gulf as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Gregory Gause's masterful book is the first to offer a comprehensive account of the international politics in the Persian Gulf across nearly four decades. The story begins in 1971 when Great Britain ended its protectorate relations with the smaller states of the lower Gulf. It traces developments in the region from the oil 'revolution' of 1973-4 through the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf war of 1990-1 to the toppling of Saddam Hussein in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, bringing the story of Gulf regional politics up to 2008. The book highlights transnational identity issues, regime…


Book cover of Governing the Commons
Book cover of Toward a Politics of the Planet Earth
Book cover of Globalization and the Environment: Capitalism, Ecology and Power

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