Daoist Political Ecology as Green Party Ideology

The Case of the Swedish Greens

in Nature and Culture
Author:
Devin K. Joshi Singapore Management University, Singapore devinjoshi@smu.edu.sg

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/nc.2022.170303
Keywords:
Daoism; green parties; ideology; political ecology; sustainability; Sweden
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Abstract

Green parties were once hailed as offering a “new politics” vis-à-vis the political establishment by proposing radical political, economic, and environmental reforms, but they have since transformed in many countries to become more moderate and pragmatic. While some doubt whether their ideology still contains any essential core, I contend that a unifying link can be found in the philosophy of the Daoist sage Laozi. I illustrate this by analyzing the party program of Miljöpartiet de Gröna (Sweden's Environmental Green Party), one of the world's most electorally successful green parties. As demonstrated here, this green party's current ideology strongly reflects key imperatives of Daoist political ecology revealing the philosophy's durability and attractiveness over time and its perceived relevance to pressing issues of sustainability and climate change.

Contributor Notes

Devin K. Joshi is an associate professor of political science at Singapore Management University. He earned a BA at Stanford University, PhD from the University of Washington and was formerly a visiting fellow at the Uppsala Forum on Democracy, Peace, and Justice. His research interests include political ideology, sustainable governance, parliamentary representation, and Daoist political thought. The author of over 50 journal articles and book chapters, his recent articles have appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Daoist Studies, Journal of Political Ideologies, and World Development. Email: devinjoshi@smu.edu.sg

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Nature and Culture

Cover Nature and Culture
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
26
Keywords:
Daoism; green parties; ideology; political ecology; sustainability; Sweden
Print Publication Date:
01 Dec 2022
Online Publication Date:
01 Dec 2022
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022

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