39. Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics

Mark Zachary Taylor, Georgia Institute of Technology, mzak@gatech.edu

The 2008 Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics (STEP) section welcomes paper and panel submissions that take into account the following two factors:

First, political scientists who study science, technology, and the environment generally recognize the intrinsic relationship between developments in the real world and the shape and direction of their subfield. The politics and policies of technological change, scientific research, and environmental degradation (be it climate change, species decline, land usage, pollution, etc.) have palpable effects on our daily lives, both as social scientists and as citizens. Therefore, this division invites proposals that generate or utilize empirical data to test existing causal theories and hypotheses; address questions and problems that have clear and significant policy implications; and/or offer theoretically-innovative or empirically-grounded policy recommendations. All methodological and theoretical approaches are welcome.

Second, STEP scholars also recognize the interdisciplinary nature of their subfield. STEP research not only fits comfortably within debates held amongst scholars of international relations, comparative politics, American politics, political economy, and political philosophy, but STEP scholarship also draws research questions, methods, data, and analytical perspectives from the fields of economics, sociology, history, public policy, and anthropology. Therefore, submissions involving collaboration across specialties within STEP, across the APSA disciplines, or incorporating interdisciplinary insights from fellow social sciences will be especially welcomed.