Section on Ecological and Transformational Politics
of the American Political Science Association
November 2003
| What is Ecological and Transformational Politics? |
The Section presents its statement of mission and focus as the following (derived from the "call" for award nominations and an older statement by Betty Zisk):
Transformational politics entails the study of political and personal transformation and their mutual relationship. The field encourages methods that transform the study of politics and permit more insight into power relations at the personal and social level.
We promote praxis of teaching, scholarship, and political action around democratic participation, social justice, conflict resolution and healing, human growth, and a holistic, ecological consciousness. This goal assumes that political transformation entails personal transformation and vice versa.
Scholarship that deals with social movements; environmental politics; race, ethnicity, and gender in terms of democratic ideals; and new and improved forms of citizen participation in democratic processes are especially pertinent to the field of transformational politics and the awards of the Organized Section of Transformational and Ecological Politics.
Members are invited to join an ongoing discussion of how we see the meaning of the Section in action - and how this might be best presented to the community at large. Send comments and thoughts to the Editor.