Ecological States: Politics of Science and Nature in Urbanizing China by Jesse Rodenbiker
Ecological States critically examines ecological policies in the People's Republic of China to show how campaigns of scientifically based environmental protection transform nature and society. While many point to China's ecological civilization programs as a new paradigm for global environmental governance, Jesse Rodenbiker argues that ecological redlining extends the reach of the authoritarian state.
Although Chinese urban sustainability initiatives have driven millions of citizens from their land and housing, Rodenbiker shows that these migrants are not passive subjects of state policy. Instead, they creatively navigate resettlement processes in pursuit of their own benefit. However, their resistance is limited by varied forms of state-backed infrastructural violence.
Through extensive fieldwork with scientists, urban planners, and everyday citizens in southwestern China, Ecological States exposes the ways in which the scientific logics and practices fundamental to China's green urbanization have solidified state power and contributed to dispossession and social inequality.
Ecological States is published Open-Access. The E-book version is free to download at Cornell University Press. Paperback and Hardcover are available from Cornell University Press (30% discount code: 09BCARD), Amazon, Bookshop, and your local book shop.
Praise for Ecological States
"Ecological States masterfully illuminates how ecology has become instrumental to state power and urbanization in China. Jesse Rodenbiker chronicles the counter-conduct of those facing involuntary resettlement, which has been legitimated in the name of aestheticized eco-development. Essential reading for understanding governance through ecological zoning in China and beyond." - Emily T. Yeh, Professor of Geography at University of Colorado, Boulder
"Ecological States is significant, innovative, and groundbreaking. Jesse Rodenbiker combines insightful ethnographic detail with ambitious theorizing and interpretation of science and policy interfaces in the Chinese political system, drawing connections to topics of global relevance." - Anna L. Ahlers, Professor of Political Sociology at Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
"Ecological States: Politics of Science and Nature in Urbanizing China is a must read for those concerned about environmentalism, sustainability, urbanization, and governance." - Lisa M. Hoffman, Professor of Urban Studies at University of Washington, International Journal of Asian Studies
"No doubt the book's lasting significance will owe to its contribution of a wealth of conceptual insights about nature, space time, and political power. These are relevant far beyond Chinese studies and deserve to be read and engaged by scholars in political ecology, science and technology studies, environmental studies, and political science." - Max Woodworth, Associate Professor of Geography at the Ohio State University, The Developing Economies
"The book provides valuable insights into the environmental politics of contemporary urban China. Rodenbiker demonstrates a solid understanding of the unique political, administrative, and social systems in China and presents them in a clear manner that is accessible to readers unfamiliar with the Chinese context. This is particularly important considering the book’s relevance beyond China, given the increasing global influence of China." - Kevin Lo, Associate Professor of Geography at Hong Kong Baptists University, The China Journal
""A beautifully written scholarly monograph, the book is an important addition to the rapidly growing environmental social science literature on contemporary China." - Yifei Li, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU Shanghai, The Journal of Asian Studies
Ecological States critically examines ecological policies in the People's Republic of China to show how campaigns of scientifically based environmental protection transform nature and society. While many point to China's ecological civilization programs as a new paradigm for global environmental governance, Jesse Rodenbiker argues that ecological redlining extends the reach of the authoritarian state.
Although Chinese urban sustainability initiatives have driven millions of citizens from their land and housing, Rodenbiker shows that these migrants are not passive subjects of state policy. Instead, they creatively navigate resettlement processes in pursuit of their own benefit. However, their resistance is limited by varied forms of state-backed infrastructural violence.
Through extensive fieldwork with scientists, urban planners, and everyday citizens in southwestern China, Ecological States exposes the ways in which the scientific logics and practices fundamental to China's green urbanization have solidified state power and contributed to dispossession and social inequality.
Ecological States is published Open-Access. The E-book version is free to download at Cornell University Press. Paperback and Hardcover are available from Cornell University Press (30% discount code: 09BCARD), Amazon, Bookshop, and your local book shop.
Praise for Ecological States
"Ecological States masterfully illuminates how ecology has become instrumental to state power and urbanization in China. Jesse Rodenbiker chronicles the counter-conduct of those facing involuntary resettlement, which has been legitimated in the name of aestheticized eco-development. Essential reading for understanding governance through ecological zoning in China and beyond." - Emily T. Yeh, Professor of Geography at University of Colorado, Boulder
"Ecological States is significant, innovative, and groundbreaking. Jesse Rodenbiker combines insightful ethnographic detail with ambitious theorizing and interpretation of science and policy interfaces in the Chinese political system, drawing connections to topics of global relevance." - Anna L. Ahlers, Professor of Political Sociology at Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
"Ecological States: Politics of Science and Nature in Urbanizing China is a must read for those concerned about environmentalism, sustainability, urbanization, and governance." - Lisa M. Hoffman, Professor of Urban Studies at University of Washington, International Journal of Asian Studies
"No doubt the book's lasting significance will owe to its contribution of a wealth of conceptual insights about nature, space time, and political power. These are relevant far beyond Chinese studies and deserve to be read and engaged by scholars in political ecology, science and technology studies, environmental studies, and political science." - Max Woodworth, Associate Professor of Geography at the Ohio State University, The Developing Economies
"The book provides valuable insights into the environmental politics of contemporary urban China. Rodenbiker demonstrates a solid understanding of the unique political, administrative, and social systems in China and presents them in a clear manner that is accessible to readers unfamiliar with the Chinese context. This is particularly important considering the book’s relevance beyond China, given the increasing global influence of China." - Kevin Lo, Associate Professor of Geography at Hong Kong Baptists University, The China Journal
""A beautifully written scholarly monograph, the book is an important addition to the rapidly growing environmental social science literature on contemporary China." - Yifei Li, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU Shanghai, The Journal of Asian Studies
Book Forum at Rutgers University with I-Chun Catherine Change (Geography, Macalester College), Jia-Ching Chen (Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara), and Louisa Schein (Anthropology, Rutgers)
Harvard University Fairbank Center Environment in Asia Series with Ling Zhang (History, Boston College) and Stevan Harrell (Anthropology, University of Washington)
