Environmental policy has pioneered the broadest public-participation innovations in government

Evidence

A number of authors in the environmental politics literature have noted the high levels of democratic involvement in environmental policymaking. ‘One of the most distinctive features of modern U.S. environmental protection policy’, writes Andrews (1999: 240), is the ‘broad right of access to the regulatory process, which extends not only to affected businesses but to citizens advocating environmental protection.’ Paehlke (1989) argues that the environmental arena has led all others in the scope and extent of innovations in public participation, including public inquiries, right-to-know legislation, alternative dispute resolution, advisory committees, and policy dialogues. — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 700

Categorization

• QUESTION: Testable claim for the Legal Systems reading: did US environmental regulation actually lead all policy arenas in participation, and has that held since? And within environmental arenas, which kind of justice do these procedural tools actually secure?
• XREF: connects to: Federal environmental justice institutions were built to institutionalize community participation procedures — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 245; Environmental justice comprises recognition and participation as well as distribution — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 12

Broader Connections

• Federal environmental justice institutions were built to institutionalize community participation procedures #exemplifies (0.75) — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 245
• Environmental justice comprises recognition and participation as well as distribution #expands (0.72) — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 12