Climate Change and the Challenges to Democracy

Vocabulary flashcards covering the major concepts, actors, and structural problems linking climate change to the challenges facing liberal democracy.

Climate Change

A planet-wide, slow-onset disaster driven largely by greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil-fuel use, industrialization, and modern life.

Anthropocene

A proposed geological era in which humans are the dominant planetary force, with climate change as one of its defining transformations.

Global Collective-Action Problem

A situation where no single country can solve an issue alone and all benefit from cooperative effort—central to climate-governance difficulties.

Intergenerational Issue

A problem whose costs fall mainly on future generations while present generations reap the benefits, complicating democratic decision-making.

Governance Fragmentation

The division of policy domains (trade, energy, development, etc.) into separate regimes, hindering coordinated climate action.

Paris Accord

The 2015 international climate agreement whose current pledges still imply roughly 3 °C of warming—insufficient for the 2 °C ‘safe’ threshold.

Ancient Democracy

Participatory systems like classical Athens that prized isonomia (equality before law) and eleutheria (liberty) but excluded women, slaves, and foreigners.

Liberal Democracy

Modern political system combining majority rule with individual rights, separation of powers, and rule of law to buffer against majoritarian excesses.

Separation of Powers

Institutional division among legislative, executive, and judicial branches—core to liberal-democratic design.

Rule of Law

The principle that all individuals and institutions, including the state, are subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes.

John Dewey’s ‘Democracy as a Way of Life’

The idea that democracy should be participatory, informed, and collaborative, extending beyond periodic elections.

Lack of Governance Expertise

A vulnerability of liberal democracies where citizens and leaders often lack the technical knowledge required for complex issues like climate change.

Voter Ignorance

Low levels of scientific literacy and exposure to misinformation that hamper effective democratic decision-making.

Democratic Instability

Susceptibility of democracies to rapid swings, populist waves, and policy reversals that impede long-term strategies.

Weak Multilateralism

Difficulty achieving strong global cooperation as states prioritize national interests, limiting climate policy effectiveness.

Short-Termism

The electoral incentive for politicians to focus on immediate results rather than long-term environmental strategies.

Veto Players

Actors—courts, lobbyists, interest groups—capable of blocking or delaying policy, often slowing climate action in democracies.

Contested Role of Experts

The tendency for scientists and professionals to be distrusted or sidelined, reducing evidence-based policymaking.

Self-Referring Decision-Making

Feedback loops where powerful industries (e.g., fossil fuels) shape policies to sustain their own interests and reinforce inaction.

Populism

Political movements claiming to represent ‘the will of the people,’ often opposing elites, experts, and institutions; can democratize or erode liberal norms.

Legitimacy Crisis

Erosion of public trust in democratic institutions, intensified when governments fail to address existential issues like climate change.

Technocracy

Governance by technical experts; a potential outcome if democracies cede decision-making to specialized bodies, risking reduced accountability.

Planetary-Scale Governance

Decision-making frameworks capable of addressing global, long-term issues that transcend national boundaries and generations.