Environmental Justice and Ecological Imperialism: An Analysis based on American Interest Group Politics and the Confrontation between the Global North and South

　　Abstract: Environmental justice refers to equitable justice within the context of environmental protection, and is directly related to class, ethnicity and income disparities. The environmental justice movement was born in the United States as a clear reflection of the struggle against environmental racism, and is connected to the civil rights movement. This article systematically considers the history of the environmental justice movement in the United States and reviews the related scholarship on this subject both in China and from abroad. It then uses opinion poll data from the American National Electoral Survey (ANES) conducted by the Institute for Social Research at Michigan University (USA) to analyze conflicts over political ideology between American interest groups around issues of environmental justice. At the same time, it also considers issues of environmental justice in other countries and the extension of the issue into international politics, i.e., ecological imperialism and the ideological conflict between the Global North and South over environmental justice. Finally the article explores lessons for China that can be gleaned from the issues of environmental justice and ecological imperialism.

　　Author: Zhang Chunhou is an Associate Professor of the School of PoliticalScience and Law at Yan’an University