INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, we begin the third and last part of this book. So far, the inquiries we have conducted could in principle have taken place anywhere, be it on planet Earth or somewhere else in space, as long as there exist people who interact with one another, markets that enable people to attach monetary values to goods and services, and governments that decide to use force against other countries. The global political economy and the interactions it entails, however, invariably occur within the confines of the physical environment, the biosphere of planet Earth. Consequently, the political and economic forces we focus on in this book – democracy, economic openness, and military conflict, and the complex transformations they entail – can influence this very physical environment within which we all live.

The questions we seek to answer in the third part of the book concern whether and how these effects on the environment occur. Is a rise in the level of democracy good or bad for the environment? How does a rise in the level of international trade affect the environment? What are the implications of being involved in military conflict for a country's physical environment? Chapters 7, 8, and 9 in the third part of the book address these important questions.