Between Ecotopia Disillusionment: Green Parties in European Government

When Green parties first emerged on the political scene in the 1970s and 1980s, they presented a radical new vision of society. Going beyond single-issue environmental campaigns, green parties argued not just for specific new policies but for a who1e new approach to politics. In addition to the immediate abandonment of all things nuclear, they envisioned a society based on the principles of nonviolence, social justice, and grassroots democracy. At the time, this seemed to many like a utopian dream. But two decades later, green parties have become regular partners in local, regional, and national governments throughout Western Europe, with 'green ministers' taking their place at the cabinet tables of major countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Finland.