Cohen makes an interesting comparison between the Bretton Woods Agreements after WWI and the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Both reflect a particular political/economic/ logic – that of responsible intervention in the workings of the market by linking economic considerations to others no less important such as social stability, human rights and welfare and currently the environment. This kind of logic has a name – it is called Social Democracy. “Green” is not just a new fashion but simply another aspect of a political tradition that places human, social and environmental values above others.
Cohen claims that the environmental movement in Israel is in the midst of intense activity in anticipation of a new phase of environmental politics. But he claims that for environmental politics to be effective it cannot operate as a self-contained single issue but must become part of a larger ideological and political infrastructure.
He goes on to describe the political constraints of advancing the environmental agenda in Israel and claims that it can only be effectively advanced within a larger conceptual and political framework – Social Democracy.
