Detlef Jahn is a professor of comparative politics at the University of Greifswald, Germany, and a permanent fellow of the Kolleg-Forschergruppe 'The Transformative Power of Europe' of the Free University Berlin. He is a board member of the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) and for the Sustainable Government Index (SGI) of the Bertelsmann Foundation. He has published in International Organization, the Socio-Economic Review, the European Journal of Political Research, and Weather, Climate and Society (WCAS) of the American Meteorological Society. He is also the author of New Politics in Trade Unions (1993).

'This excellent study shows how various styles of politics exist simultaneously in modern democracies. In environmental politics there are clashes between prioritizing the environment over growth and vice versa. However, there is also a consensus style in some areas of environmental politics, which may be more efficient in the end. A major contribution of this study is the agenda setting power model which illustrates how these two strategies work in democracies. The conclusions build on a rigorous data analysis which underlines the argument compellingly. This approach provides a very attractive model for other studies in the field of macro-comparative politics.' Arend Lijphart, Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

• 1. Introduction; Part I. Approach, Method, and Concepts: 2. Explaining environmental performance; 3. Preferences in environmental politics; 4. The institutional settings in twenty-one OECD countries; Part II. Environmental Performance in twenty-one OECD Countries: 5. Measuring environmental performance; 6. Aggregating environmental performance data; Part III. Analysis: 7. Domestic politics; 8. International politics; 9. The nexus of domestic and international politics; 10. Conclusion.

Detlef Jahn is a professor of comparative politics at the University of Greifswald, Germany, and a permanent fellow of the Kolleg-Forschergruppe 'The Transformative Power of Europe' of the Free University Berlin. He is a board member of the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) and for the Sustainable Government Index (SGI) of the Bertelsmann Foundation. He has published in International Organization, the Socio-Economic Review, the European Journal of Political Research, and Weather, Climate and Society (WCAS) of the American Meteorological Society. He is also the author of New Politics in Trade Unions (1993).

'This excellent study shows how various styles of politics exist simultaneously in modern democracies. In environmental politics there are clashes between prioritizing the environment over growth and vice versa. However, there is also a consensus style in some areas of environmental politics, which may be more efficient in the end. A major contribution of this study is the agenda setting power model which illustrates how these two strategies work in democracies. The conclusions build on a rigorous data analysis which underlines the argument compellingly. This approach provides a very attractive model for other studies in the field of macro-comparative politics.' Arend Lijphart, Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

• 1. Introduction; Part I. Approach, Method, and Concepts: 2. Explaining environmental performance; 3. Preferences in environmental politics; 4. The institutional settings in twenty-one OECD countries; Part II. Environmental Performance in twenty-one OECD Countries: 5. Measuring environmental performance; 6. Aggregating environmental performance data; Part III. Analysis: 7. Domestic politics; 8. International politics; 9. The nexus of domestic and international politics; 10. Conclusion.

Detlef Jahn is a professor of comparative politics at the University of Greifswald, Germany, and a permanent fellow of the Kolleg-Forschergruppe 'The Transformative Power of Europe' of the Free University Berlin. He is a board member of the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) and for the Sustainable Government Index (SGI) of the Bertelsmann Foundation. He has published in International Organization, the Socio-Economic Review, the European Journal of Political Research, and Weather, Climate and Society (WCAS) of the American Meteorological Society. He is also the author of New Politics in Trade Unions (1993).

'This excellent study shows how various styles of politics exist simultaneously in modern democracies. In environmental politics there are clashes between prioritizing the environment over growth and vice versa. However, there is also a consensus style in some areas of environmental politics, which may be more efficient in the end. A major contribution of this study is the agenda setting power model which illustrates how these two strategies work in democracies. The conclusions build on a rigorous data analysis which underlines the argument compellingly. This approach provides a very attractive model for other studies in the field of macro-comparative politics.' Arend Lijphart, Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

• 1. Introduction; Part I. Approach, Method, and Concepts: 2. Explaining environmental performance; 3. Preferences in environmental politics; 4. The institutional settings in twenty-one OECD countries; Part II. Environmental Performance in twenty-one OECD Countries: 5. Measuring environmental performance; 6. Aggregating environmental performance data; Part III. Analysis: 7. Domestic politics; 8. International politics; 9. The nexus of domestic and international politics; 10. Conclusion.