Ch. 12 Discussion Questions Conclusion of Wildlife Politics
- What, if any, generalizations can be made concerning wildlife politics that hold across most, if not all, countries? Discuss. What are the major factors that differentiate wildlife politics between neighboring countries? Between developed and developing countries? Between different continents? Discuss.
- Assess the role that interest groups have played in wildlife politics in advanced industrialized countries such as the United States. Then assess their role in developing countries. How are they similar? Different? What are the major reasons for the differences? Discuss.
- Discuss how useful you find the Advocacy Coalition Framework for describing wildlife politics in the United States? How applicable is it to describing wildlife politics in developing countries?
- How useful do you find organizational theory to be in explaining the behavior of organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? Explain.
- What do you think have been the major sources of change in wildlife conservation politics in the U.S.? In other advanced industrialized countries? In developing countries? Based on your conclusions, what steps should individuals (or organizations) interested in supporting wildlife conservation take? (You may select a particular country in responding to this question).
- This chapter notes that not enough attention has been devoted to the role of political leaders in supporting wildlife conservation. Take some country and analyze the impact of individual leaders on the conservation of its wildlife.
- The book presents two different views of the current state of wildlife conservation, an optimistic picture presented by “new conservationists” and a more gloomy assessment by traditional conservationists. Based on your reading and knowledge concerning a country with which you are familiar, which scenario do you think is closer to the truth? Discuss.
- New conservationists emphasize the importance and difficulty of securing support for wildlife conservation. What mechanisms do you believe would be most effective for increasing support for wildlife conservation in a country with which you are familiar?
- Research some issue in which wildlife become involved in politics and government. Then write up your findings--this could be an overall analysis of the issue or a discussion of some specific publication relevant to politics of wildlife and post this contribution on the Blog of this website.