Advances in Environmental Policy/Politics and Sustainable Development Goals
A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editor
Interests: environment; sports; gender; race; culture; media; political economy; ethnography; the Americas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of Social Sciences explores environmental research, activism, and policy, as well as how they connect to—or disconnect from—the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and various social movements. It addresses the urgent need for integrated, equitable, and actionable strategies to tackle interconnected challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, the denial of climate change, animal lives, and threats to research autonomy. Contributions might examine innovative policy frameworks, governance models, activism, the blockage of free research, and cross-sector collaborations. Potential topics include the role of digital technologies in SDGs, justice-centered approaches to decarbonization, animal rights, and the effectiveness of transnational agreements in addressing transboundary environmental risks.
By highlighting research articles and reviews from diverse geographic, research, theoretical, activist, and institutional contexts, this Special Issue seeks to engage policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. It will consider gaps in current policy paradigms, such as short-term, fragmented implementation, while advocating for systemic, inclusive transformation. This Special Issue aims to bridge theory and practice, fostering dialogue between environmental studies, sociology, communication studies, and politics, focusing on transformative environmental policies and emphasizing innovation and equity.
Original research articles and reviews are welcome. We encourage complementing the existing literature by prioritizing intersectional approaches. This Special Issue will encourage research that expands on critiques of neoliberal environmental governance by foregrounding justice and participatory decision-making. By integrating empirical analyses with normative frameworks, the hope is to advance interdisciplinary discourse and offer practical tools.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Environmental Governance and Social Equity: Policy frameworks for inclusive societal transitions.
- Social Justice in Environmental Decision-Making: Community resilience and policy innovation.
- Equity-Driven Environmental Policy: Addressing inequality through participatory governance.
- The Social Politics of Environmental Policy: Negotiating power, rights, and ecological futures.
- Environmental Policy in Transition: Societal transformations and institutional adaptation.
- The place of activism in our climate crisis.
- Sports/culture and environmental policy/politics.
- State/business/scholarship and climate change.
- Gender/class/race and the environment.
Prof. Dr. Toby Miller
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- environmental governance
- environmental communication
- climate resilience
- policy innovation
- circular economy
- activism
- transnational cooperation
- equity
- multilevel governance
- justice
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