How to integrate the Global South into the ‘green state’ concept

Globally, the state apparatus is increasingly used towards green ambitions. While the ‘green state’ concept captures this universal phenomenon, the literature on it is largely limited to Western countries. Here, I assess the green state concept’s ability to reflect the global plurality of potential green states. I do so by testing the two assumed preconditions that currently delimit the green state’s scope to the West: mature democratic institutions and high state capacity. Through a two-dimensional continuum of political institutions and state capacity, I present a dynamic and fluid framework of four categories, providing a theoretical scaffolding for broadening the scope to encompass the Global South. As a basis for the analysis, I distil the broad literature on the green state concept into a definition encompassing both a normative ideal that countries can strive towards as well as an analytical tool for assessing countries’ empirical green performance. From that, I show that green states can exist without either assumed precondition and that the literature therefore arbitrarily excludes the Global South from the green state concept. This finding gives impetus to an emerging research area that answers calls to move beyond Western-centrism and integrate the Global South.