| Abstract: | Capacity for environmental protection is important in developed and transitional countries, but the latter sometimes present a paradox where capacity has been created at the same time as public pressure and awareness has diminished. Slovakia presents a particular paradox, as its new democratic institutions have proved especially fragile. This paper adopts a framework developed by Janicke and Weidner in crossnational studies which implies that the use made of environmental capacity is a function of institutional, informational and structural conditions. By analysing the key features of the Slovakian environmental policy process in the context of these conditions, the paper confirms the utility of the model, and points to the prospects for future policy implementation. |
