Environmental History of Central and Eastern Europe CEU Press An Knowledge Politics

This book describes the efforts and experiences of trained foresters driven by competing priorities, as well as their impact on the society, landscape and politics of Hungary between about 1860 and 1975. How can historical studies help us understand today’s environmental crises? What events led humanity into the Anthropocene epoch? The history of forestry offers a particularly revealing lens through which to explore these questions. Since at least the mid-eighteenth century, environmental concerns and the commodification of forests—often driven by state interests—have gone hand in hand. The rise of forestry’s standardized methodologies is not only a scientific development but also a global story of power, knowledge, and resource management. This book presents a Central European history of the Anthropocene, weaving together themes of nationalism, state socialism, war, and reconstruction to illuminate their deep entanglement with environmental change.