New book explains the geoclimatic roots of Western emancipation
2025-11-04 Lüneburg. A new, freely accessible book by political scientist Prof. Dr. Christian Welzel from Leuphana University of Lüneburg deciphers the geoclimatic origins of Western emancipation movements. The focus is on the so-called “Cool Water (CW) Condition” – regions with a cool climate, steady rainfall, and proximity to the coast. According to Welzel and his co-authors, these conditions promote decentralized economic structures, local self-government, and thus the emergence of democracy, equality, and social responsibility.
The authors show that these natural conditions historically gave rise to cultures based on autonomy, cooperation, and resistance to authoritarian power. The influence of this dynamic now extends far beyond the West: a new emancipation movement is unfolding worldwide, led by women, people of color, and people beyond heteronormativity.
Welzel emphasizes the anti-racist approach of his research: geoclimatic differences, not biological ones, have shaped the diversity of social developments. Experts such as Pippa Norris (Harvard University) and Michael H. Bond (Hong Kong Polytechnical University) praise the work as a groundbreaking contribution to comparative cultural sociology and democracy research.
The nearly 500-page book offers a comprehensive social science analysis that explains how natural environmental conditions shaped the history of human emancipation—and why it continues globally today.
Christian Welzel/Stefan Kruse/Lennart Brunkert/Steven A. Brieger
The Cool Water Effect
The Geo-Climatic Source of Western Exceptionalism
Palgrave Macmillan
doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-81861-5