PurposeThe purpose of the study is to review some of the existing gaps in the third-generation of critical environmental justice (EJ) research and then propose promising combinations of theoretical concepts by adjoining (EJ) literature with other bodies of work with the use of qualitative research methods.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a critique of the third-generation of critical EJ literature. It demonstrates how the scope of this scholarship, particularly the third world EJ studies, can be expanded further by deploying various combinations of other theories and qualitative research methods.FindingsConceptually, this paper provides insights into the new directions that third world EJ theory can take by drawing from other bodies of work including the developmental state, caste, waste, informal sector and labor studies within its fold. Methodologically, the paper shows why and how qualitative research methods including single and multiple case study, participatory action research and ethnography can assist in developing these new integrations between theories.Research limitations/implicationsThis research calls for the need to conduct studies in each of the new research dimension suggested in this paper in novel empirical spaces. Such studies will enable the practice of EJ and will help to advance the field of EJ scholarship forward.Social implicationsAnalysis of new research combinations with qualitative research methods in new empirical spaces might create scope for practicing EJ in such spaces where various forms of environmental injustices prevail.Originality/valueThis paper identifies gaps in the third-generation of critical EJ research and proposes new research directions by combining other theories and qualitative methods.

The scholarship on the developmental state has been influential in some scholarly arenas, and virtually ignored in others such as human geography. Recognizing this conceptual lacuna, the purpose of this paper is to review the developmental state theory and its use in diverse fields, examine arenas of human geographic research where the application of the theory has been successful and propose arenas where the theory can prove to be beneficial. To that end, the paper first, discusses the theoretical concepts, analytical tools, theoretical relevance and limitations of developmental state theory. Since, a major focus of state scholars has been to examine various dimensions of state-industry relationships, the paper additionally, explains the state's role in determining industrial location patterns and in framing industrial policies in the present period of neoliberalism. Next, it encapsulates the arenas in which the developmental state approach has proved to be useful. This includes studies that have analyzed the state's role in fostering economic development, promoting welfare, shaping transnational agreements, creating private sector partnerships and in providing environmental protection. The paper then analyzes ways in which insights from the theory have informed human geographic scholarship and explains how the scope of both developmental state and human geography can be broadened by examining the state's relation with other sectors that have been undertheorized including the agricultural sector. Finally, the paper explains how the theory can be productive in two branches of human geography including economic and labor geography.