The transformation of environmental activism: Activists, organizations and policy‐making

Abstract

The increasing institutionalization of environmental movement organizations (EMOs) across Europe has given them improved political access and increased resources but it has created new problems for EMOs and their interlocutors alike. As constructive contacts have developed with more powerful actors, official and corporate, so relations between EMOs and activists have become increasingly problematic. Frustration at the increased moderation and caution of established EMOs contributes to organizational and tactical innovation among activists. This and the anxiety of EMOs to respond to the popularity of the radical direct action of environmental activists such as anti‐roads protesters has in turn made problematic the reliability of EMOs in the eyes of those responsible for the formulation and implementation of policy. This article outlines the rationale for the major EC‐funded cross‐national study of the transformation of environmental activism (TEA) which commenced in March 1998.

Notes

This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the European Sociological Association conference, University of Essex, Colchester, August 1997. It is in part based on the preamble to a proposal submitted to the European Commission (DG XII) in January 1997. I am indebted to the partners in that application, and especially to Mario Diani, Andy Jamison, Manuel Jimenez and Dieter Rucht, for their comments and for the additional information they provided. They are, of course, absolved from any responsibility for the use I have made of it. [Details of the TEA project (see Appendix) are posted on the WWW at: http:// www.ukc.ac. uk/sociology/TEA.html].