Cross-movement activism: a cognitive perspective on the global justice activities of US environmental NGOs

Abstract

Environmental NGOs often create new campaigns or extend their ongoing activities from the principal issue arena in which they work to other substantive domains. Although this is a common practice, scholars have not assessed how NGOs position their work within different arenas or whether these activities represent an extension of or deviation from an organisation's mission and values. To understand the nature of cross-movement activism, the global justice activities of four environmental organisations are examined. All four participated in the global justice movement in ways that reflected their long-standing interpretations of the source of environmental problems and their deeply-held views of how to address these problems. Thus the cross-movement activism of environmental NGOs not only draws on their longstanding repertoires of action, but is consistent with their mission and core values.

Keywords:

• global justice
• environmental organisations
• social movements
• frames
• tactics

Acknowledgements

We thank Deborah B. Balser for her input on the research protocols, Chris Rootes, Klitos Papastylianou and Stacy D. VanDeveer for comments on earlier drafts of this paper, and the representatives from the environmental organisations who participated in this study.