Dissertation Project
Dissertation Project
Embedded Files
My dissertation project, titled “Values and Environmental Stewardship: Reclaiming an Environmental Ethic for the Climate Movement”, draws on literatures in climate politics, democracy and civic engagement, and social movements, to study mobilization on climate change that emphasizes political values, such as the values of care and justice implicit in the notion of environmental stewardship.
The dissertation revolves around why climate change has not spawned significant grassroots activism in the contemporary United States, despite being an active part of public debates for some decades. I chart the evolution of the grassroots environmental movement from the 1960s to the present and argue that its direction makes the 'shift in consciousness' (McAdam 2017) necessary for the emergence of social movements unlikely. I then study an instance of values-based mobilization that is aiming for such consciousness raising - grassroots mobilization by three church affiliated groups - and chart how this is distinct from interest-based and identity-based mobilization. In one paper, I use vignettes from immersive fieldwork, collected over the span of two years, to show the potential of this approach to confront the problem of indifference by creating subjective understandings of the problem that make it meaningful to individuals. In another paper, I deploy a variety of real-world messages used by religiously motivated actors that emphasize the value of care implicit in the notion of environmental stewardship and find that such messages influence a broad range of attitudes towards climate change, especially among Republican-leaning individuals, indicating its potential to address the problem of polarization in climate attitudes.
The project builds on over 100 hours of qualitative data (participant observation, interviews and informal conversations, along with online archives) from three church-affiliated community groups, varying in political leaning, geographic location and religious denomination, from multiple U.S. states in the Mid-West and North-East.
A literal 'Church of the Woods', Canterbury, New Hampshire
Earth Day Drive at a Catholic Church in Pelham, New Hampshire
A selection of Catholic Creation Care literature
Working Papers
Working Papers
- Moral Persuasion, Political Cross-Pressures and Persuasion on Climate Change
Working Paper Available Upon Request
Abstract: In a polarized political climate, can values-based mobilization cross-pressure individuals in a direction opposing partisan motivations? I study this question in the context of attitudes on climate change in the US. Efforts to build consensus around climate change have mostly focused on providing facts, such as the scientific consensus on climate change, but trust in scientific expertise for Republicans has been on the decline. This dilemma makes it a promising case for the study of values-based mobilisation, that shifts emphasis from the facts/science of climate change to the values it implicates. I study religiously motivated values-based mobilisation on climate change, with a focus on Republican-leaning and right-of-centre groups. Using a series of survey experiments, informed by two years of fieldwork in three community-based civic groups, I show that values-based messaging can influence climate concern, beliefs and support for climate policy and action among Republicans, including politically engaged Republicans. I distinguish between an identity channel and a moral reasoning channel, showing that values-based mobilization is equally effective with and without religious identity cues. However, the results are sensitive to the extent and salience of politicization. Overall, they illustrate the potential of values-based messaging, at least when elite partisan cues are weaker or less salient.
Working Papers
Working Papers
2. Politics of the Energy Transition: Civil Society - Bureaucracy Alliances in Electric Vehicle Policy Making
2. Politics of the Energy Transition: Civil Society - Bureaucracy Alliances in Electric Vehicle Policy Making
Working Paper Available Upon Request
Abstract: A major challenge facing decarbonization policies is the presence of entrenched organized interests that oppose such policies. The difficulty of state-led intervention in industrial policy under these circumstances is well-established. Focusing on one aspect of the energy transition - the transition to electric vehicles – I study a case where the state does successfully intervene, even in the presence of strong incumbent interests. Using elite interviews, internal meeting minutes procured through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and policy documents, I trace how the policy process unfolds. I find that a coalition of entrepreneurial civil society actors and a mission-driven bureaucracy successfully introduce an EV policy by strategically selecting policy forums. Although the policy gets backlash by established actors, this coalition is able to leverage inter-agency politics to find more allies and eventually pass an ambitious policy. The case study offers important lessons in how weak coalitions of state and civil society can pass decarbonization policy that cuts across many bureaucratic/functional domains.
Works-in-Progress
Works-in-Progress
- Grassroots Mobilization in the Climate Movement: Values and an Ethic of Environmental Care
Data Collection Complete; Analysis ongoing
Abstract: This article speaks to the puzzle of why climate change has not spawned significant grassroots activism in the contemporary United States, despite being actively debated and a part of the public imagination for at least some decades now. First, I draw on existing scholarship from social movement theory to suggest that the problem of indifference remains an important roadblock to building a wider movement. Second, I describe why identity or interest based efforts alone are insufficient to address the problem of indifference. Third, using original empirical material, I describe a model of values-based mobilization with the potential to overcome indifference, and discuss how this values-based environmental ethic is distinct from approaches emphasizing interests and identities, particularly in its treatment of the role of awareness and agency.
2. Tracing the Grassroots Environmental Movement in the US: 1960s to the Present
2. Tracing the Grassroots Environmental Movement in the US: 1960s to the Present
Data Collection and Analysis Ongoing
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