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Class 13: Globalization and
Governance 2
Sociology 2
Copyright © 2008 by Evan Schofer
Do not copy or distribute without permission
Announcements
• Today’s class:
• Global civil society & “social movements”
• The global environmental movement (an example).
Governance: Definitions
• Treaty: An agreement among nations to follow
certain rules
• Ex: GATT: “General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade”
– Set rules for global trade, prior to the WTO
• Ex: Montreal Protocol on CFC emissions
– An environmental treaty, in which countries agreed to ban the
use of chemicals that damaged the Ozone layer.
Governance: Definitions
• IGO: Inter-governmental Organization: An
organization whose members are governments
– Again, purpose is usually to negotiate or enforce agreements
among governments
• Ex: The World Trade Organization (WTO)
– Members created it as a forum to manage world trade
• Ex: The World Bank
– Governments created it to reduce poverty and encourage
development via loans and projects
• Ex: European Union
– An supra-national government that coordinates (and in some
cases has the power to set) economic & trade policies for
member countries
• Ex: UNEP: The United Nations Environment Program
– Branch of the UN; urges nations to address environmental issues
Key Players in Global Governance
Civil Society
• Issue: States and corporations are not the
only players in global governance
• Civil society: citizen activity in the public
sphere that is not part of the state or
business sector
• Includes things like: Citizen participation in
organizations, protest activities
• Social movements: Sustained efforts by
members of civil society to challenge existing
governance and produce social change.
Governance: Definitions
• Some components of civil society:
• NGO: Non-governmental Organization
• A domestic association
– Clean Water Action; The Nature Conservancy
• Also sometimes called “non-profits” or “associations”
• INGO: International non-governmental
organization
• An association that is international in membership and
(typically) scope
• Ex: Greenpeace, WWF
Trends in Global Civil Society
• Global civil society has been growing rapidly:
International Associations 1880-1990
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1880
1900
1920
1940
Year
1960
1980
Civil Society & Governance
• How does civil society affect governance?
• Read Wapner article on Greenpeace for additional info
• 1. National civil society and social movements
put pressure on states
• Example: US environmental organizations put pressure
on governments to address problems or participate in
global treaties
• 2. Global civil society and social movements
can put pressure on states and
intergovernmental organizations
• Ex: Greenpeace can try to pressure countries around the
world; and put pressure on the World Bank.
Civil Society & Governance
• How does civil society affect governance?
• 3. As Keck and Sikkink point out: Globalization
increases the opportunities of civil society
• National civil society can gain assistance from other
states or global civil society
– Ex: Domestic human rights protestors are often
unsuccessful by themselves due to repression
• But, domestic protestors can increasingly appeal to the
international community
• Domestic protestors can get help from international
NGOs (e.g., Amnesty International) or people in wealthy
nations
– Increasing their chances of success.
Civil Society & Governance
• Civil society strategies:
• 1. Lobbying/fundraising to affect elections
• 2. Education / creating awareness of problems
• And, encouraging people to change behavior
• 3. “Contentious politics” – direct challenge to
state (or international) authority
• Demonstrations; civil disobedience; even violent acts
(e.g., destroying a plant genetics lab)
• Issue: Social movements often use all of these
strategies to generate change.
Global Environmental Movement
• The global environmental movement
• International efforts to address environmental
problems on a global scale…
• Historical background:
– Prior to 1950, there were few attempts to
systematically address environmental problems
– Starting in 1960s, rapid social change occurred:
• Growth of a popular environmental movement in US
and Europe
• First major national laws to halt pollution.
Global Environmental Movement
• 1970s: Environmentalism goes global
• 1972: First major international conference addressing
environmental issues
• Big growth in INGOs, treaties, IGOs
– By 1990s
• Large numbers of environmental NGOs and INGOs
– National and global civil society…
• Many international treaties & IGOs
– Increased global governance
– International movements and governance linked
to changes in government policies
• Nearly all countries have environmental protection
laws, addressing air, water, etc.
Trends in Environmental Protection
Source: Frank et al. 2000
The Global Environmental Movement
• Question: Why has the global environmental
movement been (somewhat) successful?
• Most common explanation:
• Environmental problems (pollution, disasters) got so
bad that people got angry, frustrated…
• Therefore people banded together around common
concerns, began to fight for social change
• In short, social problems (or “grievances”)
generate social movements.
The Global Environmental Movement
• Grievance-based explanations of social
movements are very appealing
• And, are echoed by social movement participants,
themselves
• Sociologists are critical of such explanations
• Classic work by Tilly; Macadam, McCarthy & Zald.
– Historically, many important social problems and
grievances have not produced effective
movements
• For instance: Poorest & most oppressed rarely revolt
• Ex: Environmental protests are more likely in clean
suburbs, rather than urban/industrial areas.
The Global Environmental Movement
• Environmental grievances have existed for
centuries, without prompting a movement
– Example: London “fog”, which killed people in
the 19th century
• Evidence shows that people knew coal was the
cause… but they didn’t do anything about it
– Example: Mass deforestation in Europe was
celebrated, rather than treated as a problem.
The Global Environmental Movement
• What makes a social movement happen?
• Scholars of the civil rights movement
observed the following requirements:
• 1. Resource mobilization
– Social movements require resources: Money,
people, organizational capacity
• Example: Black churches in the American South
• Example: Anti-globalization protestors in
Commanding Heights video. They were skilled
college students with free time and strong
organizational capacity.
The Global Environmental Movement
• Environmentalism in US and Europe started
among wealthy suburbanites
– They were professionals, with lots of money,
organizational capacity
– Environmental movement was not started by
those most directly affected by urban pollution,
environmental health threats.
The Global Environmental Movement
• What makes a social movement happen?
• 2. Political Opportunities
– Success of social movement depends a lot on
the political environment:
– 1. Overall level of political repression
• Example: Protest is rare in authoritarian countries
– 2. Kind of party in power; Allies in high places
• Example: Unions fared worse under Reagan,
Thatcher.
The Global Environmental Movement
• The environmental movement emerged in
the 1960s
• The broader social change of the civil rights
movement provided a political opportunity
• The country (and government) was moving to the left,
and there was a willingness to address new ideas and
new social problems
• More recently, the environmental movement
fared better under Clinton than Bush.
The Global Environmental Movement
• What makes a social movement happen?
• 3. Framing
– “Framing” refers to strategic use of potent
images and symbols (“cognitive frames”) to
support a cause
• Think of it as PR for social movements
– Example: Pro-choice vs. Pro life
– Example: Anti-globalization unions equate
manufacturing job with American “way of life”
• …Free Trade will turn us into a 3rd world country
• Can you think of more examples?
The Global Environmental Movement
• Environmentalists have a long history of
successful framing
– Example: Animal rights movement effectively
used images of baby seals being killed by clubs
– Example: Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”
– Also, they use cultural frames and arguments
from science to press their cause
• They borrow the “authority” of science.
The Global Environmental Movement
• In sum: global environmentalism has a
history of:
• Effective resource mobilization
• Political opportunities
• Successful framing
• Result: Global environmentalists were
relatively successful in US, Europe, and on a
global scale
• States enacted basic laws to protect air, water,
consumers, etc
• Treaties and IGOs were formed to protect endangered
species, certain pollutants (e.g., CFCs).
The Global Environmental Movement
• Question #2: Does the global environmental
movement matter? Does it improve the
situation?
• Answer: Yes and No.
• In some cases, environmental destruction
has been reversed due to citizen action &
government reform:
• Air pollution in many US cities
• Water pollution of lakes and rivers
• Some endangered species (e.g., elephants).
The Environmental Movement
• In some cases, environmental destruction is
still getting worse, but not as fast as
predicted (given growth of population, GDP)
• Ex: CFC production (an ozone-depleting gas)
• Ex: deforestation
• Finally, some environmental problems just
keep getting worse and worse
• Ex: habitat destruction (ex: rainforests), overuse of
antibiotics, etc.
The Global Environmental Movement
• In sum: There is no doubt that the global
environmental movement has had some
important successes
• This is notable to sociologists, because many social
movements fail utterly
– Especially those that challenge the interests of capitalists
– BUT: HUGE challenges remain…
• The magnitude of the problem is staggering
• In world of 6.6 billion people and over $40 trillion of
yearly economic activity, there is a lot of degradation
• Successes of environmental movement may ultimately
prove insufficient.