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

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1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980Year

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.