Een beweging zonder natuurlijke vijand? Over strategische dilemma's van de milieubeweging

Samenvatting

A Movement that lacks a Natural Adversary. On the Strategic Dilemmas of the Ecological Movement. By analyzing the strategies of the ecological movement in four Western European countries in the double perspective of their discourses and various political contexts, this article shows that the movement is confronted with a set of particular dilemmas. The rather consensual position of ecological topics in politics - caused by both the discourse of ecological modernization of the movement and the very inviting attitude of political authorities towards this movement - results in massive but rather passive support for this movement: everybody feels involved but nobody in particular. In case of ecological emergencies, it turns out to be difficult for the movement to mobilize its constituency, also because the government is often both the troublemaker and the only possible troubleshooter. By a threefold comparison of countries, social movements, and various issues within the ecological movement, the article shows how the ecological movement may overcome many a dilemma of collective action.