International Studies Compendium Project

Extract

Comment on this article   This essay reviews social science research on environment and activism with a crossor transnational scope (REACTS), accentuating the transnational. Activism has “been crucial to the achievement of progress in environmental protection.” ( Rootes 2004 ; see Giugni 1998 ; Binder and Neumayer 2005 ; Shandra 2007 ) Transnationally, activists “have a stronger presence in the environmental issue area than in many other areas.” ( Betsill 2006 ; see Jasanoff 1997 ; Meyer et al. 1997 ; Raustiala 1997b ; Charnovitz 2006 ) The environment reached second place on the issue-agendas of transnational activist groups in the early 1980s; and has been catching up to human rights since the early 1990s. In 2000, environmentalist groups comprised nearly 20 percent of all transnational activist organizations ( Smith 2004 ). Within countries, the membership of environmentalist social movement organizations (SMOs), or non-profit and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), averages 5.2 percent of the population in 56 industrialized and developing nations sampled. This membership is one of the largest worldwide. It is comparable to that of all political parties put together (6.5 percent), and exceeds those of any set of societal organizations other than labor unions (12.6 percent), educational groups (12.2 percent), and local community associations (5.2 percent) ( Dalton 2005 ... log in or subscribe to read full text