Search results

"In March 2020, when most of the world stayed locked inside their homes, the environmental benefits were substantial and drove an environmental change that put society on a much more sustainable trajectory. Rapid change in policies and behaviors are in stark contrast to the slow and ineffective ways that the world has responded to the climate crisis before and after the spring of 2020. When world leaders finally met at the COP-26 climate negotiations in Glasgow in November 2021, they were expected to coordinate a global response to the climate crisis. The outcome, however, was disappointing - countries were unable to agree to the emissions reductions needed and after two weeks of muddled negotiations, countries punted, deciding to meet back in another year to finalize their plans for climate action that would limit global warming below the 1.5 degree threshold that scientists have determined will keep the most dire effects of climate change at bay"--

We've known for decades that climate change is an existential crisis. For just as long, we've seen the complete failure of our institutions to rise to the challenge. Governments have struggled to meet even modest goals. Fossil fuel interests maintain a stranglehold on political and economic power. Even though we have seen growing concern from everyday people, civil society has succeeded only in pressuring decision makers to adopt watered-down policies. All the while, the climate crisis worsens. Is there any hope of achieving the systemic change we need?Dana R. Fisher argues that there is a realistic path forward for climate action—but only through mass mobilization that responds to the growing severity and frequency of disastrous events. She assesses the current state of affairs and shows why public policy and private-sector efforts have been ineffective. Spurred by this lack of progress, climate activism has become increasingly confrontational. Fisher examines the radical flank of the climate movement: its emergence and growth, its use of direct action, and how it might evolve as the climate crisis worsens. She considers when and how activism is most successful, identifying the importance of creating community, capitalizing on shocking moments, and cultivating resilience. Clear-eyed yet optimistic, Saving Ourselves offers timely insights on how social movements can take power back from deeply entrenched interests and open windows of opportunity for transformative climate action

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- 1 The Man, the Message, and the Members -- 2 Institutionalizing Activism -- 3 Making a Difference as a Canvasser -- 4 Outsourcing Activism -- 5 Laying Sod versus Cultivating the Grass -- 6 Where Do We Go from Here? -- Appendix -- Notes -- References -- Index

Who are the millions of people marching against the Trump administration? American Resistance traces activists from the streets back to the communities and congressional districts around the country where they live, work, and vote. Using innovative data, Dana R. Fisher analyzes how resistance groups have channeled outrage into activism.

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- Chapter One. HOW DID WE GET HERE? -- Chapter Two. RESISTANCE IN THE STREETS -- Chapter Three. ORGANIZING THE RESISTANCE IN THE DISTRICTS -- Chapter Four. RESISTANCE IN THE DISTRICTS -- Chapter Five. LOOKING BACK WHILE MARCHING FORWARD -- METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX -- NOTES -- INDEX

AbstractThis article is derived from my 2024 ESS presidential address. I discuss my new book and how a sociological lens helps us to understand the process through which we can save ourselves from the climate crisis. After explaining why the state and the market have struggled to implement sufficient policies to address the climate crisis, I present the AnthroShift as a theory that explains how social actors reorient after risk pivots to open windows of opportunity for social change. I discuss why civil society is most likely to mobilize after there is a generalized sense of climate risk and summarize how climate activists are currently engaging in non‐violent civil disobedience as a first step in an expanded civil society sector that is likely to put pressure on the state and the market to help us save ourselves. I conclude by presenting three steps that can be taken to help us save ourselves from the climate crisis.

In this paper, I look at how subnational policies in the United States are interacting with policy making at the federal level to address the issue of global climate change. I focus on a coordinated attempt to get the national government to fund local efforts to address climate change. Although local climate initiatives in the US were successfully translated into a national policy to support these local efforts, their implementation through hybrid arrangements that are being formed between business and local governmental actors will potentially create additional challenges to federal policy making. I introduce the notion of boomerang federalism, which builds on the extant research on federalism and vertical policy integration, to explain the process through which local efforts mobilize initiatives at the national level that, in turn, provide support for the local initiatives themselves. Reviewing the implementation process of this effort, I discuss the ways that businesses are working alongside local governments to address climate change.

What is the relationship between social movements and electoral politics? Although the empirical reality of American politics has increasingly blurred the lines between activism and electoral politics, sociology has yet to explore these changes and provide theoretical and methodological tools to understand them. Focusing on the experience of young Americans, this review explores this relationship and outlines opportunities for future research. It is broken down into three sections. First, I review the main themes in the study of youth political participation in America. Second, using examples from the 2008 election, the article examines recent increases in youth participation. Third and finally, this article discusses the case of the Obama campaign, its transition into the Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America, and aspects of the 2012 election to highlight the complex relationship between movements and electoral politics in America today. The paper concludes by highlighting opportunities for sociologists to bridge the connections between activism and electoral politics in new and meaningful ways.

What happened to non-governmental organizations' participation at the COP-15 round of climate negotiations in Copenhagen? Although the climate regime has been seen as relatively open to civil society, everything changed in Copenhagen and civil society became increasingly disenfranchised. This article discusses the three main forces that led to civil society's disenfranchisement at this round of the climate negotiations: increased registration, poor planning by the Danish organizers and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, and the merging of movements. I conclude by discussing implications of the increase in civil society disenfranchisement to the climate regime and to the study of global environmental politics more broadly.