EJJE STUDY DAYS, 2 & 3 JUNE 2022
COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: WHAT IS ITS TRANSFORMATIVE POWER?
In light of studies demonstrating the limitations of public policies on sustainable development and the energy transition in combating global change and protecting the environment and public health, some authors see the strength of collective action – or even the emergence of ‘new social movements’ – as the sole potential driver of the socio-ecological transformation that is hoped for (Schlosberg and Craven, 2019; Temper et al., 2018; Stevis, 2020; Pruvost, 2021…). This power to bring about change does not rest solely on the ability of social movements to publicise ecological problems and help place them on the political agenda.
It is the collective, confrontational acts of resistance, civil disobedience or more widespread recourse to the courts, as well as the development of alternative collective practices—incorporating a range of ecological and social justice concerns—that aim for and could enable a radical transition, a paradigm shift. These movements with a transformative aim may champion different causes and employ a variety of modes of action, but they share certain characteristics which, according to our combined analyses, are as follows: their ability to break down the silos surrounding environmental issues and to redefine our relationship with nature; to bring to light the political and social dimensions of these issues and to consider social justice and justice for nature in tandem; and to promote alternative ways of doing things and acting at the collective level (rather than solely as a form of individual responsibility).
These movements, which could thus be described as falling within the realm of environmental justice, raise a number of questions.
- The first concerns the rise of ‘new social movements’ and the conditions under which they emerge. It draws on a rich body of sociological literature on collective action (Cefaï, 2007). The idea that a social movement can bring about social change and has a historical dimension is far from new (Touraine et al., 1984). However, Schlosberg and Craven’s (2019) ‘new sustainable materialism’ challenges the postmodern interpretation of new social movements (Inglehart, 1977). An awareness of the finite nature of the natural world is said to be at the root of a ‘new materialism’ (Schlosberg and Craven, ibid.), a new collective dynamic that is both specific and diverse (Larrère and Larrère, 2020).
- The second line of inquiry concerns the transformative capacity attributed to these movements, and the actual impact of their actions and practices on public policies and dominant models of production. This involves not only examining the forms of collective action but also their consequences. How do these movements ‘enter the political arena’, and how do they contribute to breaking the established flows and chains of interdependence (Schlosberg and Craven, ibid), and to influencing the processes that generate environmental inequalities (Deldrève and Candau, 2021)?
- The third takes a cross-cutting approach to examining the links between justice, ‘nature’ and the way in which forms of protest question, experiment with, define and construct an original, singular relationship with nature, from a relational perspective, in opposition to modern Western dualism (Descola, 2005; Viveiros de Castro, 2014) or with the extractivist or, more broadly, anthropocentric perspectives developed within it. The aim is therefore to combine the analysis of social movements with an interdisciplinary reflection on ‘modes of existence ’ (Latour, 2012), relational ontologies (Alvarez and Coolsaet, 2020), multi-species justice (Celemajer et al., 2021) and a ‘beyond-human’ perspective (De la Bellacasa, 2017).
- Finally, the questions raised above fuel the still-vigorous debate on the ‘territories’ of engagement that drives change. Should we prioritise the local as a source of alternatives and a sense of belonging, and as a space for experimenting with alternative ways of living (Larrère and Larrère, 2020), or do these ‘small utopias’ stand no chance of succeeding in the face of global prospects of collapse (Villalba, 2021)? Here, we propose moving beyond the traditional opposition between local and transnational movements in order to better analyse their proposal for a ‘return to the ground’ (Latour, 2017), towards a world that is both sustainable and just.
The aim of this seminar is therefore to test the hypothesis of the transformative power of collective action and to explore the potential for a renewal of social movements. To this end, three half-day sessions and a working meeting (review and discussion) will be organised, all of which will address the aforementioned questions in an interdisciplinary manner.
Bibliography
Álvarez L & Coolsaet B (2020), ‘Decolonising Environmental Justice Studies: A Latin American Perspective’, *Capitalism Nature Socialism*, 31:2, 50–69.
Cefaï D. (2007), *Why Do We Mobilise? Theories of Collective Action*, Paris, La Découverte.
Celemajer D. et al. (2021), ‘Multispecies justice: theories, challenges, and a research agenda for environmental politics’, *Environmental Politics*, 30:1–2, 119–140.
De la Bellacasa, M.P. (2017), *Matters of Care: Speculative Ethics in More Than Human Worlds*. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
Deldrève, V. and Candau, J. (2021) Environmental Effort and Equity: Water and Biodiversity Policies in France, EcoPolis series, Peter Lang, Brussels.
Descola, Ph. (2005), Beyond Nature and Culture, Gallimard, Paris.
Inglehart, R. (1977) The Silent Revolution: Changing Values and Political Styles Among Western Publics, Princeton University Press.
Larrère, C. & Larrère, R. (2020), The Worst Is Not Inevitable – An Essay on Catastrophic Blindness. Premier Parallèle.
Latour, B. (2012), An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns, Paris, La Découverte, ‘Hors collection Sciences Humaines’ series.
Latour, B. (2017), Where to Land: How to Find Your Way in Politics. Paris, La Découverte.
Pruvost G. (2021), Everyday Politics: Feminism, Ecology, Subsistence, La Découverte, Paris.
Schlosberg D. and Craven L. (2019), Environmental Movements and the Politics of Everyday Life, OUP Oxford.
Stevis, D. (2020), *The Trajectory and Politics of Just Transition*, in: Coolsaet (ed.), *Environmental Justice: Key Issues*, Routledge.
Temper, L. et al. (2018), ‘The Global Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas): ecological distribution conflicts as forces for sustainability’, *Sustainability Science* (2018) 13:573–584.
Touraine A., Wieviorka M., F. Dubet (1984), The Labour Movement, Paris, Fayard.
Villalba B. (2021), The Collapsologists and Their Enemies, Paris, Le Pommier.
Viveiros De Castro E. (2014), ‘Perspectivism and Multinaturalism in Indigenous America’, Journal des anthropologues, 138–139, 161–181.
JE Programme
Thursday 2 June
9.15 am Introduction
- Valérie Deldrève (ETTIS-INRAE): Why talk about transformative collective action?
9.45 am–12.45 pm Continuities and transformations in movements for environmental justice. Chair: Brendan Coolsaet (ESPOL, Lille)
- David Schlosberg (Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney) Just Transitions in Practice: Systems, Transformations, Movement Motivations, and Concepts of Justice
- Sylvaine Bulle (ENSA, Paris) Bifurcating and/or landing. What sociology of engagement in the Anthropocene?
- Marie Thiann Bo Morel (University of Réunion) Restoring nature beyond state control: fighting through ‘missouk’
14:30–17:30: The role of working-class and grassroots ecologies. Chair: Bruno Bouet (ETTIS – University of Bordeaux)
- Dimitris Stevis (Department of Political Science and Centre for Environmental Justice, Colorado State University) Just Transitions: Promise and Contestation
- Magalie Della Sudda (CED, CNRS-Sciences Po Bordeaux), Alix Levain (AMURE, CNRS University of Brest), Nathan Gaborit (CLERSE, ANR GILETSJAUNES University of Lille), For WP6 “Relationships with Ecology” of the ANR GILETSJAUNES project, Environmental Concern and Grassroots Ecological Praxis: Different Relationships with Ecology within the Yellow Vests
- Mody Diaw (ETTIS–University of Bordeaux): The refusal of alumina workers (Gardanne, France) to pit jobs against the environment: a struggle for social and environmental justice?
Friday 3 June
9.30 am–12.30 pm: Forms of action and capacity for transformation – perspectives and experiences of
researchers and activists (part 1 and part 2)
Round table moderated by Caroline Lejeune (Fondation Zoein, ETTIS-INRAE researcher), with Emilie Chevalier (University of Limoges), Marie Toussaint (End Ecocide on Earth, Notre Affaire à tous, MEP), Renda Benmallem (Ecologie depuis les quartiers populaires) and Frédéric Pitaval (Appel du Rhône).
2.00–4.00 pm: review and discussions by the EJJE network
