We focus on the personal networks of members of an anti-environmentalism countermovement in a sma... more We focus on the personal networks of members of an anti-environmentalism countermovement in a small town in Canada (Port Alberni, B.C.) that mobilized against the environmental movement. Drawing primarily from social survey data, we investigate the effects of network-based mobilization processes, and contending-movement ties (ties to the environmental movement), on level of participation in the countermovement. We add to the literature on networks and social movements, and movement-countermovement dynamics by 1) comparing network processes amongst a counter movement with those amongst a corresponding social movement, and 2) comparing personal network structures and mobilization processes between countermovement members and the general public. We find a similar pattern of network-based micromobilization processes amongst movement and countermovement participant networks. We find both similarities, and key differences between the counter movement and the general public in terms of act...
In this article we analyze how media coverage for environmental actors (individual environmental ... more In this article we analyze how media coverage for environmental actors (individual environmental activists and environmental movement organizations) is associated with their perceived policy influence in Canadian climate change policy networks. We conceptualize media coverage as the total number of media mentions an actor received in Canada’s two main national newspapers—the Globe and Mail and National Post. We conceptualize perceived policy influence as the total number of times an actor was nominated by other actors in a policy network as being perceived to be influential in domestic climate change policy making in Canada. Literature from the field of social movements, agenda setting, and policy networks suggests that environmental actors who garner more media coverage should be perceived as more influential in policy networks than actors who garner less coverage. We assess support for this main hypothesis in two ways. First, we analyze how actor attributes (such as the type of ac...
Understanding the tide of activism rising from Indigenous communities in Canada requires an under... more Understanding the tide of activism rising from Indigenous communities in Canada requires an understanding of the socio-political contexts within which it occurs, in other words, an understanding of the Canadian colonial state field (CCSF). Hence, I propose a ‘domesticated’ version of the theory of colonial state fields first outlined by George Steinmetz (2008), by specifying the theory to the Canadian socio-political context. In an effort to incorporate interests of Indigenous activist social networks (such as those at the core of #IdleNoMore) into the theory, I build upon Steinmetz by proposing a synthesis of the CCSF with Mario Small’s (2009) theory of organizationally embedded networks, suggesting a field-analytic framework wherein activist networks are conceived of contextually rather than as autonomous stand-alone entities. Key similarities and policy implications are discussed including the susceptibility of the CICF and organizationally embedded networks to external government policy, and the mutual presence of gatekeepers in both structures.
In reviewing the Fairtrade academic literature I identify an empirical bias, guided mainly by sys... more In reviewing the Fairtrade academic literature I identify an empirical bias, guided mainly by systematic economical approaches. Much of the conclusions drawn from this literature are internally valid, but limited in generalizability. Next I outline various shortcomings in qualitative and social-constructivist analyses, prompting my proposal of focus group research as an effective means of ameliorating the identified qualitative gap.
We focus on the personal networks of members of an anti-environmentalism countermovement in a sma... more We focus on the personal networks of members of an anti-environmentalism countermovement in a small town in Canada (Port Alberni, B.C.) that mobilized against the environmental movement. Drawing primarily from social survey data, we investigate the effects of network-based mobilization processes, and contending-movement ties (ties to the environmental movement), on level of participation in the countermovement. We add to the literature on networks and social movements, and movement-countermovement dynamics by 1) comparing network processes amongst a counter movement with those amongst a corresponding social movement, and 2) comparing personal network structures and mobilization processes between countermovement members and the general public. We find a similar pattern of network-based micromobilization processes amongst movement and countermovement participant networks. We find both similarities, and key differences between the counter movement and the general public in terms of act...
In this article we analyze how media coverage for environmental actors (individual environmental ... more In this article we analyze how media coverage for environmental actors (individual environmental activists and environmental movement organizations) is associated with their perceived policy influence in Canadian climate change policy networks. We conceptualize media coverage as the total number of media mentions an actor received in Canada’s two main national newspapers—the Globe and Mail and National Post. We conceptualize perceived policy influence as the total number of times an actor was nominated by other actors in a policy network as being perceived to be influential in domestic climate change policy making in Canada. Literature from the field of social movements, agenda setting, and policy networks suggests that environmental actors who garner more media coverage should be perceived as more influential in policy networks than actors who garner less coverage. We assess support for this main hypothesis in two ways. First, we analyze how actor attributes (such as the type of ac...
Understanding the tide of activism rising from Indigenous communities in Canada requires an under... more Understanding the tide of activism rising from Indigenous communities in Canada requires an understanding of the socio-political contexts within which it occurs, in other words, an understanding of the Canadian colonial state field (CCSF). Hence, I propose a ‘domesticated’ version of the theory of colonial state fields first outlined by George Steinmetz (2008), by specifying the theory to the Canadian socio-political context. In an effort to incorporate interests of Indigenous activist social networks (such as those at the core of #IdleNoMore) into the theory, I build upon Steinmetz by proposing a synthesis of the CCSF with Mario Small’s (2009) theory of organizationally embedded networks, suggesting a field-analytic framework wherein activist networks are conceived of contextually rather than as autonomous stand-alone entities. Key similarities and policy implications are discussed including the susceptibility of the CICF and organizationally embedded networks to external government policy, and the mutual presence of gatekeepers in both structures.
In reviewing the Fairtrade academic literature I identify an empirical bias, guided mainly by sys... more In reviewing the Fairtrade academic literature I identify an empirical bias, guided mainly by systematic economical approaches. Much of the conclusions drawn from this literature are internally valid, but limited in generalizability. Next I outline various shortcomings in qualitative and social-constructivist analyses, prompting my proposal of focus group research as an effective means of ameliorating the identified qualitative gap.
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Papers by Adam Howe