Environmental movements and their political context

Abstract

Environmental movements are in various ways shaped by their political context, typically conceptualized by scholars as the political opportunity structure (POS). In addition to presenting a review of research on the complex relationship between POS and environmental movements, this chapter provides an analysis of several emblematic climate mobilizations of the late 2010s to elaborate on some largely neglected aspects of POS theory. These include 1) how movements translate POS into strategies through narratives of interactions with governmental institutions, 2) how not only input structures but also output structures of governmental institutions need to be taken into account to understand environmental movements’ strategic choices, and 3) how POS may come to play a less significant role when movements shift from a predominantly instrumental logic to an increasingly moral/expressive logic.