Socioeconomic Forces Research Articles

Sustainable Development of Production–Living–Ecological Spaces: Insights from a 30-Year Remote Sensing Analysis

The rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization has reshaped land use patterns globally, particularly within the interconnected domains of ‘production, living, and ecological spaces’ (PLES). Understanding the spatiotemporal evolution of these spaces is crucial for guiding sustainable development. Although a number of previous studies have explored aspects of their dynamics and driving factors, further investigation is needed to fully understand their long-term spatiotemporal evolution and the broader influences of socio-economic and environmental forces. This study aims to fill that important gap by leveraging advanced remote sensing techniques to analyze PLES transformations over a 30-year period. Using Henan Province, China, as a testbed, this study applies high-resolution Landsat data, land use transition matrices, dynamic degree analysis, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and multiple linear regressions to uncover trends and underlying drivers. The results reveal a substantial reduction in production spaces by 3394.62 km² steady growth in living spaces by 4459.41 km² and complex, non-linear changes in ecological spaces, which decreased by 1067.43 km². Key driving forces, such as economic growth, urbanization, and fiscal policies are identified and discussed. These insights provide a robust framework for sustainable land use planning, with broader implications for rapidly urbanizing regions worldwide.

Narratives from Staff at an LGBTQIA+ Shelter: Applying Ecological Systems Theory to a Homelessness Intervention in Cape Town, South Africa

Internationally, LGBTQIA+ people are at increased risk of homelessness and housing instability. Literature on this topic emerging from the Global South has been less prominent. This article explores LGBTQIA+ homelessness in Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is a unique local context, given the post-apartheid political landscape and prevalent negative attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people in South Africa. Grounded in the ecological systems theory, this article explores staff perspectives about emergency shelter interventions with the population of LGBTQIA+ people experiencing homelessness. An international team of scholars coordinated this research effort to interview staff at an LGBTQIA+ focused shelter in Cape Town. Interview data were analysed using narrative analysis strategies. Results show that the shelter seeks to provide a safe and structured environment for LGBTQIA+ people who may have experienced family rejection, educational or economic challenges and mental health concerns. Researchers recommend that there be a shift in focus to macro socio-economic forces when considering LGBTQIA+ homelessness. Researchers also discuss the need for more robust social work training for staff of shelters who serve this vulnerable and resilient population.

Recommendations from the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk Convening – “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serve Children and Youth, their Families, and Communities”

AbstractYouth and families impacted by legal systems now resoundingly attest to the systems' lasting harm, echoed by interdisciplinary research. Lawyering thus requires a vastly renewed outlook, boldness, and honest inquiry about the limits of what the law and public systems can (and should) attempt as purported problem‐solving amidst broader socioeconomic forces and injustice. This report synthesizes recommendations from a groundswell of diverse, dedicated voices following an October 2023 convening hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Entitled “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” the convening engaged various professionals—many with firsthand experience in foster and justice systems— and other advocates. Since the 2006 ABA Youth At Risk Initiative Planning Conference, the ABA Commission on Youth At Risk has elevated the representation and voice of youth through ethical practice standards, expanded access, and national initiatives. This report recounts findings of the 2023 convening's four working groups which met for two‐days of (often tense) discussions to chart a path for the legal profession, law, and policy for the next decade and beyond. Priorities include: transcending conceptions of youth “at risk” towards recognition of harms done, a strengths‐based lens, and lived experience leadership and expertise; cultivating next generation attorneys; prioritizing early family defense and diversion; divesting from systems and re‐investing directly with youth and families; and further eliminating racial disparities.

Saving behavior among immigrant and native youth

This study investigates the role of migration background in the saving behavior of youth, with a focus on immigrant generation, national origin, and the influence of cultural and socioeconomic factors. Drawing on a nationally representative dataset of over 28,000 secondary school students in the Netherlands, we employ binary logit models to analyze two dimensions of saving behavior: the likelihood of saving money and the propensity to use bank accounts for savings. Our findings reveal significant disparities in saving behavior among immigrant and non-immigrant youth. Migrant youth are less likely to save overall, and when they do, they exhibit a reduced inclination to use bank accounts for their savings. Furthermore, the study uncovers nuanced patterns within the immigrant youth population. First-generation immigrant youth display lower levels of saving and bank account usage compared to their second-generation counterparts, particularly to those with one foreign-born parent. Distinct national origin effects are observed, as Turkish and Moroccan youth exhibit reduced likelihoods of saving, particularly through bank accounts, compared to Surinamese and Dutch Antillean youth. The results also indicate that the disparities in saving behavior across migration background, immigrant generation, and national origin are partly explained by socioeconomic and cultural forces. Socio-economic status and parental education emerge as key determinants, with higher parental socio-economic resources and education levels positively associated with youth saving behavior and bank account usage. Additionally, religious affiliation, particularly among Muslim youth, contributes to variations in saving behavior due to the prohibition of interest-bearing transactions.

Artificial intelligence and socioeconomic forces: transforming the landscape of religion

This research examines the influences of artificial intelligence and socioeconomic factors on religious freedom across 20 countries from 2000 to 2022. Employing a detailed model that integrates both specific effects related to individual countries and annual changes, our study offers an extensive empirical analysis of how artificial intelligence relates to religious freedom. The results indicate a notable negative impact of artificial intelligence on religious freedom. Furthermore, the study sheds light on key factors that affect religious freedom, uncovering a positive correlation with elements such as economic growth, political stability, and education levels. However, it was also observed that increased digitalization correlates negatively with religious freedom. These conclusions are reinforced by findings from the system-generalized method of moment estimation, which strongly support our initial results. Consequently, this study establishes that the relationship between artificial intelligence and religious freedom is intricate and shaped by a variety of socioeconomic factors. Our findings emphasize the necessity for thoughtful consideration of the broader societal impacts of artificial intelligence, especially regarding essential human rights like religious freedom.

Work and life: the relative importance of job quality for general well-being, and implications for social surveys

Abstract We investigate the relative importance of variations in job quality in accounting for variations in general well-being among employed people in Europe, the USA, Australia and South Korea. We find that the importance of job quality is everywhere of a similar magnitude to that of health, while both are far more important than other conventional determinants, including education, gender, marital status, parental status, age or household income. Job quality accounts for somewhat more of well-being’s variation among men than among women. Within the majority of European countries, the R2 for the variation accounted for ranges between 14 and 19%. The paper’s findings, alongside rising policy interest, support the allocation of a greater priority for job quality in general socio-economic and labour force surveys than hitherto.

“There's an awful lot of rubbish around masquerading as Cultural Studies”: Rethinking Sport Studies After the Cultural Turn

This article addresses the (inter)disciplinary parameters and political possibilities of Sport Studies by providing an overview of the state of Sport Studies after the cultural turn. The cultural turn is defined as the influence of linguistic models on cultural analysis and the associated impact of poststructuralism and critical theory on the social sciences. I argue that the cultural turn, especially as developed within the academic field of Cultural Studies, resulted in the elevation of culture as central rather than epiphenomenal to our understandings of how society works. Drawing on the work and ideas of Stuart Hall, I warn against decontextualized forms of cultural analysis, that privilege discourse analysis and descriptive content analysis. Instead, an argument is made for more critical conjunctural analyses, broadly defined as the analysis of socio-economic forces that shape power relations within a given social field during a particular period of time. The article then maps six key forces reshaping the current conjuncture. Sport, I argue, is entangled in complex ways with these emerging and changing formations, and in some areas, sport is at the forefront of the cultural-ideological revolutions taking place. As a key site of meaning making, a powerful space where bonds of attachment are forged, a space of fantasy and play, and a place for identity construction and human creativity, I show how sport is now central to current struggles to remake the world system into a more humane, less toxic and more egalitarian space.

Elucidating the paradox of sustainable art consumption: an interdisciplinary analysis

This study scrutinizes the paradoxical relationship between the burgeoning demand for sustainable materials and the persisting environmental impact of the global art market. Its interdisciplinary inquiry, methodologically informed by a survey and interviews with art gallery managers, seeks to elucidate the driving forces behind this phenomenon, comprehend the contribution of sustainable art consumption within an interdisciplinary framework, and identify potential strategies to foster a genuinely sustainable art market. The interdisciplinary analysis unveils a combination of several influential factors perpetuating the paradox of sustainable art consumption, such as socioeconomic forces, artistic motives and values, and regulatory and policy shortcomings. Implications for art market structures and rules, as well as policy and regulations, are discussed. Further, the article looks into the limitations in implementing the proposed framework, predominantly concerning resource constraints, the art market’s diversity and complexity, and the delicate balance between artistic freedom and sustainability. Additionally, it addresses challenges such as enforcement and compliance, measuring and monitoring impact, collaboration and coordination, and adaptation to a perpetually evolving market. The article provides a comprehensive argument for the pressing need to reconcile the art market’s ecological footprint with the rising demand for sustainability, offering potential avenues for achieving a truly sustainable global art market.

Longevity, demographic characteristics, and socio-economic status are linked to triiodothyronine levels in the general population.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis is fundamental to human biology, exerting central control over energy expenditure and body temperature. However, the consequences of normal physiologic HPT-axis variation in populations without diagnosed thyroid disease are poorly understood. Using nationally representative data from the 2007 to 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we explore relationships with demographic characteristics, longevity, and socio-economic factors. We find much larger variation across age in free T3 than other HPT-axis hormones. T3 and T4 have opposite relationships to mortality: free T3 is inversely related and free T4 is positively related to the likelihood of death. Free T3 and household income are negatively related, particularly at lower incomes. Finally, free T3 among older adults is associated with labor both in terms of unemployment and hours worked. Physiologic TSH/T4 explain only 1.7% of T3 variation, and neither are appreciably correlated to socio-economic outcomes. Taken together, our data suggest an unappreciated complexity of the HPT-axis signaling cascade broadly such that TSH and T4 may not be accurate surrogates of free T3. Furthermore, we find that subclinical variation in the HPT-axis effector hormone T3 is an important and overlooked factor linking socio-economic forces, human biology, and aging.

Mobility, Change, and A Shared History

It was only in 1727 that the first Turkish‑Muslim printing house was established by Ibrahim Müteferrika with the support of Sultan Ahmed III. It came into existence in Istanbul at the beginning of the eighteenth century during a peaceful interlude known as the Tulip Era – a brief period characterized by increasing consumerism, religious tolerance, interest in philosophy and openness to the West. Many reasons have been put forward for this late adoption: Sultanic firmans, opposition from scribes, lack of a market for printed texts, and the difficulty in printing Arabic script. What forms of mobility in print material and technology existed before 1727 in the Ottoman Empire, and how did they interact with the creation of a Turkish‑Muslim printing press during the Tulip Era? It was Rabbi Jacob ben Asher’s incunable of 1493 – "Four Rows" – that marked the inauguration of printing of any type in the Ottoman Empire. This text will be briefly analyzed, along with the ensuing centuries‑long Hebrew and Ladino print traditions, and finally their continuation through the Tulip Era. This article will frame the historical development of Jewish print culture in Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth century while situating it within the international marketplace. The exchanges between the intercontinental Jewish print culture, the first Turkish‑Muslim printing house, and European intellectuals emphasize interconnectedness as well as the reimagination of the Tulip Era not as the initial thrust of Ottoman "modernization" but rather the amalgamation of previous technological and socioeconomic forces. Using Ottoman Jewish printing as a comprehensive example, "modernization" in the Ottoman Empire is shown to have occurred over many centuries, with its achievement the result of a blending of different coexisting cultures and trends.

The Mahimā of Ājali Āi and the Persecuted Māyāmārā Śatra: Guru-Mā as Holy Patroness and Divine Mother

Every year around 200,000 Māyāmārā Vaiṣṇavas congregate in a small village in Mājulī, Assam, India, for the annual śevā, or worship service, to Ājali Āi, a 16th-century female figure. She was the mother of Sri Sri Aniruddhadeva, the founder of Māyāmārā Vaiṣṇavism, a religious sect originating in medieval Assam that experienced royal persecution and ethnic cleansing. Among contemporary Māyāmārā Vaiṣṇavas, veneration of Ājali Āi as the mother of the founding Guru has become popular, which is somewhat puzzling since historical information about her life is scarce. Nevertheless, as Guru-Mā, Ājali Āi today has become a symbol of holiness in Māyāmārā society with community members attributing to her mahimā, translated as a divine agency, mysterious glory, or supremacy. Guru-riṇ and Mātri-ṛin, categories that are a part of the Vaiṣṇava and the larger Hindu canon, can generally explain the holiness accorded to the mother of the Guru. In the case of the Māyāmārā Vaiṣṇavas, however, they are not sufficient to explain the power in the form of mahimā that the community ascribes to her in the present day to the degree of attributing to her the power to grant wishes. This exploratory chapter argues for a systems approach to understand the phenomenon of the mahimā of Ājali Āi in contemporary Māyāmārā society. The chapter finds that socio-economic and political forces interacted with extant legends around Ājali Āi and ideas around Āi as Devi and mother in complex ways to create the community’s contemporary understanding of Ājali Āi as a holy and loving maternal figure with mahimā—one who keeps a watchful and nurturing eye over the community and grants the wishes of ardent devotees.

Suburban fertility and the role of local contexts in a Mediterranean country: A spatial exercise

Assuming spatial fertility as contextual to the development stage of a given region, this study formulates an interpretative framework integrating small-scale fertility variations with metropolitan cycles and economic downturns. Using spatial econometrics, spatial trends in a gross fertility rate were investigated along a sequence of economic expansions and recessions, distinguishing urban, suburban, and rural settlements in 51 Greek prefectures. Suburban fertility overpassed urban fertility, being in turn higher than rural fertility in several prefectures. Urban fertility was higher with economic expansion and declined with recession. The reverse pattern was observed for suburban fertility – increasing with crisis and assuming a greater spatial heterogeneity. By documenting a differential response of fertility to economic downturns and metropolitan cycles, our work suggests that spatial fertility divides are temporary outcomes of a specific ensemble of socioeconomic forces underlying regional growth.

ACCESS AND USAGE OF CARE AMONG OLDER MIGRANTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract Equitable access to care is critical to support healthy aging in underserved groups. Recent global demographic trends such as the rapid aging of the population in developing and developed countries, the growing proportion of migrants from the Global South to the Global North over the past 50 years, and increasing health inequalities between and within countries reflect a continued need to address the underlying pathways and causal mechanisms that determine access to and usage of care among migrants. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on the micro-, meso-, and macro-level determinants that intersect and shape access to and usage of care services and programs among older migrants. It makes the case that foreign-born older adults are more likely to experience challenges accessing services and programs due to cultural and language barriers and factors related to their socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, gender, and time since immigration. Next, the paper provides a deeper exploration of the interface of structure and agency and an interrogation of how access and usage of care among older migrants may be conditioned, not simply by individual socio-economic circumstances and life course events, but also by macro-level factors like the distribution of power relationships and neoliberal public policies. The paper concludes with a call for sustained efforts to acquire a more profound understanding of individual-level, socio-economic and socio-political forces that influence access and usage of care. Finally, it provides directions for future research with the ultimate goal of supporting healthy aging among older migrants.

Effect of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Soil Erosion in Alaba Sub-Watersheds of Central Rift Valley Basin, Ethiopia

The magnitude of soil erosion rates has been accelerating in the Central Rift Valley Area of Ethiopia due to land use and land cover change (LULCC). This study aimed to analyze the trends and changes in land use and land cover dynamics and to analyze the impact of LULC change on soil erosion over the Alaba Sub-Watershed, Central Rift Valley Area of Ethiopia. This study would help to plan and use appropriate land use planning, soil, and water conservation practices, thereby reducing soil erosion in the study area. The soil loss rates were estimated using an empirical prediction model of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) outlined in the ArcGIS environment. During the study period between 1987 and 2018, the rate of change in cultivated land and bare land was raised by 9.09% and 1.08%, respectively. On the contrary, vegetation cover and grasslands had dropped by –2.03%, and -1.42% respectively. From trends of LULC changes, cultivated land revealed an increasing trend increasing from 181.28 hectares to 351.23 hectares for the period 1987 to 2018, respectively. On the other hand, vegetation and grasslands showed a declining trend from -271.92,-22.66 hectares to -305.91, -124.63 hectares, respectively. The findings of the study generally elucidate that the LULCC has a detrimental impact on soil erosion. The estimated total annual actual soil loss in the study landscape was 25707.77 tons in 1987, 29310.71 tons in 2000, and 31769.32 tons in 2018. It was also found that the mean annual soil loss rate of the study catchment was 22.69t/ha/yr., 25.87t/ha/yr. and 28.04t/ha/yr. in 1987, 2000, and 2018 respectively. About 35% and 42% of the Sub-watershed experienced high to very severe soil erosion in 1987 and 2018, respectively. The results indicate that the estimated erosion rate for about 39 % of the sub-basin area exceeds the maximum tolerable soil erosion threshold and this shows that the erosion risk condition is deteriorating in the study landscape. The top three priority levels delineated for urgent SWC measures represent those areas within the large increase in erosion risk levels, with an area of 188 hectares and accounting for 17 % of the sub-watershed area. Therefore, further detailed investigations based on data from primary and secondary sources would be important in identifying driving socioeconomic forces and consequences of LULCCs and suggesting possible alternative options to establish sustainable resource management practices in the study area.

Unraveling population trends in Italy (1921–2021) with spatial econometrics

Testing density-dependence and path-dependence in long-term population dynamics under differentiated local contexts contributes to delineate the changing role of socioeconomic forces at the base of regional disparities. Despite a millenary settlement history, such issue has been rarely investigated in Europe, and especially in highly divided countries such as those in the Mediterranean region. Using econometric modeling to manage spatial heterogeneity, our study verifies the role of selected drivers of population growth at ten times between 1921 and 2021 in more than 8000 Italian municipalities verifying density-dependent and path-dependent dynamics. Results of global and quantile (spatial) regressions highlight a differential impact of density and (lagged) population growth on demographic dynamics along the urban cycle in Italy. Being weakly significant in the inter-war period (1921–1951), econometric models totalized a high goodness-of-fit in correspondence with compact urbanization (1951–1981). Model’s fit declined in the following decades (1981–2021) reflecting suburbanization and counter-urbanization. Density-dependence and path-dependence were found significant and, respectively, positive or negative, with compact urbanization, and much less intense with suburbanization and counter-urbanization. A spatial econometric investigation of density-dependent and path-dependent mechanisms of population dynamics provided an original explanation of metropolitan cycles, delineating the evolution of socioeconomic (local) systems along the urban-rural gradient.

The working class in contemporary British cinema

This article examines depictions of class and precarity in a number of representative films, including TwentyFourSeven (Meadows 1997), The Navigators (Loach 2001), This Is England (Meadows 2006), It’s a Free World (Loach 2007), Fish Tank (Arnold 2009), I, Daniel Blake (Loach 2016), Ray & Liz (Billingham 2018), Sorry We Missed You (Loach 2019) and Bait (Jenkin 2019) in order to illuminate the subtle changes that the tradition of British social realism has undergone over the last few decades and to rethink its political potential. The article poses the following questions: do social realist films endow their precarious subjects with agency or do they depict them as passive victims of socio-economic and political forces beyond their control? What new potential conditions of solidarity (if any) do the films envision? What are the dominant affective states that capture the dynamic of precarity in these films: anxiety, frustration, depression, anger, resentment or resignation?

Political economy of the ‘informal’ housing question: institutional-hybridity of the postcolonial state

In recent years, International Political Economy (IPE) scholars have increasingly turned their attention to cities. However, their primary focus has been on the role of a select few global ‘cities’ that regulate global flows of capital, goods, and services. Nonetheless, a significant gap in the IPE literature pertains to the limited exploration of how processes of neoliberal globalization are impacting and regulating the low-income ‘informal’ housing sector in cities located in the global South. To address this gap in the existing IPE literature, this paper critically analyzes the processes of formation and demolition of informal housing settlements against the backdrop of the neoliberal regime of accumulation. Informal housing settlements have been extensively examined by critical geographers and scholars in the field of urban studies. What distinguishes this paper is its unique contribution to the literature on IPE, that is, it utilizes the political economy of informal housing settlements as an entry point to critically analyze social ontology and the inherent contradictions of the postcolonial state. The paper argues that the relationship between informal housing settlements and the postcolonial state can be better understood through the lens of the ‘institutional hybridity.’ This concept refers to the fusion of contradictory socio-economic and institutional impulses within the postcolonial state, which aims to manage social reproduction and capitalist accumulation simultaneously. The inherent tension between social reproduction and accumulation manifests in the informal housing settlements in the form of a dialectic of ‘benevolence-violence.’ On one hand, the postcolonial state attempts to appear ‘benevolent’ towards marginalized groups by ‘allowing’ them to establish informal housing settlements through a multi-layered network of clientelism. On the other hand, the postcolonial state resorts to violent displacement of marginalized groups as soon as they pose obstacles to real estate-led capitalist accumulation. Thus, the paper contends that IPE scholars should carefully consider the political economy of informal housing settlements, as it provides captivating insights into the mechanisms through which the postcolonial state becomes subject to regulation and is pulled in different directions by the socio-economic forces of neoliberal globalization.

There’s no time like the present: path-dependent urban growth, agglomeration economies and congestion externalities in contemporary Athens

AbstractDespite a long settlement history, empirical investigations of the role of path dependency in the long-term evolution of human populations are scarce in Europe, and especially in the Mediterranean countries. Using spatially explicit econometric techniques, our study discusses the empirical evidence stemming from a quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution of population growth rates in 115 districts of metropolitan Athens (Greece) over one century, distinguishing path dependency from the impact of other socio-economic forces on long-term urban expansion. The empirical findings of this study clarify how path-dependent regulation of population growth was heterogeneous over time and space, and depends on the specific stage of the city life cycle. After an initial period when path-independent population expansion reflected the inherent impact of exogenous shocks, path-dependent growth was associated with compact urbanization governed by agglomeration and scale advantages. Path-dependent growth was less intense during suburbanization, when the population spread over larger areas.

Investigating the dynamic decoupling relationship between regional social economy and lake water environment: The application of DPSIR-Extended Tapio decoupling model

The water environmental problems associated with rapid socioeconomic growth have drawn widespread attention from the government and the public. Revealing the decoupling mechanism between the social economy and lake water environment has become an important breakthrough point to seek the pathways of sustainable economic development. To investigate the decoupling process of the social economy‒lake water environmental system, this study proposes a comprehensive evaluation model, which integrates the Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model, projection pursuit method, and Tapio decoupling model; and then applies it to the case study of Hefei City and Lake Chaohu in China in 2021–2035. Three typical scenarios of current, social economy, and water environment are designed and simulated using the DPSIR model to evaluate the dynamic decoupling relationships under various development patterns. We found that the DPSIR indexes had a fluctuating upward trend from 2009 to 2020, with a synchronous improvement trend of the social economy and lake water environment. Meanwhile, the Tapio decoupling analysis showed that the decoupling relationships between socioeconomic driver forces, response strategies and the status of lake water environment was mostly strongly decoupled and weakly decoupled during 2009–2020. However, there was still an inconsistency between the improvement rate of the lake water environment and the increase rate of the response strategies. During the 2021–2035 simulation period, the DPSIR indexes of all scenarios depicts an overall increasing trend. The decoupling states of S&I-D&P and S&I–R generally tend to be consistent under three regulation scenarios. Among them, the water environment scenario outperforms other scenarios, and the social economy scenario performs worst. Overall, the decoupling of the social economy and lake water environment can attribute to both the transformation of socioeconomic development patterns and the increase of water environmental protection efforts.

The politics of policy implementation and reform: Chile's environmental impact assessment system

This paper examines the policy impacts of social movement organizations in conflicts over mega-project development, focusing on the linkages between the politics of policy implementation and subsequent reform efforts. I argue for the utility of a comparative political economy approach to disentangle the relationship of structural context to movement specific factors, such as movement organization, strategies, and tactics, to explain the policy impacts of movements. This helps to specify systemic, medium and short-term conditions more rigorously, and, more importantly, how they affect the balance of power between movements and opposing socio-economic and political forces. I test these propositions in the case of the politics of policy implementation and how they affected efforts to reform the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) from 1994-present. Within shifting structural conditions, movement organization, strategies, and tactics had discernable impacts on outcomes: positive outcomes mediated by political allies under favorable conditions, and indirect impacts under unfavorable conditions when allied politicians killed a bill hostile to their interests in committee.