PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS
theopponents of environmentalism are not individuals who simply hold
different values, such as a preference for economic growth; rather, they are
usually economic actors (employers, farmers, trade unions) who perceive
their material interests (profits, livelihoods, jobs) as directly threatened by
green measures. Notwithstanding these criticisms, there is sufficient empir-
ical evidence of a spread of postmaterial values at least to treat it seriously
as one partial explanation of the emergence of environmentalism.
Thenext sectionassesses how far these three broad ‘new politics’ argu-
ments can account for the rise of green parties.Critical question 1
Is the environment a postmaterial or material issue?◗ Green parties as new politics?
New social movementactivity was certainly a catalyst for the development
of green parties in some countries. The broad coalition of environmental
and leftist groups that formed the anti-nuclear movements of the 1970s
and 1980s was particularly conducive to green party formation in Germany,
France, Luxembourg and Finland, and in Austria and Sweden green parties
emerged from referendum campaigns against nuclear power (Rootes1995b:
237). ‘Eco-pax’ coalitions between the environmental and the peace move-
ments were also important, especially in Germany. The radical principles
of NSM activists left a strong imprint on some green parties, notably the
German Greens, which informed their reluctance to work with mainstream
parties, the preference for participatory, decentralised organisational struc-
tures and a willingness to use extra-parliamentary action to achieve
their aims. Nevertheless, although undoubtedly influenced by the counter-
cultural NSM milieu, green parties cannot be regarded as NSMs. Just
bycontesting elections and operating within the political system, green
parties set themselves clearly apart from the ideal-type NSM. Internal ten-
sions over the extent to which green parties should engage with established
political parties and institutions (see Chapter5)are essentially about the
degreeof compromise, when the real compromise was the decision to form
aparty in the first place. Several green parties, notably in the UK, Ireland,
Sweden and throughout Eastern Europe, are not rooted in the NSM milieu,
which suggests that environmental concern may be qualitatively different
from NSM concerns such as gender, race or peace (none of which has, with
theodd exception, spawned its own political party).
Most European green parties do attract support overwhelmingly from new-
middle-class voters. Academic studies and opinion polls show conclusively
that, compared to supporters of other parties, green voters are younger,
better educated, less likely to attend church and more likely to hold public
sector and/or white-collar jobs (M ̈uller-Rommel 1989 , 1990; Richardson and