The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy, 2nd Edition

Environmental groups

Table 6.3 A typology of non-partisan political organisations

Forms of action

Conventional pressure Disruption

Professional resources Public interest lobby Professional protest organisation
Participatory resources Participatory pressure group Participatory protest organisation

Source:Diani and Donati ( 1999 : 16).

‘broad networks of people and organisations engaged in collective action in
the pursuit of environmental benefits’ (Rootes1999a:2)isalso used here.
Nevertheless, one problem with inclusivity is that it can produce strange
bedfellows, so the typology designed by Diani and Donati ( 1999 )provides a
helpful framework for making sense of this eclectic movement.
Diani and Donati ( 1999 :15–17) claim that all EPGs have to respond to two
keyfunctional requirements:resource mobilisationand political efficacy.

Resource mobilisation:An approach to

collective action which focuses on the way

groups mobilise their resources – members,

finances, symbols – in turning grievances

into political issues.

Resource mobilisationinvolves securing the resources
needed for collective action (see Box 4.1)(Tilly
1978 ;ZaldandMcCarthy 1987 ). There are two
broad options: either to maximise support from
thegeneral public, through mass membership
and fundraising, in order to fund a professional
organisation; or to mobilise human resources by encouraging member
activism. The basic choice is between a professional and a participatory
organisation.Political efficacyrefers to the choice of strategy and tactics.
Again, there are two broad options: a conventional approach to political
negotiation that complies with the political rules of the game or a strategy
that disrupts routinised political behaviour by breaking those established
rules.
Two core dilemmas are therefore identified: between professional and par-
ticipatory organisational models, and between disruptive and conventional
forms of pressure (seeTable6.3). These choices produce four organisational
types:

1.Thepublic interest lobbyis managed by professional staff, has low partici-
pation and uses traditional pressure tactics.
2.Theparticipatory protest organisationemphasises participatory action, sub-
cultural structures and disruptive protest.
3.Theprofessional protest organisation combines professional activism and
mobilisation of financial resources with use of confrontational tactics
alongside conventional ones.
4.Theparticipatory pressure groupinvolves rank-and-file members and sup-
porters but uses conventional pressure techniques.