Tamara Steger

This chapter published in 2009 in, "Environmental Justice in the Former Soviet Union, Agyeman, Julian and Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger (eds.) MIT Press, discusses environmental justice in the context of the environmental movement in Latvia during political transition.

Abstract: Preliminary research on the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS), in particular Occupy

NYC, indicates that the movement is generating a particular counter discourse that has effectively

drawn increasing attention to social inequality. The chant, “We are the 99%,” the occupation of

Zuccotti Park in Manhattan‟s financial district, and the International Day of Direct Action in which

35,000 flooded the streets of lower Manhattan describe some key themes and moments in the Occupy

NYC movement. An important question, however, is to what extent the movement is a counter-
discourse to the dominant social paradigm in which a market ideology discourse (or neoliberal

discourse) prevails. Based on data gathered from interviews, participant observation, demonstration

signs and chants and archival research, this paper maps and engages the emerging discourse of the

Occupy NYC movement in light of this critical framework.

Keywords: Occupy movement, discourse, environmental justice, culture jamming

This paper analyzes the dominant local and global diagnostic and prognostic frames of the anti-fracking movement using theoretical perspectives generated by Arturo Escobar and Michel Foucault that emphasize the articulation of alternative imaginaries, and power and discourse, respectively.  Giovanna Di Chiro’s conceptualization of environmental justice is also engaged to help shed further light on the anti-fracking movement.  How the anti-fracking movement conceptualizes the problems and the solutions complexifies the political debate on fracking which tends to bifurcate the controversy along environmental and economic development lines. The movement discourse(s) especially draws attention to: the construction and role of knowledge, the relationship between humans/culture and nature; and democratic legitimacy. This paper was subsequently published as a book chapter: Tamara Steger , Milos Milicevic (2014), One Global Movement, Many Local Voices: Discourse(s) of the Global Anti-Fracking Movement, in Liam Leonard , Sya Buryn Kedzior (ed.) Occupy the Earth: Global Environmental Movements (Advances in Sustainability and Environmental Justice, Volume 15) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.1 - 35

Environmentalism reflects how we define and participate in social and political life (Harper, 1999; Melucci, 1989). Additionally, while there are several different kinds of environmentalism, the particular environmentalism that is engaged in any society reflects the capacity for democratic ...

... ecological impacts of the dam and the lack of economic ben-efits proved ... a more universal rationale for question-ing the state, one that went beyond nationalism and culture. ... Implications for Environmental Justice in Transition Three principal factors emerge in considering the ...

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) constitutes a unique case for exploring environmental policy integration (EPI) given the social, political, economic and historical context of this region. 1 While this context retains some similarities such as the former presence of a ...

ABSTRACT This article explores social mobilization in the controversy over hydraulic fracturing (i.e. “fracking”) in Ireland from the perspectives of agenda setting in national and local Irish newspapers as well as framing by anti-fracking activists and journalists. We analysed all articles referencing hydraulic fracturing (and related terms) from 11 Irish national newspapers and 128 Irish local newspapers from April 2013 to April 2014, and interviewed 19 journalists, activists, and government officials affiliated with fracking issues in Ireland. Based on the analytical salience and resonance across prominent empirical themes in conjunction with theoretical insights, we conclude that social mobilization against fracking in Ireland is challenged by a frame war on the credibility of activists, diverse economic interests across national and local scales, and the need for procedural legitimacy in the contribution of science. In conclusion, this research demonstrates the importance of agenda setting and framing in structuring the capacity for social mobilization.

Environmental injustice and the social exclusion of Roma communities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has roots in historical patterns of ethnic exclusion and widening socioeconomic inequalities following the collapse of state socialism and the transition to multi-party parliamentary governments in 1989. In this article, we discuss some of the methodological considerations in environmental justice research, engage theoretical perspectives on environmental inequalities and social exclusion, discuss the dynamics of discrimination and environmental protection regarding the Roma in CEE, and summarize two case studies on environmental justice in Slovakia and Hungary. We argue that when some landscapes and social groups are perceived as “beyond the pale ” of environmental regulation, public participation, and civil rights, it creates local sites for externalizing

Environmentalism reflects how we define and participate in social and political life (Harper, 1999; Melucci, 1989). Additionally, while there are several different kinds of environmentalism, the particular environmentalism that is engaged in any society reflects the capacity for democratic ...

ABSTRACT In this chapter, we “occupy the earth” with an overview of the anti-fracking discourse(s) of diverse local initiatives converging as a global movement opposed to fracking. By mapping the discourse(s) of the anti-fracking movement, the articulation of the problems and solutions associated with fracking raise questions not only about the environment but draw attention to a crisis of democracy and the critical need for social and environmental justice. With the help of a multiple theoretical framework we draw on insights about environmental movements and their democratizing potential; conceptualizations about power and (counter) discourse; and depictions of the environmental justice movements in the United States. Toward this end, we analyze the framing of the anti-fracking movement: the many local voices engaging in political struggles to sustain their communities, places and ways of life, and the global movements’ forum for collective solidarity, recognition, and civic action. Shedding light on the multiple frames employed by movement members, we discuss the implications and potential embodied in this widening debate.

Environmentalism reflects how we define and participate in social and political life (Harper, 1999; Melucci, 1989). Additionally, while there are several different kinds of environmentalism, the particular environmentalism that is engaged in any society reflects the capacity for democratic ...

More than half of the Roma population in Slovakia lives in spaces that are segregated or separated from dominant non-Roma communities. The socio-spatial marginalization of Roma is both generated and reinforced through open and discrete social processes and measures largely orchestrated by local governments, enabled by an ineffective state and reinforced by the general socio-economic policy framework. This article builds on extensive field research on predominantly Roma-occupied spaces (i.e., ‘settlements’) in Slovakia and focuses on the nature and function of Roma segregation and separation in Slovakia from an ecological socio-political, and economic standpoint. Based on Loïc Wacquant’s work on ethno-racial segregation and the concept of environmental justice, we discuss social and environmental discrimination as one of the constituent elements in understanding Roma socio-spatial marginalization and its functions, and employ the neologism, ‘hyper-osada’ as a tool to conceptually and...