EAGER: Identifying Drivers of Political Action amid Environmental Change

EAGER：确定环境变化中政治行动的驱动因素

• 批准号: 2329619
• 负责人: Chloe Kessler
• 金额: $ 13.61万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-11-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2329619&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Identifying; Drivers; Political; Action

The widespread recognition of the human role in environmental change inspires political action of all kinds, including extremist movements. This project considers environmental extremists who propose that revolutionary action will ease environmental pressures. While serious investigations of extremism to date have much to teach about these groups’ means, scholars know less about the utopic visions that fuel their resolve and growth. The stakes of this omission are high: both scholarly and policy efforts to address extremism will be hamstrung without a grasp on these groups’ driving aspirations. This study works toward such an understanding. It also builds capacity among qualitative social scientists to continue this research, by supporting students’ training in methods of scientific collection and analysis. Scientific results will be communicated to the public, as well as policy stakeholders interested in the drivers and development of environmental extremism.This early concept grant for exploratory research (EAGER) project involves extensive work among extremist environmental groups online. Such research is valuable in its own right, given the vital role of online organizing for extremist groups, but is also a crucial step toward securing the in-person access needed to conduct emplaced fieldwork among the same. Through archival research, media analysis, online observation, and interviews with extremist actors, researchers ask: What kinds of environmental futures do these groups seek and what are their historic precedents? Do these desired futures motivate action in the present and, if so, what kinds of action? And what role, if any, do extremists hold for violence in the path toward these futures’ realization? Methods include text analysis of online archival resources; passive online observation and discourse analysis; online participant observation and interviews; and a pilot in-person study to test the feasibility of a larger study. Findings will contribute to a more capacious understanding of environmental activism, while also providing insight into the affirmative visions that lend extremism its weight.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

对人类在环境变革中的作用的宽广认识激发了各种政治行动，包括极端运动。该项目认为环境极端主义者建议革命行动将缓解环境压力。尽管对迄今为止极端主义的认真调查可以教导这些群体的手段，但学者对乌托邦的态度却少一些，这会助长他们的决心和成长。这种遗漏的赌注很高：在不掌握这些群体的驾驶愿望的情况下，科学和解决极端主义的政策努力都将受到阻碍。这项研究致力于这种理解。它还通过支持学生在科学收集和分析方法方面的培训来建立定性社会科学家之间继续进行这项研究的能力。科学的结果将与公众传达，以及对环境极端主义驱动力和发展的政策利益相关者。这本早期的探索性研究概念赠款（急切）项目涉及在线极端环境团体之间的广泛工作。鉴于极端主义团体在线组织的重要作用，这种研究本身就是有价值的，但这也是确保在同一个中进行实地现场工作所需的面对面访问的关键一步。通过档案研究，媒体分析，在线观察以及对极端运动的访谈，研究人员问：这些团体寻求哪些环境期货？他们的历史先例是什么？这些期望的未来是否在当前动机行动，如果是的话，哪种行动？极端主义者在实现这些未来的道路上扮演暴力的角色（如果有的话）？方法包括在线档案资源的文本分析；被动在线观察和话语分析；在线参与观察和访谈；以及一项飞行员面对面的研究，以测试一项更大研究的可行性。调查结果将有助于对环境活动的更广泛的理解，同时还提供对极端主义体重的肯定愿景的见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用该基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响来审查标准，通过评估来评估。