Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of Small Social Movement Organizations in Federal Conservation Policy since 1989

本论文项目考察了1989年至2004年美国基层环境倡导组织和联邦环境政策的作用。该研究探讨了在何种情况下，规模较小、较为激进的社会运动组织有可能在政策影响方面取代规模较大、较为温和的组织。直到20世纪80年代末，联邦层面的环境倡导都是由大型知名的主流组织主导的，这些组织主要依靠“内部”策略来施加政治影响。然而，到了20世纪90年代，使用“局外人”策略的规模更小、更激进的新环保团体大量涌入。这个项目将解决两个研究问题：1.)草根生物多样性保护组织如何能够增加他们对联邦政策的相对影响力？2)。虽然这些草根团体都采用了“局外人”策略，但不同的团体在运用这一策略时采取了不同的方法（包括策略和组织形式）。这些方法中哪一种最有影响力，为什么？为了研究第二个问题，该项目将对三个生物多样性保护运动中使用的方法进行比较分析，以评估其相对有效性。这三个案例研究将在社会运动动态的六个关键变量的基础上进行检查：战略，战术，组织，资金，运动文化和外部条件。目前发表的关于基层生物多样性保护组织的研究较少。因此，这项研究将有助于我们了解环境运动中一个重要但尚未得到充分研究的发展。对于环境社会学家来说，这个项目提供了对最近生物多样性保护运动动态的见解。对于社会运动研究者来说，它有助于研究一个社会运动中激进和温和的社会运动组织之间的关系。对于政策分析人士来说，这项研究增加了对小型社会运动组织在决策过程中的作用的关注。这项研究的发现可能对更广泛的社区有潜在的用途。对于研究资助基金会，它分析了不同的资助策略对社会运动有效性的影响；对于那些关注环境可持续性的基金会，它提供了对基层生物多样性运动成功的深入分析，并为更广泛地实施环境保护提供了一个模型。

Andrew SzaszDouglas BevingtonUniversity of California, Santa CruzThis dissertation project examines the role of grassroots environmental advocacy organizations and federal environmental policy in the United States from 1989 through 2004. The research explores the circumstances under which smaller and more radical social movement organizations could potentially displace larger and more moderate organizations in terms of policy influence. Up until the late 1980s, environmental advocacy at the federal level was dominated by large, well-known mainstream organizations that relied primarily on an "insider" strategy to exert political influence. However by the 1990s, there was a significant influx of new smaller and more radical environmental groups using "outsider" strategies. This project will address two research questions: 1.) How are grassroots biodiversity protection groups able to increase their relative influence on federal policy? 2.) While these grassroots groups shared an "outsider" strategy, different groups took different approaches (including their tactics and organizational forms) in applying this strategy. Which of these approaches were most influential and why? To examine the second question, the project will undertake a comparative analysis of the approaches used in three biodiversity protection campaigns in order to evaluate their relative effectiveness. These three case studies will be examined on the basis of six key variables in social movement dynamics: strategy, tactics, organization, funding, movement culture, and external conditions. Currently there are few published studies on grassroots biodiversity protection organizations. This study will thus contribute to our understanding of a significant but understudied development within the environmental movement. For environmental sociologists, this project offers insights into the dynamics of recent biodiversity protection campaigns. For social movement researchers, it contributes to the study of relationship between radical and moderate social movement organizations within a social movement. For policy analysts, this study gives increased attention to the role of small social movement organizations in the policy-making process. Findings from this research could potentially of use to a broader community. For research funding foundations, it offers an analysis of the impacts of different funding strategies on social movement effectiveness, and for those concerned with environmental sustainability, it provides an in-depth analysis of the success of grassroots biodiversity campaigns and a model for the implementation of environmental protections more broadly.