Environmentalists and their politics : an analysis of protest strategy in the politics of some Australian environmentalists

Abstract

A feature of the politics of "environmental quality" in Australia is the adoption of protest and other forms of direct action by some Australian environmentalists. The thesis is, firstly, a critical examination of the explanations often given for this phenomenon and, secondly, an attempt to provide a political explanation for protest strategy. It is argued that much of the analysis of protest in the environmental movement has relied on psychological, class, ideological or institutional explanations. As a consequence, the tendency has been to regard protest either as irrational and 'deviant' or as idealistic and humane. This thesis, on the other hand, attempts to show that protest strategy can be rational and purposive and a normal occurrence in the politics of any large discontented group. To demonstrate the purposiveness and normality of protest in the Australian environmental movement, the thesis develops four profiles of Australian environmentalists; Management-Oriented Conservationists, MorallyResponsible Scientists, Radical Environmentalists and Environmental Pragmatists. These profiles are constructed from an examination of the public writings of a number of a<-9 prominent Australian environmentalists and/based on their conception of the environmental 'problem', their goals,their conception of the role of environmentalists and the level of trust they have for the political system. The thesis concludes that protest strategy is a function of particular configurations of attitudes towards the 'problem' and its solution and orientations towards the political system. Protest may therefore be interpreted as purposive and regarded as a normal part of the politics of any significant group discontented with the political system.