Dag Wollebæk

Correlates of Environmental Behaviors Bringing Back Social Context

Surveys are an efficient and convenient means of collecting data on individuals’ environmental concerns and environmental behaviors, two domains between which a tenuous relationship is often observed. One aspect of tenuousness is addressed by identifying distinct subdimensions of self-reported private environmental behaviors. Survey methods more often than not fail to account for the social context within which individuals are environmentally concerned and behave in an environmentally friendly way. The problem of social context is addressed by developing a measure of social networks that includes participation, volunteering, and face-to-face contact with friends in environmental organizations. Evidence is taken from surveys among organized environmentalists and the general population in Norway in 1995 (N = 3,111). Social context is the only variable that significantly augments environmental behaviors across all subdimensions. Its effect is comparable to sociodemography, political attitudes, and environmental knowledge and concern combined.

Does Participation in Voluntary Associations Contribute to Social Capital? The Impact of Intensity, Scope, and Type

Voluntary associations are often ascribed a fundamental role in the formation of social capital. However, scholars disagree on the extent to which face-to-face contact, that is, active participation, is necessary to create this resource. This article examines the impact of participation in associations on social capital using three dimensions: intensity (active vs. passive participation), scope (many vs. few affiliations) and type (nonpolitical vs. political purpose). Whereas those affiliated display higher levels of social capital than outsiders, the difference between active and passive members is absent or negligible. The only cumulative effect of participation occurs when a member belongs to several associations simultaneously, preferably with different purposes. The article challenges the notion that active participation is necessary for the formation of social capital and suggests that more attention should be paid to the importance of passive and multiple affiliations within associations.

Social media and mobilization to offline demonstrations: Transcending participatory divides?:

This paper examines how the use of social media affects participation in offline demonstrations. Using individual web survey data from Norway, we ask whether social media usage serves to re-affirm or transcend socioeconomic divides in participation. In addition to data on demonstration participation in general, we also use the data on the Rose Marches that were organized after the 22/7 terror events as a critical case. Our results show that the type of participant mobilized via the social media is characterized by lower socioeconomic status and younger age than those mobilized via other channels. We also show that connections to information structures through social media exert a strong and independent effect on mobilization. Our findings thus appear to corroborate the mobilization thesis: social media represent an alternative structure alongside mainstream media and well-established political organizations and civil society that recruit in different ways and reach different segments of the population.

Participation and Social Capital Formation: Norway in a Comparative Perspective1

Voluntary associations are often ascribed a fundamental role in the formation of social capital. However, scholars disagree on the extent to which face-to-face contact, i.e. active participation, is necessary to create this resource. The impact of participation in associations on social capital is examined using three dimensions: intensity (active vs. passive participation), scope (many vs. few affiliations) and type (non-political vs. political purpose). While those affiliated display higher levels of social capital than outsiders, the difference between active and passive members is absent or negligible. The only cumulative effect of participation occurs when the member belongs to several associations simultaneously, preferably ones with different purposes.

Voluntary Associations, Trust, and Civic Engagement: A Multilevel Approach

This article argues that the scope of the voluntary sector is more important than the activity level of members for the formation of social capital. The intensity and scope of 13 European voluntary sectors are analyzed on both the individual and aggregate levels. This reveals no additional effect of face-to-face contact (active participation) over passive membership. Thus, the primary mechanism of social capital formation in the voluntary sector cannot be socialization of individual members. Furthermore, effects at the aggregate level are much stronger than at the individual level. This indicates that social capital is constructed through institutional (macro), not social (micro) processes. It is not face-to-face encounters but awareness of strong and visible voluntary organizations in society that generate a belief in the utility and rationality of collective action. Thus, voluntary organizations institutionalize rather than generate social capital.

The Importance of Passive Membership for Social Capital Formation

Advocates of the virtues of participation assert that in a true democracy, citizens should be able to take an active part in civic matters, at least on the local level (Pateman 1970; Macpherson 1977). Regular elections and the existence of formal rights are by themselves not sufficient for democracy; they need to be supplemented by opportunities for direct democratic influence. On the other hand, pluralists emphasize how a diverse range of associations may act as representatives on the political scene, regardless of the activity level of the participants (Almond and Verba 1963). National political systems are too large to allow face-to-face discussion between all citizens. Therefore, the presence of associations is an institutional requirement if the combined values or interests of individuals are to be mediated.

GREENER STILL : AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF ECKERSLEY'S ECOCENTRIC APPROACH

Perspectives on green political thought distinguish between anthropocentrism and environmentalism on one hand, and ecocentrism and ecology on the other. Green theorists argue for a difference in kind between the two domains, whereas survey researchers identify a difference in degree, as they carefully extend environmental scales to incrementally include ecological items. Eckersleys (1992) theory of green political thought identifies resource conservation, human welfare ecology, preservationism, and animal liberation as subtypes of anthropocentrism; and it identifies transpersonal ecology, autopoietic intrinsic value, and ecofeminism as subtypes of ecocentrism. The empirical results of testing Eckersleys framework indicate that the subtypes cannot be coherently subsumed under a general green dimension but that anthropocentrism and ecocentrism, to a large degree, are independent of one another. Young age and high education are inversely related to ecocentrism. This contradicts previous research on environmental concern.

Origins of Social Capital: Socialization and Institutionalization Approaches Compared

Abstract How is social capital generated and sustained? In Putnams micro-oriented socialization perspective, the main source is face-to-face interaction between members of voluntary organizations. This has so far met little empirical support. Consequently, macro-oriented scholars have concluded that organizations are unimportant to social capital formation. We argue that voluntary organizations do play a pivotal role, not as socialization agents, but as institutions within which social capital is embedded. Using European Social Survey data, we analyse the antecedents of social capital both at the individual and regional level. We find that members are more trusting than non-members, but active members are no more trusting than passive members. Furthermore, regional effects are much stronger than individual effects. Regions with high social capital are characterized by broad participation patterns and visible, politically active organizations. Based on these findings, we put forward an alternative institutional account of how organizations create and sustain social capital. Strong and visible voluntary organizations demonstrate the utility and rationality of collective action and provide individuals with a democratic infrastructure, which can be activated when needed. We support this by showing that a positive perception of the democratic value of organizations is strongly related to trust, while personal, time-intensive involvement has no explanatory power.

After Utøya: How a High-Trust Society Reacts to Terror—Trust and Civic Engagement in the Aftermath of July 22

The article examines short-term effects of terror on trust and civic engagement in Norway. Prior to the July 22, 2011 attacks, Norway ranked among the nations with the highest levels of trust and civic engagement in the world. How does a nation of trusters react to terror? Based on two web surveys conducted in March/April 2011 and August 2011 short-term effects on trust, fear, and political interest and participation are analyzed. Two competing hypotheses are explored: first, the “end-of-innocence hypothesis,” which assumes that the attacks have disrupted trust and instilled a new culture of fear, and second, the “remobilization hypothesis,” which assumes that the attacks have led to a reinforcement of trust and of civic values. Our results show increased interpersonal and institutional trust as well as a modest increase in civic engagement, especially among youth. Moreover, there is little increase in experienced fear within the population. Our study therefore supports the remobilization-of-trust hypothesis. Contrary to the intended aims of the attacker, the structures of trust and civic engagement seem to have been reinforced in Norwegian society. This study in part corroborates findings concerning short-term effects after September 11, 2001.

Generations and Organizational Change

These concerns reflect the current mood in many traditional voluntary associations in Norway. Leaders in a wide range of fields within the sector seem to agree that the communal spirit is waning. It is commonly claimed that careerists, individualists and egoists with little time to spare represent an increasing proportion of the population. As a study of changing value patterns in Norwegian society shows, these values are difficult to reconcile with commitment to voluntary organizations (Hellevik, 1996). Furthermore, since young people distinguish themselves as the most egocentric and materialist age group of all (op. cit.), one might expect slow erosion of voluntary organising following the exit of older, more idealistic generations from the population.