Environmentalism as an archipelago. The structure and potential of mobilization in defence of the nature in Europe

Environmentalism is a highly fragmented movement consisting of a vast archipelago of groups and coalitions committed to defence of the environment. Some of them embrace values in conflict with those of the larger organizations. This aspect, however, has been little examined by empirical research. This study addresses the issue of surveying the propensity to undertake action to protect the environment. It highlights the need to bear in mind the plurality of meanings and motivations that induce citizens to mobilize in defence of the planet. In this regard, the environmental concern index developed enables the isolation, within large-scale sample surveys (WVS and ISSP), of an often elusive phenomenon: the presence of individuals with a pronounced degree of activism but who do not share the attitudes of the majority of environmentalists. These individuals may belong to environmental justice, NIMBY, animal rights or deep ecology groups