Neringa Kriaučiūnaitė

Kaunas University of Technology

ktu@ktu.lt

Theoretical Insights into the Mode of the Environmental Movements

Abstract: The article focuses on new social movements, the beginning of the activity of which is related to the years of 1960 – 1970. New social movements differ from older ones in their organisational structure, variety of actions taken, problems solved, members engaged in their activity as well as supporters of organisations. New social movements make an inherent part of today’s society uniting feministic, anti-nuclear, environmental movements. U. Beck calls the modern society as the risk society that encounters environmental problems and tries to implement the greening policy on the global level. Environmental movements play an important role in the modern society emphasizing environmental problems, influencing decisions taken by the authorities in the field of environment protection, encouraging the green civic engagement. The importance of new social movements in the modern society is demonstrated by the theory by Meyer and Tarrow analysing the modern society as a society of social movements. The article will analyse factors conditioning the successful functioning of new social movements (environmental) in the society. The multi-functioning and complexity of the following factors are stressed, i.e. the role of science in the functioning of environmental movements, the structure of organisational networks, the media strategies, forms of activity.

Keywords: new social movement, mode, environment.

JEL Classification: Q2.