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A fossilized democracy : the fossil free movement’s work in liberating democracy from the fossil fuel industry

Tsoi, Cherry LU (2016) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20161
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
The science of climate change stipulates that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground in order for earth's global temperature to stay below the 1.5 degrees' Celsius increase pre-ordained as safe for continued human civilization, and to avoid catastrophic natural, social, and economic disasters. Although this is a scientifically proven and agreed upon, governments around the world continue to pursue and endorse fossil fuel extraction because of the undue political influence that the fossil fuel industry and their immense wealth have over states.
The Fossil Free (FF) social movement targets the fossil fuel companies, and the fossil fuel industry at large, for wrongful profit from "wrecking the climate", but their campaign narrative also... (More)
The science of climate change stipulates that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground in order for earth's global temperature to stay below the 1.5 degrees' Celsius increase pre-ordained as safe for continued human civilization, and to avoid catastrophic natural, social, and economic disasters. Although this is a scientifically proven and agreed upon, governments around the world continue to pursue and endorse fossil fuel extraction because of the undue political influence that the fossil fuel industry and their immense wealth have over states.
The Fossil Free (FF) social movement targets the fossil fuel companies, and the fossil fuel industry at large, for wrongful profit from "wrecking the climate", but their campaign narrative also attacks the undemocratic nature of the relationship between the fossil fuel industry and government. The case study of the FF campaign in the San Francisco (SF) Bay Area revealed that through their actions, they expose this corruption in democracy whilst also democratizing the political regime in which their campaign operates, including the college campus administration, the city council, and the state of California. Charles Tilly's framework of democratization is used to analyze the FF campaign in the SF Bay Area. It was found that their actions fulfilled all the required changes set out by Tilly as crucial to democratization. Measures of democratization were then identified and analyzed to show the effects that the FF campaign has on the political regimes in which they operate.
It was found that the relationship between the FF social movement and democratization is reciprocal: democratization must occur in order for FF to achieve its goals, and the FF social movement is creating greater democratization through its actions. The campaign illuminates this necessary political change to achieve environmental sustainability, an understanding of utmost importance in the pursuit of continued human civilization. (Less)
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author
Tsoi, Cherry LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM02 20161
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Charles Tilly, sustainability science, fossil free, democratization, social movements
publication/series
Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2016:014
language
English
id
8878462
date added to LUP
2016-06-08 11:21:18
date last changed
2016-06-08 11:21:18
@misc{8878462,
  abstract     = {{The science of climate change stipulates that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground in order for earth's global temperature to stay below the 1.5 degrees' Celsius increase pre-ordained as safe for continued human civilization, and to avoid catastrophic natural, social, and economic disasters. Although this is a scientifically proven and agreed upon, governments around the world continue to pursue and endorse fossil fuel extraction because of the undue political influence that the fossil fuel industry and their immense wealth have over states. 
The Fossil Free (FF) social movement targets the fossil fuel companies, and the fossil fuel industry at large, for wrongful profit from "wrecking the climate", but their campaign narrative also attacks the undemocratic nature of the relationship between the fossil fuel industry and government. The case study of the FF campaign in the San Francisco (SF) Bay Area revealed that through their actions, they expose this corruption in democracy whilst also democratizing the political regime in which their campaign operates, including the college campus administration, the city council, and the state of California. Charles Tilly's framework of democratization is used to analyze the FF campaign in the SF Bay Area. It was found that their actions fulfilled all the required changes set out by Tilly as crucial to democratization. Measures of democratization were then identified and analyzed to show the effects that the FF campaign has on the political regimes in which they operate. 
It was found that the relationship between the FF social movement and democratization is reciprocal: democratization must occur in order for FF to achieve its goals, and the FF social movement is creating greater democratization through its actions. The campaign illuminates this necessary political change to achieve environmental sustainability, an understanding of utmost importance in the pursuit of continued human civilization.}},
  author       = {{Tsoi, Cherry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{A fossilized democracy : the fossil free movement’s work in liberating democracy from the fossil fuel industry}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}