Conclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 168-180
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Rudel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Authoritarian Politics ◽  
Focusing Event

Radical reforms tend to occur in polycentric ways, in multiple arenas at the same time. They also occur in polymorphous ways. In large political arenas, the shock of a focusing event almost immediately mobilizes citizens and leaders, so coalitions assemble without prolonged dialog. In smaller political arenas, labor-intensive persuasion by word of mouth has built the support necessary to enact the reforms. Although the link between radical reforms and eco-authoritarian politics seems plausible, the reforms examined here did not generate eco-authoritarian regimes. The reforms did encourage a corporativist style of governance in which local reform efforts worked in conjunction with reform efforts in larger political arenas. These experiences suggest that corporatism may provide particular advantages as a political strategy for confronting the challenges of climate change.

The Critical Challenge of Climate Change for Psychology

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siegmar Otto ◽  
Florian G. Kaiser ◽  
Oliver Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Individual Behavior ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
Unlimited Number ◽  
Rebound Phenomenon ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Critical Challenge

For many societies, the prime political strategy for mitigating climate change has been to improve the efficiency of technology (e.g., cars, light bulbs, and refrigerators). However, World Bank data suggest that the per-capita energy consumption of societies is leveling off rather than falling. Thus, all efficiency gains are apparently eaten up by rebound. In our psychological account of this ubiquitous rebound phenomenon, we argue that individual consumption is genuinely rational (i.e., benefit-oriented) and grounded in an unlimited number of personal ends (i.e., goals and desires). Behavior and technology – the latter as an amplifier of individual behavior – are means for satisfying personal ends. Predictably, any gains in efficiency as evidenced by savings of time and/or money will be reinvested in further as-yet-unmet personal ends of individuals. Consequently, rebound is the norm and not the exception. The challenge to psychologists is thus, as we argue in this article, to motivate individuals to act comparatively more irrationally (by generally forgoing personal benefits), and by doing so, to eventually reduce the overall energy consumption of societies. Only when people are intrinsically motivated to forgo commodities, convenience, and other personal benefits can rebound be avoided.

Getting to impact at scale: A dynamic model to guide scaling of climate change education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Rooney-Varga ◽  
Florian Kapmeier
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Address Climate Change ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Simulation Based

<p>In order to successfully address climate change, society needs education that scales rapidly, transmits scientific information about its causes and effects, and motivates sustained commitment to the problem and science-based action to address it. The gap in public understanding and motivation to address climate change is not caused by a lack of information or educational resources that are effective. Systems thinking and simulation-based learning have been shown to deliver gains in knowledge, affect, and intent to take action and learn more about climate change. But, in order to have impact at scale, an educational innovation must be adopted at scale. Most of the time they are not: uptake from dissemination, active outreach, or word-of-mouth diffusion among educators usually falls short. Here, we describe and apply a simple system dynamics model to explore why propagation efforts often fall flat. We then use the model to explore how rapid scaling could be achieved in higher education. We rely on prior studies and expert opinion for model structure and parameterization. Our analysis shows that outreach has limited impact and does little to accelerate word-of-mouth adoption under conditions typical in higher education. Instead, widespread adoption is fueled by encouraging and supporting adopters’ efforts to reach, persuade, and support potential adopters through community-based propagation. We explore faculty incentives and cultural shifts that could enable community-based propagation.</p>

Crisis Lawyering: Transnational Ethics for Global Emergencies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Brescia
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
Traditional Approaches

As crises proliferate around the world, from a global pandemic and natural disasters brought about by climate change to genocide and the rise of authoritarian regimes, lawyers are increasingly asked to play a role in addressing these crises. Not every client crisis is a crisis for the lawyer because that lawyer is prepared to handle it and knows just what to do and when to do it to pursue the client’s interests. But some of the crises that have emerged in recent years are novel, pervasive, and unprecedented in many ways, meaning that the legal profession, when its members are asked to address them, cannot rely on traditional approaches to their practice, and may need to take into account the interests of a wider range of stakeholders that is typical in the practice of law, where the interests of the clients are supposed to be paramount. Accordingly, since traditional lawyering approaches may not be appropriate for novel, pervasive crises, are new sets of ethical rules appropriate for just such crises to help lawyers navigate them effectively, competently, and ethically?

The World

2019 ◽  
pp. 132-151
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Rudel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
World War ◽  
Focusing Events ◽  
The World ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Focusing Event ◽  
Over Time

Comparable environmental reforms have never occurred at the global scale of governance. Segments of the dynamic described in the four case studies have taken place at the global scale. A focusing event, World War II, spurred the creation of a global governance institution, the United Nations, which later became the organizational sponsor for the ongoing international effort to counter climate change. Different kinds of focusing events, extreme weather in the form of droughts or storms, have over time contributed to an increase in the number of nations advocating for radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. These changes suggest that, over time, an international “climate club” could emerge. These trends, while fragmentary and so far unsuccessful in producing mandatory global-scale reforms, are consistent with the theoretical dynamic that has driven the national-scale reforms analyzed in the case studies.

Understanding Authoritarian Politics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Frantz
Keyword(s):  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Authoritarian Politics ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Masses

Who Are the Key Actors in Authoritarian Regimes? Politics in authoritarian regimes typically centers on the interactions of three actors: the leader, elites, and the masses. The leader is the individual in charge of the regime. The leader cannot maintain this position, however, without the support of...

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