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  • At the present, mankind is struggling to collectively address the looming threat posed by man-made climate change and global warming. In line with the literature on democratic citizenship and political representation, we argue that citizens’ orientations and behaviors are critical in understanding of how societies and the global community collectively can address this threat. In this study, we investigate cross-national differences in civic pro-environmental behavior, and examine the importance of generalized trust for the translation of environmental concern into pro-environmental behavior. Sociological and political science theories of collective action problems and social traps posit that widespread generalized trust is a crucial prerequisite for individuals to engage in mutual cooperation, since for individuals to contribute to a collective cause, they have to trust in others to do the same. We argue that generalized trust, or more specifically the lack of trust, pose a potential problem for environmentally concerned individuals when deciding on whether they should act on their concerns. Using cross-country survey data from the International Social Survey Programme from 32 countries collected in the year 2010, we investigate the cross-national occurrence of civic pro-environmental behavior – such as membership in environmental organizations, signing petitions, giving money to an environmental cause, and participating in demonstrations – and how environmental concern influence these behaviors cross-nationally. We find that the extent to which environmental concern is translated into civic pro-environmental behavior is closely related to the level of generalized trust in a country. Hence, our findings strongly suggest the presence of a social trap, since environmental concern is less likely to be translated into civic engagement in low-trust countries. We conclude by elaborating on the prospects of bringing about an increasingly engaged citizenry (i.e., more effective collective action) in response to environmental challenges by focusing on the facilitators of generalized trust. (xsd:string)
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  • http://www.soc.umu.se/digitalAssets/185/185333_concern-and-civic-action-seminarium-160907.pdf. (ISSP) (xsd:string)
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  • The social trap that might destroy us: Generalized trust and the link between environmental concern and civic pro-environmental behavior across 32 countries (xsd:string)
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