A collective alternative to the Inward Turn in environmental sustainability research

Abstract

It has become quite common in environmental sustainability research to promote the influencing of so-called inner dimensions of individuals as means to address pressing environmental problems such as climate change, what we refer to as the Inward Turn. We argue that the conceptual foundations of the Inward Turn, an extreme form of methodological individualism, limit it significantly as a strategy for addressing climate change and other socially relevant environmental problems. After briefly reviewing major shortcomings with the way the Inward Turn conceptualizes the relationship between individuals and social change, including its neglect of causal structures and propensity to abstract its analysis away from problems that are specific to place and time, we sketch the basic tenets of an alternative methodological approach capable of overcoming these limitations. Our approach, however, does not go to the other extreme and neglect the role of individuals; rather, our recognition of the structural drivers of particular environmental problems points to the necessity of specific collective actions by individuals, for example, in the practice of social movements. This recognition demands a rethinking of the role of individual factors, like emotion and empathy, in addressing environmental sustainability problems, namely as they relate to collective action/social movement emergence, development, and outcomes.

IMAGINE sustainability: integrated inner-outer transformation in research, education and practice

“…institutions, rules or power dynamics) (see Giddens 1984). Whilst some scholars suggested that inner transformation is reductionistic and focussed on individuals (Boda et al 2021), it does in fact resist ontological dualism that seeks to separate inner and outer and suggests a radically relational and integrative perspective (Wamsler et al 2021). As individuals are not seen as isolated singularities, any discussion of inner transformation necessarily involves both (individual) subjectivity and (collective and systemic) inter-subjectivity.…”

“…It led to varying terminology, breadth of applications and intense debates about possible contributions, limitations and shortcomings. With the concept and theories still evolving, it has aroused some scepticism as it challenges at a profound level current perspectives, cultures and paradigms that are also reflected in sustainability (Boda et al 2021). This includes the root causes of unsustainability, theories of change and the kinds of knowledge required to support transformation.…”

The decreasing availability of reindeer forage in boreal forests during snow cover periods: A Sámi pastoral landscape perspective in Sweden

“…The conceptualisation presented in the present article could be used to articulate a new, multi-purpose forest intervention ecology. Such an approach could support outcomes that meet goals other than timber productivity and that people could mobilize for achieving (Boda et al 2021;Harnesk and Isgren 2021; see also Visseren-Hamakers et al 2021). Goals could include sustainable conditions for natural grazing-based responses to poor snow conditions for Sa ´mi reindeer pastoralism; biodiversity conservation; near-term carbon sequestration; and a shift in production towards long-lived timber products.…”

Mapping Pivotal Issues of Collective Action Research: Scientometrics Analysis of Publications

“…ollective action is defined as an intra-organizational mobility action scheme that involves each entity integrates to engage with in management of common resources and social movements in support of aims. This scheme has been widely implemented in a variety of fields, such as environment and climate change (Boda, et al, 2022;Carmona-Moya, et al, 2021;Colding, et al, 2022;Luo et al, 2021;Meilasari-Sugiana, 2012), education (Maruyama, et al 2022;Sposito, 2010;Steiner & Spear, 2020), energy and technological transformation (Shortall, et al, 2022;Twine, et al, 2019), health and social safety nets (Iemmi, 2021;van Ryneveld, et al, 2022), economics (Pizzi & Brunet, 2012;Salvador Casara, et al, 2022), social movements and change (Bernroider, et al, 2022;Smith, et al, 2021), and so on. Therefore, collective action studies have shown impressive growth with numerous of perspectives.…”