“It’s just not me” : a study of non-participation in collective actions with a climate cause among young Norwegians

Abstract

This thesis explores the issue of non-participation among young Norwegians in collective actions with a climate cause. The aim is to investigate whether there are any common features between the non-participants in terms of individual and social characteristics as well as the reasons they give for not taking part in collective actions. With this objective in mind, two research questions were formulated: 1.) Are there any common individual characteristics and social contexts that the non-participatory youth share that may explain their lack of participation? 2.) How do young people who do not engage in climate activism reflect on their non-participation in collective actions against climate change? A qualitative research strategy was used, and individual in-depth interviews were set as the main data collection method. The sample consisted of 19 young people between the ages of 18-29 who study at the two largest universities in Oslo, UiO and OsloMet. This thesis applies a modified social-psychological framework, with contributions from sociology and social movement theory, that could help explain the process of non-participation. Using this, it finds that the environmental values among non-participants play a key role in how they relate to climate change and their feelings of responsibility within it. Furthermore, this influences their behavior in terms of participation in other climate related activities than collective actions. While the non-participation of respondents with lower environmental orientation could be justified by their value set, this thesis raises the question of why respondents with high environmental values chose not to participate in collective actions. It finds that these respondents either question their own personal suitability or the political implications of participation in collective actions. Key words: non-participation, young people, collective actions, climate change, social-psychology, powerless hypothesis, delegation hypothesis.