The Phenomenon of Environmental Activism in the Perspective of Sociological Discourse

The article presents an analysis of environmental activism through the prism of significant sociological concepts. In the logic of social action theories, environmental activism is understood as proactive, goal-oriented social actions and interactions of citizens and organizations carried out in the interests of solving environmental problems. The emphasis is on self-organization, mobilization and coordination of joint actions of communities carried out to achieve relevant environmental goals. The concept of social justice reveals the connection of environmental activism with the fight against environmental discrimination in society for the expansion of rights to a favorable environment; considers it as a "public environmental resistance" to actions / inactions of government and/or business that lead to environmental degradation, the movement for environmental justice. From the standpoint of the theory of social conflict eco-activism is considered a product of the socio-ecological split in a society based on inequality, a manifestation of the negative effects of the environmental crisis on civic activity, a consequence of high conflict tension due to deep contradictions between the ecological ideal and reality. Within the framework of risk sociology eco-activism is justified by the society's desire to minimize social risks and destructions determined by environmental factors. The analysis of eco-activism through the prism of sociological concepts creates a general idea of the diversity of scientific approaches to the consideration of rapidly changing forms of public participation in the protection of the ecosystem under the influence of the coming digital age. The conclusion is made about the need for an integrative understanding and the study of social eco-activism as proactive goal-oriented collective actions of pro-environmentally minded agents undertaken in order to optimize the relationship between society and nature through positive and destructive social practices of eco-protective participation in the real environment and the Internet space.