The concept of human nature profoundly shapes our understanding of how political and social life ought to be organised. This thesis examines the concept of human nature developed by the Green political perspective and its impact on the Green understanding of economy, society and technology. By comparing the Green and Liberal concepts of human nature (and by extension their respective conceptualisation of society, economy and technology), it is argued that the roots of present day environmental crisis could be traced to the Liberal concept of human nature and the Liberal conceptualisation of the relationship between humanity and nature.

The concept of human nature profoundly shapes our understanding of how political and social life ought to be organised. This thesis examines the concept of human nature developed by the Green political perspective and its impact on the Green understanding of economy, society and technology. By comparing the Green and Liberal concepts of human nature (and by extension their respective conceptualisation of society, economy and technology), it is argued that the roots of present day environmental crisis could be traced to the Liberal concept of human nature and the Liberal conceptualisation of the relationship between humanity and nature.

Agricultural policies worldwide are giving an increased focus to the goal of sustainable agriculture, but there are still uncertainties around how this is performed and achieved. As small-scale farmers are a fundamental part of agricultural production worldwide, earlier scholars request deeper understanding of how these farmers perceive sustainable agriculture and how they perceive the pathway towards sustainability. In Tanzania, many small-scale farmers choose to participate in initiatives and organizations under the Organic Farming Movement. By focusing on small-scale farmers that have joined an organic initiative in the Manyara region in Tanzania, this study aims to interpret how these farmers perceive that joining the Organic initiative of a local seed trading system could contribute to sustainable agriculture for them. The study's theoretical approach was a framework where agricultural sustainability consists of an ecological, economic, and social dimension and that normative assumptions of sustainability can be divided into either an Environmentalist or Ecologist approach. Through an open-ended question survey, ten local farmers' perceptions of agricultural sustainability were collected. The result indicates that the farmers perceive that the local seed trading system to some extent will contribute to parts of all three dimensions of agricultural sustainability, and that normative assumptions in both Environmentalism and Ecologism can be identified within the farmer's answers.

Au cours des années 2000, deux mobilisations parallèles ont contribué à renouveler le paysage de l’écologie politique : la décroissance en France, et les Transition Towns au Royaume-Uni. Nous proposons une approche comparative internationale de ces deux mouvements, d’abord distincts, mais qui se sont progressivement imbriqués à mesure qu’ils s’internationalisaient. Nous nous intéresserons particulièrement à la dimension catastrophiste de ces deux mouvements, entendue comme un mode de pensée politique fondé sur l’anticipation de ruptures écologiques majeures (pic pétrolier, mais aussi réchauffement climatique ou effondrement écosystémique) qui mettraient fin à la version moderne du projet démocratique. Loin de n’être qu’une posture intellectuelle, le catastrophisme s’incarne dans ces mouvements en des pratiques délibératives expérimentales qui invitent à questionner la temporalité continuiste dans laquelle se conçoit généralement la théorie démocratique.L’étude de ces deux mobilisations vise à nourrir une réflexion d’ordre plus théorique sur les outils dont dispose la science politique pour penser l’insertion des communautés politiques dans leur environnement. En nous appuyant sur les travaux pionniers de la green political theory, nous montrerons qu’une théorie politique environnementale pourrait contribuer à interroger la théorie démocratique en invitant à la réinsérer dans un contexte de déstabilisation écologique globale. / During the 2000’s decade, two social movements, the décroissance movement in France and Transition Towns in the United- Kingdom, have contributed, both in parallel, to a renewal of the green political landscape. This thesis is an international comparative analysis of these two movements, which were first distinct, then progressively overlapped as they evolved to become international. This research will focus in particular on the catastrophist dimension of these two movements, understood as a form of political thought based on the anticipation of major ecological shifts (peak oil, climatechange, ecosystems collapse, etc.) that would put an end to the modern version of the democratic project. Far from being an intellectual framework only, catastrophism also gives rise to experimental deliberative practices that put into question the hypothesis of continuity that generally pervades theories of democracy.The analysis of these two movements aims at proposing new material to provide for a theoretical reflection on the intellectual tools that political science uses to investigate the ecological embeddedness of political communities. Dwelling on the pioneer work of green political theory, we will suggest that a théorie politique environnementale could contribute to reconsider theories of democracy, with an invitation for them to fit within the framework of the global ecological disruption.

This thesis compares the presence of hegemonic and green counter hegemonic perspectives in the climate change reporting of Swedish mainstream and alternative media. A descriptive idea analysis is conducted on articles published in two mainstream, broadsheet newspapers in addition to one alternative newspaper and one alternative news website. The comparisons are based on an analytical framework constructed around three dimensions: the relationship between humans and nature, the relationship between the growth economy and climate change, and the relationship between climate change and the citizen. The results show substantial differences between mainstream and alternative media, with alternative media offering counter hegemonic perspectives in all three dimensions while the mainstream media outlets are dominated by hegemonic perspectives. However, the differences between the two alternative media outlets are significant, with one being consistently dominated by counter hegemonic perspectives, while the other is more ambivalent. This shows that while counter hegemonic perspectives can be both present and dominating in alternative media, it is not always the case. The presence of counter hegemonic perspectives in Swedish alternative media shows that there is some space for these ideas in the Swedish media landscape. We have now been able to see that truly alternative options exist in the Swedish media landscape - albeit in its green outskirts. Whether they will stay there or will be able to break into the larger public debate remains to be seen.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka bioregionalism i relation till urbanisering och globalisering för att identifiera utmaningar som begreppet och rörelsen möter relaterat till dessa trender. Tidigare studier på forskningsfältet är begränsat och utspritt, vilket skapar ett behov av att samla och vidareutveckla det fragmenterade material som finns på området. Studien har genomförts genom en metodtriangulering av kvalitativa metoder i form av litteraturstudie och enkätstudie. Den första metoden syftar till att redogöra för ett vetenskapligt och akademiskt perspektiv medan den andra metoden redogör för ett gräsrotsperspektiv. De två metoderna integrerades sedan i en gemensam diskussion för att ge en mer representativ och heltäckande bild av vilka utmaningar bioregionalismen möter relaterat till trenderna. Resultatet visar att de största utmaningarna för bioregionalismen är att lyckas åstadkomma en kulturell förändring och att få det bioregionala paradigmet erkänt. De största svårigheterna ligger i den pågående dialektiken mellan urban/rural respektive lokal/global. Avslutningsvis konstateras att bioregionalismen i sin ursprungliga form inte är tillräcklig för att förstoras upp på en urban och global skala. För att omfamna dessa trender skulle bioregionalismen förslagsvis behöva utveckla de bioregionala idealen och synkroniseras med andra närliggande koncept. / This thesis aims to investigate bioregionalism in relation to urbanization and globalization to identify challenges that are facing the concept and the social movement related to these trends. Previous studies in this research field is limited and scattered, creating a need to collect and further develop the fragmented material in the area. The study was conducted through a triangulation of qualitative methods in terms of literature study and survey study. The first method aims to describe a scientific and academic perspective, while the second method describes a grassroots perspective. The two methods were then integrated in a joint discussion to provide a further representative and comprehensive picture of the challenges facing bioregionalism regarding the trends. The results show that the greatest challenges for bioregionalism are to succeed in achieving a cultural change and of getting the bioregional paradigm recognized. The greatest difficulty lies with the ongoing dialectic interplay between urban/rural and local/global. Finally the study concludes that bioregionalism in its original form is not sufficient enough to be scaled up to an urban and global level. To embrace urbanization and globalization, bioregionalism would tentatively need to develop its bioregional ideals and be synchronized with other adjacent concepts.

Au cours des années 2000, les gouvernements britanniques néo-travaillistes de Tony Blair et Gordon Brown ont porté un projet de politique publique appelé «Carte carbone», consistant à instaurer des quotas individuels d’émissions pour les particuliers. Ce projet avait initialement été formulé en 1996 par des chercheurs écologistes qui, en s’inspirant des politiques de rationnement passées, ont contribué à faire émerger un nouveau référentiel d’action publique structuré par l’idée de la finitude du monde. La mise à l’agenda de ce projet par les néo-travaillistes a cependant été suivie d’un travail de réinterprétation des limites environnementales, tendant à mettre à distance l’idée de finitude pour mieux concilier la carte carbone avec le référentiel environnementaliste de la modernisation écologique. Ce travail d’interprétation s’est doublé d’un processus d’aménagement des limites environnementales, encore éloignées par la rencontre du macrosystème énergétique avec les instruments du nouveau management public. Au terme de ce processus, le report sine die de la carte carbone témoigne d’une nouvelle relégation des limites environnementales aux marges de l’action publique. L’étude sociologique de la trajectoire institutionnelle de ce projet d’action publique vise à nourrir une réflexion plus théorique sur les difficultés d’émergence d’un référentiel de la finitude au temps de la crise écologique globale. À la lumière des travaux de la sociologie environnementale, il s’agira de montrer comment les réflexions politiques sur le rationnement participent à la recherche d’autres modalités de gouvernement dans un monde fini. / During the 2000s, the British New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have contemplated implementing a public policy called “Carbon card”, which consisted of allocating tradable emission rights to individuals. This project had originally been formulated in 1996 by green researchers who, drawing on past rationing policies, have contributed with this Carbon card to the emergence of a new public policy “référentiel” structured by the idea of ecological finiteness. Once agenda status was attained, however, this project was subjected to a reinterpretation of its environmental limits frame, that tended to relegate the idea of finitude, in an attempt to better conciliate the Carbon card with the ecological modernisation référentiel. This interpretation was coupled with a technical softening of environmental limits, still more relativized by the junction operated between the energy macrosystem and New Public Management-inspired policy instruments. At the outcome of this process, the indefinite postponement of the Carbon card reveals a renewed relegation of environmental limits to the margins of public action. The sociological study of the Carbon card’s institutional trajectory aims at feeding into a theoretical analysis of the obstacles to the emergence of a finitude référentiel, in a time of global ecological crisis. Drawing from environmental sociology, this work aims at showing that public policy research on rationing might contribute to investigating different ways of governing for a finite world.

L’étude des mobilisations sociales et institutionnelles nées autour d’un projet d’aménagement urbain – la Zone de l’Union (métropole lilloise, Nord) – permet d’analyser l’évolution théorique de la justice sociale lorsqu’elle se trouve progressivement confrontée aux limites environnementales. Originellement, ces mobilisations sociales étaient éloignées des enjeux spécifiquement écologiques.Mais une lente évolution des revendications s’opère lorsqu’il s’agit de se positionner sur un projet d’ « écoquartier exemplaire » (2006-2022). Nous nous intéresserons au glissement des revendications sociales (fondées sur la justice distributive et la reconnaissance politique) vers des revendications écologiques (élaborées à partir de la confrontation de la justice sociale aux limites environnementales). L’analyse des dispositifs de transformation des discours, des procédures participatives, ainsi que de l’évolution des référentiels théoriques des mobilisations, participe à une réflexion sur les conditions de transformation de la démocratie pluraliste représentative. A travers l’étude de la justice écologique et de ses enjeux, nous proposons de repenser la manière dont les limites environnementales peuvent être intégrées aux pratiques participatives de la démocratie. En nous appuyant sur les travaux de la Green Political Theory, nous montrons également que la justice écologique repose sur une conceptionécocentrée de la justice qui pourrait contribuer à interroger la théorie de la démocratie à partir des interdépendances existentielles entre les sphères sociales et écologiques. / This work aims at analysing the theoretical evolution of social justice when it is progressively confronted to environmental limits. It is based on the study of the social and institutional movements that arose around an urban planning project – the Union Zone – in the metropolis of Lille, Northern France. These social movements were at first concentrating their claims on issues far from ecologicalconcerns. But a slow evolution of their claims took place when they were confronted to a project of “exemplary eco-district” (2006-2022). This work will focus on the shift from social claims (based on distributive justice and political acknowledgement) to ecological claims (where social justice is confronted to environmental limits). Drawing on an analysis of the transformation of discourses, of the participation procedures, and of the evolution of the theoretical frames used by the social movements, we offer an insight on the conditions of transformation of pluralist representative democracy. This analysis of the issues and purposes of ecological justice aims at reconsidering the way environmentallimits could be incorporated into the participative practices of democracies. Drawing on the field of green political theory, this work also aims at showing that ecological justice lays on an ecocentrist view of justice that could contribute to question the theory of democracy in the light of existentialinterdependences connecting the ecological and the social spheres.

Ce mémoire propose une défense de la pertinence de l’éco-anarchisme. Cette défense se fera à travers une analyse critique des arguments adressés à l’éco-anarchisme, ainsi que ses deux branches principales : le biorégionalisme et l’écologie sociale. Pour mener à bien ce projet, il sera nécessaire d’offrir un portrait détaillé des théories dont j’analyserai également les critiques. Ce mémoire commence par une présentation de l’éco-anarchisme, du biorégionalisme et de l’écologie sociale. Puis, il passe en revue les différentes critiques qui ont été émises sur ces théories. Cette analyse critique sert de base à la présentation d’un ensemble de recommandations, qui auront comme objectifs de pallier les failles mises en lumière par certaines critiques. Ces recommandations tourneront autour de trois objectifs principaux : soulever l’importance de confédérer les communautés ; soulever l’importance de créer des ponts entre l’éco-anarchisme et l’éco-féminisme et l’éthique du Care ; abandonner la branche du biorégionalisme. / This master thesis offers a defense of the relevance of eco-anarchism. This defense will be done through a critical analysis of the arguments made against eco-anarchism, as well as its two main strands: bioregionalism and social ecology. To carry out this project, it will be necessary to offer a detailed portrait of the theories from which we will analyse the critics. Therefore, the beginning of this thesis will be a presentation of eco-anarchism, bioregionalism and social ecology. Then, it will be necessary to establish a review of the various criticisms that have been made of these theories. Ultimately, this critical analysis will serve as the basis for the presentation of a myriad of recommendations, which will have the objective of remedying the flaws highlighted by certain criticisms. These recommendations will revolve around three main ones: highlight the importance of confederating communities; highlight the importance of building bridges between eco-anarchism and eco-feminism and the ethics of care; abandon the strand of bioregionalism.