Power in environmental justice is relational and contestable, not simply dominant versus subordinate

Evidence

These two elements—self-confidence and increased capacity—dialectically build on each other in a way that transforms the personal and collective experiences of power relations by ordinary residents in otherwise disenfranchised communities. The experiences of grassroots environmental justice activists hint at a much more complex view of agency and power than has generally been offered in the social justice context. The traditional dominant-subordinate model of power relations is ill suited to environmental justice activism. It is true that grassroots environmental justice struggles pit low-income communities and communities of color against private developers, facility owners, and state environmental agencies. By virtue of their social status, low-income persons of color, in particular, are vulnerable to more powerful interests in the decision-making process. Nevertheless, grassroots successes have demonstrated to many individuals in embattled communities that they are not powerless in the sense of having no ability to affect change. Indeed, individuals in many vulnerable communities come to wield some degree of power, as is illustrated by the countless examples of overburdened communities that have successfully defeated siting efforts by private and public interests. — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 674

Categorization

• XREF: This relational-power claim connects directly to the reader’s pedagogical frame (eco-justice pedagogy, participatory education) and to the feminist ‘incomplete agency’ literature the same chapter invokes. — connects to: Grassroots tribal networks leverage national council seats to advance local cases — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 654; Environmental justice movements are inherently plural and network-based, not singular in principle or structure — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 617; Environmental justice groups organize already-existing communities that insist on recognition — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 230
• QUESTION: How does this relational model of power square with the book’s own ch7-8 showing courts requiring proof of individual discriminatory intent — a paradigm that presumes a dominant actor? Worth chasing.

Broader Connections

• Environmental justice movements are inherently plural and network-based, not singular in principle or structure #expands (0.85) — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 617