The Climate Change Counter Movement: An International Deviant Network

This is a draft chapter/article. The final version is available in Handbook of Anti-Environmentalism edited by Tindall, DB., Stoddart, M CJ., Dunlap, R.E, published in 2020, Edward Elgar Publishing LtdOriginally concentrated in the USA, the Climate Change Counter Movement is now a global phenomenon (e.g. McKie 2018). Recognising the international scope of the movement, this chapter asks; can the climate change counter movement be understood as an international deviant network? To answer this question, I use a criminological theoretical framework to examine these organisations. I investigate if a coding scheme derived from Sykes and Matza’s (1957) theory of techniques of neutralization can be used to organise the messages adopted by organisation. describing why a criminological perspective can help critically examine these organisations and their messages. I present evidence from a cross national content analysis of organisational messages operating across 48 countries, positing why any geographic variation in messages by organisations. I conclude, by outlining the usefulness of a criminological approach to examine these organisations and answer the question; can these organisations classified as an international deviant network