Abstract Cultural Influences on Taiwanese
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ABSTRACT CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON TAIWANESE ENVIRONMENTAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ STRATEGIES AND ON PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR STRATEGIES Li-Yin Liu, Ph.D. Department of Political Science Northern Illinois University 2017 Brendon Swedlow, Director The strategies of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and public perceptions of environmental activism in Taiwan are arguably crucial, yet understudied determinants, of types of environmental activism and of public support for environmental policies. Accordingly, this study sought answers to several important unasked questions in environmental governance and public opinion research: 1) How do ENGOs’ decision makers decide what types of environmental activities to pursue? 2) What role does ENGOs’ organizational culture play in their decision making? 3) How does the public perceive different types of environmental activism? And 4) How does culture influence these perceptions? To answer these questions, this study utilized cultural theory (CT) developed by Mary Douglas, Aaron Wildavsky, and others (Douglas and Wildavsky 1982; Schwarz and Thompson 1990; Thompson, Ellis, and Wildavsky 1990) to develop hypotheses to test data collected through two online surveys. The evidence confirms what CT predicted. First, ENGOs’ decision making on environmental activism is neither affected by their organizational scale nor the effectiveness and acceptance of environmental activities. Instead ENGOs’ organizational culture and their decision makers’ cultural biases play a crucial role. At the individual level, decision makers/environmentalists who are egalitarians are more likely to initiate every type of environmental activity, especially protest based environmental activities, than people of other cultural types. At the organizational level, ENGOs that have egalitarian and individualistic organizational cultures are more likely to initiate every type of environmental activity, especially protest-based activities. Second, the mass public’s cultural biases are helpful in explaining its perceptions of environmental information sources and different types of environmental activities. Specifically, as CT predicted, hierarchs tend to believe in people who have proper authority, such as environmentalists. Individualists tend to believe in information that may favor economic growth over environmental protection, such as economists. Moreover, egalitarians tended to consider protest-based environmental activities as effective and acceptable, while individualists tended to have negative thoughts about the effectiveness and acceptance of protest-based activities. This study found that CT also can be helpful in explaining environmental politics and policies, especially in countries, like Taiwan, where ideological lines and partisan differences on environmental issues are not clear. Moreover, compared to conventional partisan and ideological explanation, CT better explains the logic behind ENGOs’ decision making and the sources of public perceptions of their activities. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DEKALB, ILLINOIS MAY 2017 CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON TAIWANESE ENVIRONMENTAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ STRATEGIES AND ON PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR STRATEGIES BY LI-YIN LIU © 2017 Li-Yin Liu A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF PHILOSHOPHY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Doctoral Director: Brendon Swedlow ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been done without the help of many amazing individuals and organizations; I am most grateful to their support. First, I would like to thank my dissertation committee chair, Professor Brendon Swedlow, who has been supporting and encouraging me since the first day I took his course. Professor Swedlow has helped me shape and sharpen my dissertation with his exceptional knowledge and extraordinary patience. With his encouragement, I have developed my interest in environmental issues that will be the center of my research in the future. He and his wife, Chandra, have been with me in one of the most important moments in my life. Their kindness will always warm my heart. Next, I would like to thank my committee members Professor April Clark, Professor Yu-Che Chen, and Professor Alicia Schatteman. Professor April Clark always shares her outstanding experience in survey research with me, which significantly improves my knowledge of methodology. I cannot thank Professor Yu-Che Chen enough for all of his support and kindness. He was my primary advisor when I first entered the Ph.D. program. Ever since then, he has always generously provided his knowledge and experiences to help me succeed in academia and settle my life in the United States. Professor Alicia Schatteman has been the best mentor in my academic life. Her passion for working with students and her contributions to philanthropy have been inspiring me. She has also provided me the safest place to share my worries and concerns in the past six years. Moreover, I would like to thank Professor Scot Shraufnagel. He is the first person who gave me iii confidence in my academic journey. Special thanks goes to the director of the University Writing Center, Gail Jacky, who has been my writing tutor, counselor, and angel for the past six years. I will always cherish the time working with them. I am really thankful to my husband, Chris Brough for supporting all my decisions and for always being there with me. I am also grateful to my friends here— Fangxue Zheng, Damir Kovacevic, Jennifer Chang, Meng-Jung Yang, Maureen Lowry-Fritz, Julie Claar, and Maxwell Brovacevic. You have been made my life here more than tolerable. I know our friendships will be life-long. Please allow me to thank the following people in Chinese. DEDICATION In memory of my grandfather, Chao-Yang Huang May 10, 1938—March 11, 2017 I would not be here without you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... xii Chapter INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Environmental Activists and Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in .................. 1 Environmental Governance ........................................................................................................ 1 Existing Research ........................................................................................................................ 3 Current Study .............................................................................................................................. 7 ARTICLE 1. CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON ENVIRONMENTAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ DECISION MAKING REGARDING ................................................. 11 ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM ................................................................................................ 11 ENGOs Rather than Interest Groups ......................................................................................... 16 Environmental Activism in Taiwan .......................................................................................... 18 What is Cultural Theory and Why Cultural Theory ................................................................. 21 Cultural Biases as Determinants of Environmental Activism .................................................. 26 Methods..................................................................................................................................... 30 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 34 Overview of Dependent Variables ........................................................................................ 34 vi Chapter Page Hypotheses Testing ............................................................................................................... 40 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 56 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 63 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 64 ARTICLE 2. CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM IN TAIWAN ................................................................... 66 Public Attitudes about Environmental Issues and Social Movements in Taiwan .................... 71 Actions of Environmental Activists and Public Opinion: The Insufficiencies of Framing Theory ....................................................................................................................................... 75 Existing Environmental Studies in Taiwan ............................................................................... 79 Cultural Influences on Public Perception ................................................................................. 81 Methods and Data Collection ...................................................................................................