Ecological Modernisation - Isolation and Masculinisation? The Decline of the Swedish Anti-Nuclear Movement in Light of Ecomodernism

Abstract: What happened to the Swedish anti-nuclear movement after the referendum on nuclear power in 1980? Scholars describe a period of ecological modernisation, affecting discourse and structures within environmental organisations and politics, entailing a professionalisation of NGOs. Drawing on accounts of a decline of the Swedish anti-nuclear movement since the 1980s, this thesis explores how ecomodernism has affected this movement since then. In terms of discourse, scholars have noticed how ecological modernisation has led to an isolation of environmental movements into “one-issue movements”. Further, feminist research has suggested a “masculinisation” of environmentalism, implying a switch from concerns about health, moral and justice towards economical and technological arguments. Drawing on previous research, historical accounts and in-depth interviews, I claim that the Swedish anti-nuclear movement has been subject to a professionalisation, masculinisation and isolation from other social movements and issues. These changes should be understood as a part of ecological modernisation, reinforcing the hegemony of ecomodernism; and I suggest them to be seen as a key to the decline of this movement. Further, I argue that these aspects of ecological modernisation maintain an exclusion of concerns assigned to “femininity”, which if reconnected to would have a lot to offer environmentalism.