Call for chapter proposals to the “Green European” 2nd edition

This is an empirically-focused book that proposes internationally comparative, data-based discussions on the environmental attitudes and behaviours of Europeans. The first book “Green European”[1] was published in 2016 and became the ISSP anthology (https://issp.org/about-issp/publications/). Since then, there have been many significant changes, both in terms of the environmental changes that are now known as the Planetary Crisis, as well as in terms of environmental policy and how the populations react and act in response to these changes. What’s more, in the last five years, Europe has been rocked by several mega-crises – the covid pandemic, war, and the ensuing economic recession, energy and food crises. A sociological critical reflection on these processes is enabled by the data collected by the ISSP-Environment survey module implemented between 2020 and 2022. Together with the three previous waves of Environment module surveys, the ISSP provides very rich data to develop informed academic narratives about the most significant issues of the day.

“Green European Revisited” is based on rich academic conversations among the editors and many colleagues during several meetings of the European Sociological Association (ESA) Research network ‘Environment and Society’. This book is intended as an open call book. The conceptual framework is provided by the editors and individual chapters are written by European sociologists.

The papers that make up this book cover a variety of unique historical and cross-cultural comparative studies with a main focus on European societies. The development of environmental attitudes, risk perceptions and patterns of environmental behaviour are discussed, shedding light on the universalization or fragmentation of that what we would understand as European type of environmentalism. The empirical comparative nature of the texts is enabled by data from International Social Survey Programme (ISSP; https://www.gesis.org/en/issp/modules/issp-modules-by-topic/environment/2020).

Several features make this book unique:

Organizational features:

• The team of authors are all members of European Sociological Association (a unity of interests) and represent wide range of regions within Europe.
• Book has a strong empirical approach; the discussion is data driven.
  Findings are primarily based upon highly valid and representative data sets from International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), a module on Environment implemented in 1993, 2000, 2010 and 2020-2022. Editor Markus Hadler was a convenor of the ISSP 2020 Environmental module, and many authors represent national teams within ISSP. The book would potentially become one of ISSP anthologies (see issp.org).
• Cross-cultural and historical comparative analysis as the main methodological approach.

Content features

• While analysing environmental attitudes, risk perceptions and behaviour, the focus is both on Europe as a region and on European societies (there are similar studies into American, Canadian, Asian societies). Europe plays an important role in the GHG transition given the high per capita output.
• The four waves of ISSP Environment module enable historical comparative analysis and give a unique and not yet exploited opportunity to trace the development of environmental worldviews and behaviour.

Compared to the book published in 2016, „Green European Revisited“ now offers several new aspects:

• new ISSP-Environment data collected between 2020 and 2022 and published in 2023;
• the content is organised in line with the United Nations concept of the Planetary Crisis.

Citing perspectives for the proposed book are high. According to Dimensions, compared to other publications in the same field, the 2016 “Green European” was extremely highly cited and has received approximately 6.72 times more citations than average (https://badge.dimensions.ai/details/id/pub.1048976504). Since this is our second book, the audience already knows us and is ready to welcome a new publication, which increases the likelihood of citations and other impact.

The approach and findings of the work would be interesting to several broadly defined academic communities:

• The ISSP community of researchers from 45 countries around the world. Through the anticipated status of ‘ISSP Anthology’ a broad community of International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) researchers and data users would be accessed. Environmental module data is one of most extensively used and cited data in ISSP.
• European sociologists. With European societies as the central focus, the book would be of interest to readers within Europe, including less addressed regions of Southern Europe and Central and Eastern European countries.
• The global community of scholars within environmental social sciences. This would include scholars and students from environmental sociology, environmental psychology, risk sociology, anthropology, and environmental politics.

This book can also be of use for a variety of university courses covering topics of environmental sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography or environmental politics. Because of the comparative methodological approach, this book might also serve as study materials in courses on quantitative methods focusing on survey research, diachronic or international, cross-cultural comparatives analysis.  The third possible way of using the book for educational purposes is through interdisciplinary courses on Europe, European policy, European integration, sustainability science.

The topics covered in the book are relevant in various social science disciplines (Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Human Geography, etc.) and thus would be of interest for a wide audience.

[1] Telesiene, A., & Gross, M. (Eds.). (2016). Green European: Environmental behaviour and attitudes in Europe in a Historical and Cross-cultural Comparative Perspective. Routledge.

This book aims to reflect on European populations’ changing environmental attitudes and behaviors in response to the planetary crisis and socio-economic, political, and cultural tensions and transformations. We are interested in sociological discussions on how European populations experience what Bruno Latour[1] called metamorphosis and the becoming of terrestrials. We want to see rich contextualized yet data-driven narratives on country developments in connection to European/Global developments, as well as historical comparisons, country differences, and their social-cultural underpinnings.

The structure of the book will be decided once we have the chapters’ proposals, after an open call. We anticipate for narrative based chapters. These are chapters focused on specific urgent topics, relevant for Europe in the face of Planetary crisis (including, but not limited to e.g.):

• Knowledge, perceptions and concern for the 3+1 Planetary crises:
  • Climate crisis (items like climate change perception, climate skepticism); Biodiversity loss; Pollution; Land degradation
• Attitudes, behaviors and resistance to change related to the four systems of impact (items like how willing are you to pay higher taxes, how willing are you to change your lifestyle, unwillingness to act, etc):
  • Energy consumption; Food consumption and dietary changes; Mobility and lifestyles; Waste, use of materials and circular economy.

We invite proposals for chapters that fit the overall narrative of European response to Planetary Crisis and are either or a combination of:

• Historical data analyses (comparing data from several ISSP Environment survey waves)
• Cross-country / international comparative data analyses
• Geography-focused analyses (case studies of individual countries, country groups or geographic regions, e.g. Southern Europe, Nordic-Baltic countries, etc.; a specific focus is needed on within-Europe regional fragmentation of environmental attitudes and behaviors)
• Social-group-focused analyses (case studies on specific social groups, e.g. the elderly, the youth)
• Variable-focused analyses (taking a set of variables and telling a compelling data-based narrative).
• Theory-focused analyses (testing existing or suggesting new theories).

[1] Latour, B. (2021). After lockdown: A metamorphosis. John Wiley & Sons.

The book is expected to be about 100,000 words length. The 14 main chapters all have ca. 6000-7000 words each; Introduction and Concluding Discussion would together make no more than 4000 words. Book is expected to have at least 60 figures: mainly diagrams and tables. The first version of manuscript is planned for October 2024.

Dr. Matthias Gross

Professor of Environmental Sociology at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ in Leipzig, Germany, and by joint appointment, the University of Jena, Germany. His recent research focuses on     Alternative Energy Systems, Ecological Restoration, Ignorance and Risk, Real World Experiments, Science and Technology Studies, Senses and Society, Social Theory and Analysis, as well as Technology Development in the Context of Society. He is a founding editor of the journal Nature + Culture and coordinating editor of Restoration Ecology. Book publications in English include Ignorance and Surprise: Science, Society, and Ecological Design (2010, MIT Press), Renewable Energies (2014, with Rüdiger Mautz, Routledge), The Oxford Handbook of Energy and Society (2018, edited with Debra J. Davidson, Oxford University Press), and the Routledge International Handbook of Ignorance Studies (fundamentally revised second edition, edited with Linsey McGoey, 2023).

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3716-7512

List of recent publications:

Books

Gross, Matthias & Linsey McGoey, eds. (2023): Routledge International Handbook of Ignorance Studies. London: Routledge

Davidson, Debra & Matthias Gross, eds. (2018): Oxford Handbook of Energy and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Selection of Recent Articles (ISI indexed)

Sonnberger, Marco; Maria Pfeiffer, Alena Bleicher, and Matthias Gross (2024): “Wake Effects and Temperature Plumes: Coping with Nonknowledge in the Expansion of Wind and Geothermal Energy.” Social Studies of Science (forthcoming).

Gross, Matthias (2023): “Car Driving as Inverted Quarantine and the Sensory Response to Collective Threats: Challenges for Public Transport.” The Senses and Society 18, DOI: 10.1080/17458927.2023.2197684.

Paul, Katharina T.; Samantha Vanderslott, and Matthias Gross (2022): “Institutionalised Ignorance in Policy and Regulation.” Science as Culture 31 (4): 419-432. DOI: 10.1080/09505431.2022.2143343.

Gross, Matthias and Marco Sonnberger (2022): “Making the Most of Failure and Uncertainty: Welcome Surprises and Contingency in Energy Transition Research.” Energies 15: 6649. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186649

Horta, Ana and Matthias Gross (2022): “Human-Dog-Relations under the Microscope: Networks of Walking and Socializing.” Análise Social 243, LVII (2.º): 368-385. DOI: 10.31447/as00032573.2022243.08.

Otto, Danny; Maria Pfeiffer, Mariana de Brito, and Matthias Gross (2022): “Fixed Amidst Change: 20 Years of Media Coverage on Carbon Capture and Storage in Germany.” Sustainability 14 (12): 7342. DOI: 10.3390/su14127342.

Otto, Danny and Matthias Gross (2021): “Stuck on Coal and Persuasion? A Critical Review of Carbon Capture and Storage Communication.” Energy Research & Social Science 82: 102306.

Gross, Matthias (2020): “Speed Tourism: The German Autobahn as a Tourist Destination and Location of ‘Unruly Rules’.” Tourist Studies 20 (3): 298-313.

Gross, Matthias & Marco Sonnberger (2020): “How the Diesel Engine became a ‘Dirty’ Actant: Compression Ignitions and Actor Networks of Blame.” Energy Research & Social Science 61: Article 101359.

Dr. Markus Hadler

Markus Hadler is a Full Professor at the University of Graz. Before, he held positions at Stanford University (USA), Marshall University (USA), and Macquarie University (Australia). He is an Austrian representative to the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and was the convener of the 2020 ISSP survey on environmental attitudes and behaviors. He is also editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Sociology.

His research focuses on topics of environmental sociology and social inequality with an emphasis on research methods. His research has been published in highly-ranked journals, won awards, and has been funded by both extramural and University affiliated sources. He is currently part of two research projects that are relevant to this proposal: Torero – a Horizon 2020 funded project – in which is assessing the social sustainability of a new production process in a steel factory and a project – funded by the Austrian National Bank – on measuring climate relevant behaviors of Austrians and analyzing the obstacles in transforming attitudes into behaviors.

Relevant recent publications

Books

(2022) Hadler, Markus, David Bird, Beate Klösch, Stephan Schwarzinger, Markus Schweighart, Rebecca Wardana. “Surveying Climate-Relevant Behavior. Measurements, Obstacles, and Implications.” Palgrave-Macmillan. London and New York.

(2017) Hadler, Markus. The Influence of Global Ideas on Environmentalism and Human Rights: World Society and the Individual. Palgrave-Macmillan. London and New York.

Journal articles

(2023) Telesiene, Audrone; Hadler, Markus. Dynamics and landscape of academic discourse on environmental attitudes and behaviors since the 1970s // Frontiers in sociology. Lausanne : Frontiers media SA. ISSN 2297-7775. 2023, vol. 8, art. no. 1136972, p. 1-14. DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1136972

(2023) Beate Klösch, Markus Hadler, Markus Reiter-Haas & Elisabeth Lex (2023) Polarized opinions on Covid-19 and environmental policy measures. The role of social media use and personal concerns in German-speaking countries., Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, DOI: 10.1080/13511610.2023.2201877

(2022) Zimek, Martina, Raphael Asada, Rupert J. Baumgartner, Michael Brenner-Fliesser, Ingrid Kaltenegger, and Markus Hadler. “Sustainability trade-offs in the steel industry–A MRIO-based social impact assessment of bio-economy innovations in a Belgian steel mill.” Cleaner Production Letters 3: 100011.

(2021) Klösch, Beate, Rebecca Wardana, and Markus Hadler. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the willingness to sacrifice for the environment: The Austrian case. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie. 51(4) 457-469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11614-021-00464-x

Chapters

(2022) Klösch Beate, Hadler, Markus, Reiter-Haas, Markus, Elisabeth Lex. Social Desirability and the Willingness to Provide Social Media Accounts in Surveys. The Case of Environmental Attitudes. 4th International Conference on Advanced Research Methods and Analytics. CARMA. Pp. 119-127. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2022.2022.15069

(2019) Schwarzinger, Stephan, David Neil Bird, and Markus Hadler. The “Paris Lifestyle” – Bridging the gap between science and communication by analysing and quantifying the role of target groups for climate change mitigation and adaptation: An interdisciplinary approach. In: Leal Filho, Walter, Lackner, Bettina, McGhie, Henry (Eds.) Addressing the Challenges in Communicating Climate Change Across Various Audiences, Springer. Pp. 375-397.

Dr. Audrone Telesiene

Professor in sociology and communication science at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. Research interests include topics of environmental behaviors and attitudes, social research on climate change, environmental and technological risk perceptions, risk communication, and sustainable development. Since 2018 she is the director of KTU Center for Data Analysis and Archiving (DAtA center). In 2019 she has been elected as chair of research network on ‘Environment and Society’ in European Sociological Association. Since 2023 Telesiene serves in the role of Lead author for drafting the UNEP Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-7) to be published in 2026. She has worked (including coordinating role) for a number of research projects, including ESS and ISSP, in environmental sociology and sociology of risk. She is member of editorial boards of several academic high ranking journals.

Researcher profile: https://ktu.edu/scientist/audrone.telesiene/

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0356-1631

List of recent publications

Books and book chapters

Telešienė, Audronė; Balžekienė, Aistė; Budžytė, Agnė; Rabitz, Florian Caspar; Vilčinskas, Vidas; Zolubienė, Eimantė. Climate change attitudes, behaviors and communication in Lithuania: scientific monograph (in Lith.). Kaunas: Technologija, 2021. 258 p. ISBN 9786090217429. eISBN 9786090217412. DOI: 10.5755/e01.9786090217412

Goldman, Daphne; Hansmann, Ralph; Činčera, Jan; Radović, Vesela; Telešienė, Audronė; Balžekienė, Aistė; Vávra, Jan. Education for environmental citizenship and responsible environmental behaviour // Conceptualizing environmental citizenship for 21st century education: [monograph] / editors A. Ch. Hadjichambis, P. Reis, D. Paraskeva-Hadjichambi, J. Činčera, J. Boeve-de Pauw, N. Gericke, M.-C. Knippels. Cham : Springer, 2020. ISBN 9783030202484. eISBN 9783030202491. p. 115-137. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-20249-1.

Articles

Telesiene, Audrone; Hadler, Markus. Dynamics and landscape of academic discourse on environmental attitudes and behaviors since the 1970s // Frontiers in sociology. Lausanne : Frontiers media SA. ISSN 2297-7775. 2023, vol. 8, art. no. 1136972, p. 1-14. DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1136972

Krupnik, S.; […]; Telešienė, A.; Zapletalová, V.; von Wirth, T. Beyond technology: a research agenda for social sciences and humanities research on renewable energy in Europe // Energy research & social science. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISSN 2214-6296. eISSN 2214-6326. 2022, vol. 89, art. no. 102536, p. 1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2022.102536

Telešienė, Audronė; Boeve-de Pauw, Jelle; Goldman, Daphne; Hansmann, Ralph. Evaluating an educational intervention designed to foster environmental citizenship among undergraduate university students // Sustainability. Basel: MDPI. ISSN 2071-1050. 2021, vol. 13, iss. 15, art. no. 8219, p. 1-19. DOI: 10.3390/su13158219

Rabitz, Florian Caspar; Telešienė, Audronė; Zolubienė, Eimantė. Topic modelling the news media representation of climate change // Environmental sociology. Oxon: Routledge -Taylor & Francis. ISSN 2325-1042. 2021, vol. 7, iss. 3, p. 214-224. DOI: 10.1080/23251042.2020.1866281

Echavarren, Jose Manuel; Balžekienė, Aistė; Telešienė, Audronė. Multilevel analysis of climate change risk perception in Europe: natural hazards, political contexts and mediating individual effects // Safety Science. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISSN 0925-7535. eISSN 1879-1042. 2019, Vol. 120, p. 813-823. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2019.08.024

• Chapter proposal registration (300 word abstract) – 15^th Jan 2024
• Zero order drafts – April 2024
• Internal peer-review – May 2024
• First drafts and meeting of authors at ESA Porto 2024 – Aug 2024
• Book project sent to a publisher (Routledge) – Oct 2024