AbstractsSociology

The world has become increasingly interconnected through the spread of new communication technologies, giving people the possibility to influence policy-making within other countries. In a world where environmental issues and concerns are increasingly becoming global, there is a need to understand the way in which global actors lobby for increased democratic inclusion of the public, in a manner that alters the traditional state-centric model of democratic participation. In this master thesis, this process was explored by operationalizing and applying the theory of Democratic Network Governance to the case study of the Pebble Mine in Alaska in the US. This mining project is presently one of the most controversial mining projects in the world, with many global actors actively working to influence its operations. This dissertation has explored the engagement of different Global Environmental Interest groups, and the ways in which they interact within their own interconnected networks. The ways in which the different actors have influence and changed environmental policy in relation to TNC operations of the Pebble mine in the state of Alaska were investigated, as well as the success of the different Global Environmental Interest Groups in influencing the Pebble Mine’s corporate activities. These global groups have ultimately managed to construct a supranational forum of influence, which bypasses traditional state legislation and which is less hierarchical and more inclusive of different interest groups opinions’, but which also runs the risk of excluding minority opinion and local policy influence.