The Politics of Environmental Concern
研究保守派对环境保护的态度是否因国家而异,发现发达国家中保守派更反对环保,而欠发达或环境差的国家中保守派反而更关注环境。
Prior research in the U.S. has found that liberals are generally more environmentally concerned than conservatives. The present study explores whether conservatives' opposition to environmental protection is solely a U.S. or a universal phenomenon and whether this association is contingent on country-level characteristics such as development, environmental conditions, and communist history. Employing data for 19 countries from the ISSP module "Environment II," this paper explores inter-country variations in the relationship between individual conservatism and environmental concern using multilevel modeling with cross-level interactions. The models reveal a number of intriguing associations. Most important, conservatives' support for environmental protection varies by country. This variation is a function of country-level characteristics. The strongest opposition of conservatives' toward environmental protection was observed in developed, capitalist nations, with superior environmental conditions. On the other hand, in less developed countries, and countries characterized by poor environmental quality, conservatives are more environmentally concerned than liberals.