Environmental Organizations' Influence on Land Public Policies in Switzerland and Australia

Abstract

Presenter: Lauriane Cailleux The neoliberal shift in environmental governance has truly impacted how environmental organizations engage to influence public policies. Traditionally rooted in grassroots movements and activism, these organizations have become increasingly professionalised and financially robust, but also more and more integrated into environmental regulatory regimes. This evolution challenges the conventional dichotomy of outsider and insider strategies underlined by the interest groups literature, as environmental organizations now employ a mix of both. In land-use regulation, environmental organizations are playing an exponential role by providing expertise to planning commissions, direct lobbying into federal parliamentary, organizing public campaigns, negotiating conservation easements or creating large natural reserves. With access to insider decision-making arenas and the ability to use outsider strategies such as political campaigns, what drives these organizations to choose one strategy over another? How do they blend insider and outsider approaches to influence land public policy, and within what timeframe? This article examines the strategic combinations used by environmental organizations to influence land public policies, moving beyond the traditional outsider/insider scenarios. Through a comparative case study of the largest environmental organizations in Switzerland and Australia, it reveals how different organizations navigate their roles. Balancing between market-based solutions and regulatory advocacy, this article presents how environmental organizations make strategic choices according to structural opportunities to influence land public policies. One organization balances between acting as an opponent or a supplier for land public policies, while another transforms into a regulatory intermediary, minimizing activism, framing land governance as apolitical, and investing in business group relationships. Utilizing quantitative and qualitative document analysis, along with semi-direct interviews, the article contributes to the literature on environmental politics by suggesting a new typology of environmental organization’s strategies. It concludes by offering insights for practitioners and policymakers to better understand the potential of environmental organizations as suppliers in environmental and land regulation.