The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 65 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Backlash to Climate Policy
Open accessAbstract
Hard climate policy (e.g., regulation, taxes/pricing, phaseouts) is needed to meet ambitious climate targets, but when such policy is introduced, it can sometimes trigger backlash. Backlash involves an abrupt and forceful negative reaction by a significant number of actors seeking to reverse a policy, often through extraordinary means that transgress established procedures and norms. Yet, explanations of policy backlash remain nascent and fragmented. I synthesize insights from within and beyond climate politics to argue that contested legitimacy is central to climate policy backlash, which provokes attempts toward delegitimation. I develop a conceptual pathway to explain the occurrence of climate policy backlash and generate hypotheses about how practices of delegitimation occur, and their effects. This contributes to explaining why backlash occurs, highlighting ideational factors alongside interests and institutions. Overall, I suggest the need for a contextually embedded approach to understanding the volatile dynamics of backlash, bringing political sociology into conversation with political economy.
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“Recent data suggest that the world economy is on track to an income reduction of 11–29% by 2050, threatening the social and economic systems on which human health and wellbeing often depend.296,297”
From The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action (2024) · cites this paper as [297]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Patterson, J. J.
- Affiliations
- European Research Council (BE)
- Corresponding author
- Patterson, James J.
- ORCID
- Patterson, James J.
- Venue
- Global Environmental Politics
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Published
- 2023
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 68-90
- ISSN
- 1526-3800 (ISSN-L)
- 1536-0091
- OpenAlex
- W4307837594
- Cited by
- 140
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 65 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 15.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Global Environmental Politics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Sustainable Development
- Keywords
- delegitimization, climate politics, policy reversal, climate regulation, political sociology, political economy
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