Globally distributed environmental justice resistance against extractive corporate networks

Abstract

Is environmental injustice driven by a global network of multinational companies? Is there a global environmental justice movement resisting extractivism? This study addresses these questions through a social network analysis of firms and Environmental Justice Organizations (EJOs) involved in socioenvironmental conflicts. Using Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas) data, we examine 3,396 conflicts involving 6,244 companies and 11,231 EJOs. The findings reveal evident structural asymmetries. Corporations form cohesive, sector-specific global networks that support coordination across regions. Conversely, EJOs form a larger, decentralized, and self-organized network characterised by sparse localised interconnections that enable regional coordination across sectors. A limited number of international EJOs involved in many conflicts worldwide weaves a global environmental justice network to match the global spread of multinational corporations and supply chains. This research study shows that these contrasting network structures reflect the distinct purposes of their constituent actors: sectoral expansion for corporations and environmental and territorial defense for EJOs.

EjAtlas, Socio-environmental Conflicts, Environmental Justice Organizations, Environmental Justice, Network Analysis, Complex Systems