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Coproducing the Endangered Polar Bear: Science, Climate Change, and Legal Mobilization
Author(s) -
Vanhala Lisa
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
law and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.534
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-9930
pISSN - 0265-8240
DOI - 10.1111/lapo.12144
Subject(s) - coproduction , endangered species , political science , climate change , diversity (politics) , state (computer science) , mobilization , public administration , environmental ethics , environmental planning , geography , law , ecology , public relations , habitat , biology , philosophy , algorithm , computer science
Applying insights from science and technology studies about the “coproduction” of science and sociopolitical order to research on legal mobilization yields important theoretical insights. Using the polar bear petition campaign by the Center for Biological Diversity as an illustrative case, this article shows how this protracted legal campaign around protection of the polar bear and its habitat opened up new legal opportunities for those advocating for the regulation of carbon emissions, mandated state‐sponsored generation of climate science, legally constructed the polar bear as “endangered,” and helped to shape the priorities of the nongovernmental organization itself.