From local action to the fight for a global cause. Trajectory of the anti- shale gas movement in Quebec
The controversy over Quebec shale gas concerns multiple issues. As a method, the sociology of translation allows to identify the processes of social and political construction involved in getting the controversy on the agenda and in framing it as a political issue. Our analysis of the trajectory of actors and their respective lines of reasoning shows that the movement around the opposition to shale gas has achieved a certain success. However, it also shows that its efforts to expand that opposition to all hydrocarbons generated from bedrock, and not only shale gas, are impeded by industry and government networks. This study provides an additional insight into the analysis of the controversies by underscoring the key role played by the undertaking to frame, or construct, the issue as a public problem.