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4 - Joining Up

The Rationales, Rewards, and Risks of Participation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2026

Tim Wood
Affiliation:
Fordham University, New York
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Summary

This chapter investigates why people join pro-oil campaigns. Attending to the case study of Canada’s Energy Citizens (CEC), the chapter argues that the campaign’s early stages relied on personal connections between members as much as fealty to a political cause. The fledgling campaign mobilized staff’s friends and coworkers, who joined as a show of collegial support. These bonds were solidified by shared feelings of precarity, with members believing that their own livelihoods and communities were dependent on the largesse of oil companies. It was the threat of losing their way of life – or more exactly, the perception that their way of life was under attack from environmentalists and legislators –that kept pro-oil campaigners mobilized. Joiners’ enthusiasm for supporting industry was often tempered by feelings of risk, however, as they worried about how becoming the face of Big Oil might affect their employability or personal relationships. Joiners also critiqued CEC’s focus on civility, which they believed undercut the effectiveness of the campaign.

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  • Joining Up
  • Tim Wood, Fordham University, New York
  • Book: People For Oil
  • Online publication: 24 April 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009733397.004
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  • Joining Up
  • Tim Wood, Fordham University, New York
  • Book: People For Oil
  • Online publication: 24 April 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009733397.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Joining Up
  • Tim Wood, Fordham University, New York
  • Book: People For Oil
  • Online publication: 24 April 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009733397.004
Available formats
×