ABSTRACT
The eroding role of the nation state and the globalization of environmental problems have sparked an evolution in citizenship theory towards alternative and non-traditional conceptualizations of citizenship. One such non-traditional theory is ecological citizenship (Dobson, 2003), a normative green theory of citizenship that emphasizes citizens’ responsibilities over citizens’ rights, similar to civic-republican conceptions of citizenship. Ecological citizenship, according to Dobson, extends beyond traditional notions of citizenship because it strongly emphasizes responsibilities, suggests that these responsibilities are non-reciprocal and non-territorial, and because it includes the private sphere in its remit (Dobson, 2003, p82). These characteristics make this theory of citizenship unconventional and have been a cause for criticism (Drevensek, 2005; Luque, 2005; Valdivielso, 2005; Hayward, 2006a, 2006b). Yet, despite criticisms, ecological citizenship has been found to have some traction in empirical studies conducted in the UK (Horton, 2005; Seyfang, 2006), Canada (Wolf et al, 2009) and Sweden (Jagers, 2009).
