Ideology as Practical Knowledge: Econationalism, National Identity, and the Interpretation of Environmental Change

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Abstract

Econationalism is not merely a political discourse but a form of ideological, commonsensical, and practical knowledge through which societies interpret environmental change and orient collective adaptation as well as self-identification. This paper examines the emergence of “econationalism” in Quebec, understood as the symbolic linkage between environmental responsibility and national identity. Since the 1990s, environmental discourse has increasingly functioned as a medium through which Quebec society defines itself and distinguishes itself within Canada and the global arena. Rather than treating environmentalism as a new policy domain, the study analyzes it as a process of collective self-representation in which ecological responsibility becomes a moral attribute of the political community.

The research combines discourse analysis with a localized case study of Sacré-Cœur, a forestry-dependent village in Quebec’s Haute-Côte-Nord region. The case arose from a federal initiative to protect the woodland caribou by restricting forestry activities across large areas of habitat. Although the policy aimed at biodiversity protection, it threatened the community’s economic survival and generated strong local mobilization. Contrary to expectations, residents did not reject environmental values. Instead, they articulated an alternative understanding of environmental stewardship grounded in territorial experience, regional autonomy, and provincial jurisdiction.

The controversy reveals competing interpretations of sustainability: one based on international ecological commitments and scientific expertise, the other rooted in lived territorial knowledge and community survival. It also exposes the coexistence of two forms of environmental nationalism—a pan-Canadian and a Quebecois one—each claiming ecological legitimacy. The study argues that econationalism should be understood as a dynamic process produced through the interaction of global norms, national narratives, and local experiences. Environmental conflicts thus become moments in which societies renegotiate political legitimacy and collective identity in the context of global environmental politics.

Author

• Charles Simon Berthelet, University of Quebec at Montreal