Smoky Boundaries: Greenpeace Brazil, NGOs and the Social Movements

The study of social movements and of third sector organizations are still present and strong in academic debate, especially because of the changing character of the very essence of this political sphere. With the increasing intensity of environmental problems in the contemporary world, on the other hand, organized groups are emerging seeking to “save the planet”.

One of the main organizations that proclaims itself in defense of the environment, is Greenpeace, which emerged in the 1970s. Through the classic and contemporary bibliographic review on NGOs and Social Movements, the present work has demonstrated the nebulous frontier to fit Greenpeace Brazil within these milestones, complementing the methodological part of the research with key actors, members and ex-members of the organization, to analyze how they perceive - and if they perceive - the demarcation of this border.

The objective of this work is to test the hypothesis that Greenpeace, unlike other environmental NGOs, has distinct characteristics of a Third Sector organization in its theoretical definition, approaching and, in a dialectical way, confusing and being confused by the actors and collective subjects with which it interacts, in relation to being an NGO or a Social Movement. In addition, it was assumed that the environmental movements have a heterogeneous character, being formed by distinct groups and interests, from foundations and organizations with market bias to community groups in defense of the preservation of natural resources as a means of subsistence.

Preliminary results indicate that the material served in a complementary way to our theoretical approach, validating and exposing perceptions that confirm the border nebula to locate, socially and politically, Greenpeace Brazil and its performance in the country.