De l'usage raisonné de la notion de « concernement » : mobilisations locales à propos de l'industrie nucléaire

A reasoned use of the notion of “concernment”: mobilizations about the nuclear industry

Sociologue, Université d'Évry Val d'Essonne, Centre Pierre Naville, TEPP/FR-CNRS 3126, 87350 Panazol, France

Auteur de correspondance : philippe.brunet@univ-evry.fr

Résumé

L'analyse sociologique de l'engagement peut être utilement complétée pour comprendre l'émergence et la structuration des mobilisations associatives locales dans le domaine de l'environnement. Dans cette perspective, à partir des travaux de Georges Canguilhem, on explore les processus qui conduisent aux formes d'engagement organisé. Ainsi, la notion de "concernement ", articulée avec celles de " milieu local "et de "comportement orienté ", permet de mettre au jour la singularité des dynamiques à l'œuvre, qui visent à résoudre les tensions existant entre les individus sociaux et leurs milieux. En particulier, l'analyse permet d'entrevoir des formes de congruence entre concernement, engagement et mobilisation cognitive. La réflexion s'appuie sur des données empiriques comparatives issues d'enquêtes sur l'industrie nucléaire.

Abstract

Discussing the mobilization of environmental associations from the sole sociological viewpoint of interest and calculations is no longer workable. Similarly, although the processual analysis of commitment has obvious heuristic virtues, it could be usefully completed to understand how it emerges and gets structured. This is why, in order to further develop this kind of analysis, we shall explore the processes leading to forms of organized commitment. To do so, Canguilhem's research about the epistemology of living organisms will be used. It shows that, when the resolution of problems between individuals and their milieu is attempted, it is always initiated by the former. By using the notion of “concernment” and articulating it with those of environment and orientated behaviour, we intend to emphasize the singularity of the social dynamics that aim to solve the tensions inherent in environmental issues. Furthermore, through sociological analysis, one may get a glimpse of forms of similarity between “concernment”, commitment and cognitive mobilization. Our research is based on comparative data drawn from two surveys on the nuclear industry in France: one in Limousin concerning the uranium industry and another in La Hague, North Cotentin, dealing with radioactive waste.