Climate Change, Organizational Culture, and Symbolic Embeddedness in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on institutions, organizations, and climate change by discerning how symbolic embeddedness mediates the external conditions and internal practices of organizations in a legal aid office in Brazil’s Amazon. This concept illuminates how legal, political, and social actors use symbolic resources, such as the framing of the law, to mobilize resources and articulate their interests. Field interviews and observations reveal that interactions during climate change negotiations can either facilitate or constrain actions to address social-ecological concerns. This study casts new light on how actors and organizations in the Global South can catalyze climate action and maintain social order in situations marked by ecological, institutional, and organizational instability.