Spreading rebellion?: The rise of extinction rebellion chapters across the world

Gardner, Peter; Carvalho, Tiago; Valenstain, Maria

doi:10.1080/23251042.2022.2094995

Cited by 46 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Those who learned more about the rebellion came to support it more. This is consistent with a temporal analysis of XR local-group formation suggesting that the April 2019 Rebellion lead to an increase in formation of such groups (Gardner et al, 2022). As we predicted, more positive media coverage may have accrued because of greater peacefulness and participant diversity than typical for radical protest (Hayes & O'Neill, 2021), which may have counteracted some negative stereotypes (Bashir et al, 2013;Kurz et al, 2020).…”

Section: Support For Environmental Activism: Disruption and Intention...supporting

confidence: 88%

“…The results also indicate that it is much easier for activists to generate passive than active support, and that their messages are appreciably less effective when mediated by mainstream media than when they reach people directly. Further, XR has ceased its initial rapid growth (Gardner et al, 2022) and since 2019 may have had less impact in the U.K. media than smaller movements using tactics that are even more disruptive (Ozden & Ostarek, 2022). And according to its own expert advisors, U.K. government environmental policy is still summarised by "major failures in delivery" and is still inadequate to deliver its own targets (Climate Change Committee, 2021.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The broader context will determine how the public responds to protest movements, and specific actions taken by a protest movement may change the way its activities are interpreted. Later in 2019, during another large series of actions in London, Extinction Rebellion probably damaged its popularity with the Canning Town action which inadvertently disproportionately affected poor and ethnic minority Londoners (Ibbetson, 2019), and growth of the movement following this event tailed off (Gardner et al, 2022).…”

Section: Generalisabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Large-scale disruptive activism strengthened environmental attitudes in the United Kingdom

Kenward¹,

Brick²

2023

Preprint

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The 2019 London Extinction Rebellion was the first attempt by environmental protesters to create prolonged large-scale disruption in a Western capital city. The effects on public opinion were difficult to predict because protests seen as extreme can reduce support, but protests seen as justified can increase support. We studied longitudinal opinion changes in a nationally representative sample (n = 832) before, during, and after the rebellion, in conjunction with experimental analysis of the causal effects of media reports (n = 1441). The rebellion was longitudinally associated with national increases in environmental concern, and activist media increased dissatisfaction with current government action. Reports from an activist, the BBC, and the Daily Mail caused activism intentions and support to move in different directions, contributing to longitudinally increased polarisation in attitudes to activism. The rebellion had minimal effects on belief in whether ordinary people can produce relevant change (based on collective efficacy and support for a Citizens’ Assembly). The rebellion thus succeeded in some aims and did not show evidence of any important backlash.

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Section: Support For Environmental Activism: Disruption and Intention...supporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Generalisabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Large-scale disruptive activism strengthened environmental attitudes in the United Kingdom

Kenward¹,

Brick²

2023

Preprint

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“…We focus on the immediate influence of a large and lengthy protest organized in 2019 by Extinction Rebellion (XR) in the UK. XR is a UK-founded environmental movement currently represented in 80 countries, employing protest and nonviolent mass civil disobedience to raise awareness of contemporary environmental challenges and compel governments into action in support of biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation (Gunningham 2019, Melia 2021, Gardner et al 2022, Ginanjar and Mubarrok 2020. XR first appeared in October 2018 declaring 'open rebellion' against the UK government (BBC News 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do protests influence environmental attitudes? Evidence from Extinction Rebellion

Kountouris

Williams²

2023

Environ. Res. Commun.

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Protests are frequently used to raise public awareness of environmental challenges and increase support for pro-environmental behavior and policy. In this paper we examine the influence of protests on environmental attitudes, focusing on Extinction Rebellion's April 2019 campaign of civil disobedience in the UK. Using individual-level survey data collected around the time of the protest, we exploit its exogeneity to the timing of survey response, to compare attitudes towards sustainable lifestyles, perceptions of own environmental impact, support for pro-environmental policy and behavior, and views about the severity and imminence of environmental crises, before and after the protest. There is evidence that the protest is related to lower probability of opposing pro-environmental behavior and policy, and lower willingness to pay a premium for environmentally friendly consumption. We do not find evidence that the protest alienated the public from sustainable lifestyles, influenced perceptions of personal environmental impact, or views about the imminence and severity of environmental crises. Results suggest the need for systematic study of the impact of environmental protests on the general public's environmental attitudes and behaviors.

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“…Starting in 2006, the climate camps combined features of movement and direct action, aimed towards a fossil fuel infrastructure, thus laying the foundations for standardising non-violent direct action (NVDA) in activist action repertoires in the United Kingdom and Europe (Doherty et al, 2007;Saunders, 2012). Extinction Rebellion (XR) is an international climate movement known for its prominent disruptive civil disobedience and NVDA tactics (Gardner et al, 2022). XR was founded in the United Kingdom in late 2018, adding to the throng of climate activism at that time, significantly the start of Greta Thunberg's striking from school and the ensuing birth of Fridays For Future (Sommer et al, 2019;de Moor et al, 2021;Malm, 2021).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of scientific knowledge in Extinction Rebellion's communication of climate futures

Hinks

Rödder

2023

Front. Commun.

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IntroductionExtinction Rebellion (XR) is one of the central players in climate movements in the United Kingdom. Considering the historical relationship that environmentalists have had with science and scientific knowledge, we examine the current treatment of science in the narrative put forward by XR United Kingdom.MethodsUsing mixed qualitative methods, the group's online press releases for the year 2019 were analysed, alongside fieldwork from 2 weeks spent at the United Nations' climate conference in Glasgow in 2021. The fieldwork data consists of participant observation combined with semi-structured interviews.ResultsThe movement's demand to “tell the truth” utilises a narrative established on a fact-based enlightenment. This is complemented by notions of a fixed temporal deadline and predicted societal collapse. We highlight prominent perspectives that came to light and identify three main positions that the activists held with respect to science.DiscussionThe findings show the positioning of science and scientific knowledge as a supreme authority, which acts to depoliticize the discourse and induces reductionism in imagining climate futures. This positioning, combined with the centrality of apocalyptic imagery, hampers the construction of alternative futures and fails to engage meaningfully with climate justice.

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Spreading rebellion?: The rise of extinction rebellion chapters across the world

Cited by 46 publications

References 25 publications

Large-scale disruptive activism strengthened environmental attitudes in the United Kingdom

Large-scale disruptive activism strengthened environmental attitudes in the United Kingdom

Do protests influence environmental attitudes? Evidence from Extinction Rebellion

The role of scientific knowledge in Extinction Rebellion's communication of climate futures

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