The regenerative culture of Extinction Rebellion: self-care, people care, planet care

Westwell, Emily; Bunting, J.G.

doi:10.1080/09644016.2020.1747136

Cited by 38 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…XR is an environmental mass movement aiming to achieve systemic change through non-violent civil disobedience (Westwell and Bunting, 2020). Since its inception in the UK in May 2018, it has spread globally, replicating a decentralized model in which local groups are formed to coordinate local actions.…”

Section: Case Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement

Fotaki

Foroughi

2021

Leadership

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This article interrogates the idea of leadership in a decentralized organization, using Extinction Rebellion (XR) as a case study. Through close observation of this environmental movement, we problematize the notion of leaderless organizations and question whether the idea of a hierarchy- and power-free ‘decentralized organization’ is a fantasmatic endeavour. Psychoanalytic analysis of discussions between XR members following two disruptive actions during XR’s International Rebellion in October 2019 reveals that these actions temporarily provoked members to question the attainability and effectiveness of XR’s so-called ‘leaderless autonomous organization’. This article contributes to psychoanalytic studies of leadership and to the social movements literature and argues that the power relations present in any form of organized endeavour must be recognized in order to develop effective and democratic activism.

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Section: Case Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement

Fotaki

Foroughi

2021

Leadership

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“…It provides the glue and underlying reasons for why certain stories 'stick' (Ahmed 2004) together to construct the broader imaginaries underpinning society. The constitutive role played by affect in bringing about imaginaries comes strikingly to life when observing the affective language that pervades contemporary climate activism: the 'love of rage' of Extinction Rebellion reveals both the presence a 'climate apocalypse imaginary' (Levy and Spicer 2013) and a culture of care (Westwell and Bunting 2020). Similarly, the affectively-loaded slogans of Greta Thunberge.g.…”

Section: Affects In the Modern And The Terrestrial Imaginariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stuck between the modern and the terrestrial: the indignation of the youth for climate movement

Knops

2021

Political Research Exchange

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The dramatic impacts of climate change have pushed thousands of young activists to shout out their indignation. These mobilizations have become the symbol of our 'tipping era': a clash of worlds between attachments to modernity and attempts to become 'terrestrial' (Latour, 2018) to stay within ecological boundaries. In this field, there has been an increasing body of theoretical work but empirical research is still in its infancy, providing little evidence of this ongoing struggle and what we can learn from the young activists' indignation. This article responds to this gap by exploring the case of Youth for Climate (YfC), the Belgian branch of the Fridays for Future movement. In particular, I show how their indignation, expressed in a narrative form, is pivotal to understand the competition between the modern and the terrestrial imaginary within the movement. Based on survey data, participant observations and focus groups, I conduct a two-level analysis. First, I find that the YfC indignation produces three interrelated stories: of unworthy politics, economic abuse and human survival. Second, I reveal how the affectivity of these stories articulates the competition between the modern and the terrestrial imaginary: from hope in the existing political institutions which anchors them in the modern imaginary, to compassion and fear which open a more terrestrial imaginary of collapse. Together, rather than mere competition, these stories reveal an ongoing oscillation and intersection between the modern and the terrestrial.

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“…They also use the techniques of Non-Violent Communication (NVC) developed by Marshall Rosenberg (2015), foregrounding, among other things, recognition of shared needs, the importance of active listening and deescalation skills, so as to avoid unintentional harm. They have engaged too in actions that draw attention to the relationship between care for oneself, care for others and care for the planet, and emphasise wellbeing at the heart of their 'regenerative culture' (Westwell and Bunting, 2020). Many of these features of the contemporary environmental movement can be seen as relevant to the development of men's anti-violence activism, and as being influenced by feminist theory and practice.…”

Section: Lessons For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Men’s Activism to End Violence Against Women

Westmarland¹,

Almqvist²,

Holmgren³

et al. 2021

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Using case studies from Europe and the UK, this book highlights those men who are taking action to eradicate violence against women. Examining the factors that support men to take a public stance, the authors also demonstrate what we can learn from their experiences to help build the movement to end violence against women. This important study will inform grassroots movements working to involve and engage men and boys in building gender equality.

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The regenerative culture of Extinction Rebellion: self-care, people care, planet care

Cited by 38 publications

References 0 publications

Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement

Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement

Stuck between the modern and the terrestrial: the indignation of the youth for climate movement

Men’s Activism to End Violence Against Women

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