Research on transformations has recognized that trajectories towards sustainability are negotiated and contested through framings and narratives. There is, however, still a greater need to explore the role of social movements and their ability to characterize a problem, propose solutions and motivate the public to become engaged. This holds particularly true for the extensive field of climate politics in which different climate change framings compete. In recent years, a new wave of climate activism has emerged amidst an increased sense of urgency and severity of the climate crisis. One of the driving forces, Extinction Rebellion (XR), has managed to engage large numbers of people while making radical demands to the government. However, critical voices have challenged XR’s use of politically “neutral” language which communicates climate change in moral rather than political terms for displacing power and conflict. Drawing on framing theory and post-foundational political theory, I examine how XR UK frames the climate crisis in relation to political change, to better understand how the movement navigates between consensus and antagonism in the context of a depoliticization of climate change discourses. The analysis is based on a collection of semi-structured interviews with XR UK activists as well as key movement documents. The analysis and subsequent discussion reveal a dynamic and contentious discursive field, with key findings including the identification of three collective action frames: (1) Climate Breakdown, (2) Web of Life and (3) Global Justice. These are linked together by the Global Climate Emergency master frame. The degree to which the frames are (de-)politicized varies and reflects different interpretations of transformation towards sustainability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-194767 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Eggert, Hannes |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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