Green Sabotage: The Past and Future of the Radical Eco Movement

• In Event: Sabotage, Contention, and Violence in Movements

Abstract

After 9/11 the FBI labeled radical eco movement groups like the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF) as one of the biggest domestic terror threats. Yet, by the end of 2009 the movement had largely collapsed. Why did the radical eco movement collapse in the mid-2000’s in the U.S? Given the threat posed by global warming, why haven’t we seen the emergence of more intense contentious tactics from radical groups? And what does the future of radical eco movements and their tactics look like? This paper develops a theory of why radical movements emerge, and why they collapse. It then tests this theory on the radical eco movement in the U.S. using a multi-method approach including: interviews with past and present activists and experts, a new dataset of eco direct actions, and novel survey data.

Author

• Thomas Zeitzoff, American University