Radicalization in international protest movements from an education perspective

• In Event: Climate and Environmental Protests as Education

Proposal

The question of radicalism in protest movements is not a new one and has different effects: If larger, socially visible protest movements serve as a heterogeneous pool of different positionings, they often divide into more moderate and more radical factions, each of which can appeal to minorities or majorities in the movement. Likewise, more radical subgroups can split off and form new groups in movements that are fundamentally more moderate. In this context, the term “radical” or its counterpart “moderate” are usually not unambiguous attributions, but rather complex constructs that arise primarily in the demarcation of different positionings and can also contain contradictory attributions. The difficulty of defining “radical” and “moderate” in protest movements, for example, has been well-researched for the history of the women's rights movement and can be adapted to other social movements (Briatte-Peters, 2013; author, 2007; Offen, 2000; see Rucht, 2023 on the theory of social movements). At the core of ongoing debates is often the question whether a specific cause can justify a more radical, maybe even illegal action. In addition, strategic considerations about which actions are most likely to achieve which goal influence the debate about the radicality of protest forms.

Against this background, this paper looks at the recent climate protest movement led by young persons (minors or young adults) and will explore the question of radicalization in public discussions and its educational implications. Methodically, the presentation will use data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) as a starting point. This data shows us that concerns about the climate crisis are widespread among students from different countries. In fact, already in the mid-2010s, the climate change and its consequences were one of the biggest fears of the 15-year old students participating in the survey. 55% of all students across participating national education systems said that climate change was a threat to the world’s future, and in some individual countries the percentage was much higher (e.g., 68% in Germany) (Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, Losito, Agrusti & Friedman, 2018). In addition, teachers worldwide reported that almost half of all students (48%) participated regularly in activities related to the environmental impacts of energy consumption (Schulz et al, 2018, p.168). The analysis of discourses on and tendencies towards radicalization is then based on journal articles, interviews and public statements as well as on an analysis of school legislation with regard to educational objectives in the context of citizenship education. Both types of documents help to shed light on the complexity of radicalization in protest movements and the role of education in this context.

The focus will be on the German branch of the Fridays For Future movement (FFF) and its positioning on the question of radicalization (Moor et al., 2020; Wahlström et al., 2019, Daphi et al., 2023). In the years following the data collection of ICCS, climate protests among young people became much more visible due to the activities of the Friday for Future movement starting in 2018 as an individual activity and in 2018/2019 as a collective activity. In the fall of 2021, the question of an increasing radicalisation of the climate movement entered the public discussion. On the one hand, this discussion was triggered by an interview with the German press spokesperson of FFF Carla Reemtsma (taz, 2021; cf. also Neubauer & Ulrich, 2021, pp. 143-144), and on the other hand, during the weeks before the federal elections in Germany in September 2021, the new group „The Last Generation“ emerged that uses more radical means than FFF to fight for climate protection. Its activities began with a hunger strike led by seven men and women aged between 18 and 27 during the election campaign and subsequently included mainly street blockades – and in a few cases blockades at airports – or actions of a disruptive nature during events and in public buildings, e.g. in museums. Ongoing and explicit public debates about radical forms of protest began, however, about a year later when “The Last Generation” became widely known and much more visible.

From an educational perspective, this development is interesting for several reasons: (1) first, against the background of social conflicts and the question of social division or cohesion, which plays an essential role in social transformation processes. FFF and “The last Generation” demonstratively position themselves as representatives of the younger generation, but at the same time they receive a lot of support from older generations. This constellation leads to the question whether it is possible to talk about a generational conflict or rather a conflict between different interests that can be found in every generation. In addition, activists of FFF challenge the education system with school strikes and accusations of not preparing enough for the climate crisis. (2) Second, the protest activities touch on questions about the protesters' understanding of democracy, which is relevant for educational systems like the German one with an educational mandate for democracy-promoting education. (3) Third, the nature of the protests and the societal debates surrounding them also concern issues in the context of self-protection or endangerment of young people – topics that cannot be ignored by institutions that have the mission to educate young people. Just two examples from this spectrum are possible consequences of protest activities that are considered to be dangerous for protesters or other persons involved or effects of disinformation and agitation in virtual space related to climate protests. Finally, the presentation aims to broaden the perspective by pointing to the international context and current debates about citizenship education and sustainability education (cf. author et al., 2011 & Spring 2004). Participants of the session are invited to discuss the topic of radicalization in climate protection movements and its educational implications internationally.

Authors

• Annika Wilmers, DIPF - Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education

• Alexander Wiseman, Texas Tech University