Goals, Strategies, and Tactics

Abstract

Extinction Rebellion emerged in 2018 in the United Kingdom, and their activism quickly attracted the media spotlight, leading to similar groups springing up around this world. This swift ascendancy led to considerable interest in what is new or different about them. In this article, we review existing theories about this, and add an additional perspective. We argue that their most innovative feature is how they connect their tactics to their goals—i.e. their disruptive strategy. We use an original survey of members to support this argument. Our conclusions help pinpoint what is innovative about Extinction Rebellion UK, as well as to better understand their lessons for the broader environmental movement, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.