The Extraordinarily Ordinary: How the Rebels of Extinction Rebellion Berlin Shape Their Movement by Using Connective Action Repertoires

Sammanfattning: Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a global climate justice movement. Founded in 2018 in the UK and arising partly out of the Rising Up! network, it has since spread across the globe with various local and working groups in 57 countries. While environmental in focus, XR appears to be more than what first meets the eye. Their decentralized, non-hierarchical and self-expressive cell network works both online and offline. Its structure is shaped by the principle of Self-organizing System (SOS) and decentralization. However, the particularities of coordination within a decentralized network deserve special attention by taking a look at how environmental activism is conducted at a local level. This study has explored the local group of Berlin-Süd by following the rebels in Germany’s capital for two months. Participant observation and interviews have been used to account for complexity and to describe the movement’s local group in greater nuance, as an in-depth description of Extinction Rebellion’s movement seems lacking so far. The study asked the question of how, within their decentralized, self-expressive movement, the members of XR find balance between their personal motivations and their need to collectively coordinate. By working on the intersections between cultural movement theory (Melucci, 1995) and connective action frameworks of digitally-mediated networks (Bennett, Segerberg, 2013), the rebels’ ends (goals), means (how) and fields of interpersonal relationships were highlighted, in which they construct their collective identity in motion. Their social practices of doing action rest at the heart of the movement, suggesting that action lies in more than merely blocking streets. Through actively shaping the movement from within, the rebels make use of connective action repertoires to account for the challenge of coordination within a decentralized network. They appear to balance their individual motivations with collective coordination by activating personal relationships, employing personalized action frames and adapted connective communication repertoires. Thereby, their individual ends seem to both play a role in shaping the movement and are being reflected to the extent that the rebels feel heard and keep sustaining their rebellion.