Non-violent direct action, is one of the pillars of XR strategy. Faced with the accelerating collapse of ecosystem, an increasingly chaotic climate, and the inaction of our governments, we turn to civil disobedience to demand a just response to the climate and ecological emergency. We justify our choice of tactics by referring to social sciences and to successful past struggles that used civil disobedience, such as the US civil rights movement.

Our tactics are in constant evolution, and the subject of an ever-ongoing reflection. How do we transpose civil disobedience to the climate justice movement, despite its differences with the struggles we refer to? How do we justify our taking action at the edge of the law, and sometimes causing widespread disruption? What do we define as non-violent direct action, and how best to handle the thin line between what is perceived as legitimate or illegitimate action? What are the strategic limits of our current tactics and how can we improve them by learning from past and current movements?

To reflect and learn on these topics, XRNL scientists is organizing a panel discussion with social scientists from Europe, Latin America and the US, who work on civil disobedience and the climate crisis. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session that will give us the opportunity to reflect more specifically on challenges faced by XR in the netherlands in relation to our use of non violent direct action.

. Gerrit Schaafsma will host the discussion. He is a PhD researcher in climate ethics at the UvA working on the legitimacy of using civil disobedience when standing up for climate justice.
. Dr Erin Pineda is an associate professor of government at Smith College in Massachusetts, focusing on the use of civil disobedience by the Civil Rights Movement and the perception of this form of contestation practices.
. Dr Bernardo Caycedo is a Lecturer in Philosophy at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Researcher at Centro de Internet y Sociedad de la Universidad del Rosario (ISUR) in Colombia. His research focuses on digital forms of resistance, such as hacktivism and digital whistleblowing.
. Dr Francisco Garcia-Gibson is a researcher in philosophy at the national research council of Argentina. He focuses on the relationship between democracy and civil disobedience, especially concerning climate justice protests.

Sounds like an event you can’t miss? Mark the date!
23rd June 7-8:30 pm

Stay posted via our facebook event, we’ll post more information about each speaker in the weeks leading to the discussion.
Don’t forget to register on the event so that we can estimate how many people will attend, and invite all your friends who think you’re fighting for a just cause but “don’t like your methods”

The discussion will take place in English and there will be dutch translation available

💻 The discussion will take place on zoom