Does Disruption Work? Public Support for Pro- and Counter-Climate Movements

• In Event: Climate Politics, Environmental Policy, and Public Opinion

Abstract

Policies aimed at combating climate change have considerable distributional consequences. As a
result, pro- and counter-climate movements across advanced industrial democracies have taken to the
streets to voice their discontent with current or prospective climate policy using disruptive and at times
even violent repertoires. How do these disruptive events affect support for pro- and counter-climate
movements within the wider population? We use a survey experiment (n = 2528) in the Netherlands, a
country that witnessed considerable disruptive action of pro- and counter-climate movements recently.
Respondents were shown protest scenarios in which we randomized protest movements (pro-climate,
counter-climate), protest actions (legal, civil disobedience, sabotage), and the use of violence (nonviolent, violent). We find that, overall, disruptions and violence decrease support for protest movements,
but that for the same actions, overall levels of support are higher for farmers than for climate activists.
We also document considerable heterogeneity across subgroups. Right-leaning individuals and those
with low education, political trust and trust in science are more willing to condone disruptions and
violence by counter-climate movements, while penalizing pro-climate movements for the same actions.
Our results highlight a potential source of backlash towards green policies: a bias among a
considerable part of the population in favor of disruptive protests of counter-climate movements.

Authors

• Dirck de Kleer, Università Commerciale L. Bocconi

• Simon van Teutem, University of Oxford

• Catherine E. De Vries, Bocconi University