Abstract
How do emotions contribute to mobilizing the international community to join massive protests against climate change? Although it is common to superficially state that protests are full of various emotions, it remains unclear how emotions become collective on the international level and how they ensure the spread of mass mobilization. This research paper examines the process of collectivization of emotions and how it explains mass mobilization in the case of international climate change strikes. This paper raises the question of how the emotional environment was favourably constructed in Greta Thunberg’s case in order to mobilize international society to join climate change strikes, and it aims to reveal how group emotions play an important role in successful international mobilization. Based on Sarah Ahmed’s theory of cultural politics of emotions and James M. Jasper’s theory linking emotions and social movements, it is assumed that specific emotions were circulated to create a distinct emotional environment that inspired the international community to join Thunberg’s climate strike. An Emotional Discourse Analysis revealed that Thunberg’s speeches are full of emotional potential that provokes reactive emotions such as fear, anger and hope in the global society and establishes an injustice-based framing of the problem as well as the dichotomy between the political elite and the global society. This study contributes to the research field of emotions in international relations by exploring in more depth the collectivization of emotions and expands the theory of cultural politics of emotions to include explanations of international politics phenomena such as mass mobilization.
Highlights
Emocijos šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje tampa neatsiejama tarptautinių santykių dalimi, į kurią vis dažniau remiamasi ieškant atsakymų apie tarptautinės politikos procesus
emotions contribute to mobilizing the international community to join massive protests against climate change
Although it is common to superficially state that protests are full of various emotions
Summary
Šiame straipsnyje nagrinėjamas emocijų vaidmuo mobilizuojant Gretos Thunberg inicijuotą visuomeninį judėjimą prieš klimato kaitą. Thunberg atveju buvo kuriama palanki emocinė aplinka, paskatinusi visuomenės mobilizaciją sprendžiant klimato kaitos problemą. Atlikta emocinio Thunberg diskurso analizė atskleidžia, kad lyderės kalbos yra pripildytos emocinio potencialo, kuris padeda visuomenėje skleisti baimės ir pykčio būsenas bei neteisingumo jausmu paremtą klimato kaitos problematikos supratimą. Jaspero socialinių judėjimų ir Sarah Ahmed kultūrinės emocijų politikos teorijomis teigiama, jog Thunberg kalbose slypintis emocinis potencialas padėjo kolektyvizuoti visuomenėje įsivyravusias pykčio ir baimės emocijas bei stiprino neigiamą politinio elito įvaizdį. Taip buvo kurstomos ne tik individualios emocijos, bet ir formuojama kolektyvinė būsena, emociniu pagrindu subūrusi su klimato kaita kovojančią tarptautinę bendruomenę. Reikšminiai žodžiai: emocijos, klimato kaita, emocijų kolektyvizacija, emocinis diskursas, tarptautinė mobilizacija. Emocijų vaidmuo mobilizuojant visuomenę kovai su klimato kaita. The Role of Emotions in Mobilization of Society to Fight Climate Change: Constructing Emotional State to Inspire Mass Movement
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