| dc.description.abstract | Sustainability transitions require stakeholders of all areas to collaborate and co-create. Doing so, they are faced with tensions through conflicting ideas. While previous research has highlighted the productive and democratic potential that lies in tensions, little academic work has been done towards the practicalities of navigating tensions in complex transitions. Using a narrative lens, this research therefore examines how people active in the climate movement Extinction Rebellion Netherlands engage with tensions productively, and where they still struggle. Data was gained through an in-depth literature and document review, as well as 12 semi-structured interviews with rebels of XRNL. Transcripts and relevant literature were then coded inductively using NVivo. The data analysis shows that XRNL makes use of four interrelated approaches when navigating tensions, being: 1) Relativising perspectives, being aware of the limits and subjectivity of one’s own narrative; 2) Speaking up, having multiple and diverse spaces to voice issues (and feeling safe to do so); 3) Sociocratic decision-making, making decisions in small circles at low levels, holding rounds to hear every voice, while distinguishing between objections and concerns for consent; and 4) Giving autonomy, letting each rebel decide on the form and frequency of their involvement. The approaches are enabled and regulated by a shared baseline of core values, demands, and action consensuses. However, tensions that question the baseline quickly become polarising. Ongoing discussions on the interpretation of climate justice, as well as the justification for the use of violence pose significant challenges for the future of XR as a movement. The framework forms a start on the practicalities of navigating tensions in sustainability transitions, which has previously been theorised only on abstract levels. However, it needs to be tested and built further through other contexts and stakeholders. The key takeaway of the research is that tensions are a crucial part of any transition that aims to be just and democratic, and therefore need to be embraced, not avoided. The approaches of Extinction Rebellion can support stakeholders across sustainability transitions in doing so, enabling collaborative efforts. | |
