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Article published In:
Culture of Sustainability and Discourses of Social Change
Edited by Franzisca Weder
[Journal of Language and Politics 22:5] 2023
► pp. 687–706

“Hope dies – Action begins”

Examining the postnatural futurities and green nationalism of Extinction Rebellion

ORCID logo | University of Toronto

Drawing upon motifs of death, mass extinction, and predictions of chaos and collapse, the UK-based Extinction Rebellion (XR) demarcates itself as a different kind of environmental movement precisely because it “tells the truth” (in XR’s own words) about the climate crisis during a time of supposed false hope, denial, and delusion. In this paper, I analyze – through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) – how XR’s postnatural visions shape (and limit) the movement’s demands and proposals for change. My analysis reveals how XR’s calls for action are guided by a sense of loss and mourning for a future after nature’s end that are embedded with nostalgic undercurrents of a very particular mode of green nationalism. The potential exclusions and limitations of XR’s green nationalism are explored in this paper.

Keywords: Extinction Rebellion, green nationalism, futurities, climate change politics, climate change discourse, critical discourse analysis, postnaturalism, climate activism
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.XR: Exclusionary environmentalism?
  • 3.Research design
  • 4.Problem-definition: An inevitable end for life as “we” know it
  • 5.Problem-response: Green nationalism
  • 6.Discussion: A schism of futurities
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 4 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.22126.mor
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