Radical Climate Movements: Associations Between Government Response and Public Support

Abstract

Numerous movements protest for more restrictive climate policies, sometimes with radical actions, such as road blockades or paint attacks. A German study with 1,132 participants investigated the impact of government responses on public support for such movements using the Last Generation as a case study. Contrary to expectations, highlighting strict government responses did not increase support, particularly among those who felt existing climate policies were inadequate. This may be explained by widespread resentment against the Last Generation; further analyses showed that donations were indeed high when participants perceived the government response as strict and inappropriate but that this perception was rare. The results suggest that radical protests are less suitable for driving policy change when public support for the movement is low, as they may trigger harsh government responses that damage the movement while not contributing to its mobilization.