Environmental activism鈥檚 narratives are shaped by multitemporal horizons, challenging the idea of homogenous and linear time. By describing future ecological end-time(s), activists of the 1970s advocated present change. However, climate activism in the 2010s brought new horizons, conflicting with their forerunners. The ecological end-time is no longer seen in a future tense but a present one; we are in a (post)apocalyptic condition. What happens with long-standing environmental activist organizations鈥� conceptions of time when they clash against these new and radical temporal horizons?
The purpose of the project
By exploring key narratives from Greenpeace International and Friends of the Earth International, 1970鈥�2025, the purpose of the project 鈥淭he Multitemporal Horizons of Environmental Activism: Narratives of Ecological End-time(s) in Global Environmentalism, ca. 1970-2025鈥� is to contribute to the understanding of contemporary environmental activism and the trajectories of the environmental movement. The aim is to identify and analyze the multitemporal horizons that global environmental activism has been entangled in, challenged, and (re)produced over a fifty-year period.
A historical study contributes with important but unexplored perspectives to social movement studies and temporality studies by merging theory of historical time with process-based utopian theory. As INGOs are prominent players in global environmental governance, and in the articulation of possible futures, it is crucial to understand what influences their narratives especially given the different political responses these espouse.
The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council, 2025-2028.