Protest as Spectacle: Challenging Dominant Institutions to Address Climate Change

With worsening climate impacts, traditional forms of environmental protest are being replaced with more spectacular interventions seeking dramatic decarbonization. In this paper, we explore the case study of the Stop Adani campaign in Australia, which sought to prevent the construction of the Adani Carmichael coal mine; the first of several “mega-mines” in the previously untapped Galilee coal basin. We show how climate activists engaged in performing agonism to create a political frontier opposing the mine, building solidarity to create an equivalence of interest with other communities, and ritualizing active participation, through large mass gatherings to signal the political power of the cause. While such strategies may not be sufficient to stop the extraction and use of fossil fuels, worsening climate impacts suggest that climate protests are likely to grow and intensify. The question is how these spectacular protests can challenge dominant institutions maintaining the use of fossil fuels.