The people who will not be silent: A case study detailing the effects of repression on climate activism in Sweden

Abstract

In 2022, a climate activist project group, Återställ Våtmarker (Restore Wetlands), performed several road blockades around Stockholm, Sweden. What followed these acts of civil disobedience were the fi rst criminal charges with Sabotage against Climate Activists, a charge used primarily in times of war. The use of this crime classifi cation was the start of an escalation in the Swedish repression of climate action, and has been followed by other repressive actions, like the fi rst-ever prison sentences of climate activists in Sweden. The Swedish state has been employing everything from painting climate activists as a danger to democracy to police violence in an attempt to repress the movement. This is occurring at the same time as a wave of repressive action towards Climate Activists is washing over the world, especially in the global north. This study seeks to understand the repression Swedish Climate Activists experience and the way it affects individual activists, activist groups and the movement at large. By interviewing Climate activists from groups like Återställ Våtmarker and various Extinction Rebellion cells across the country, I outline the variations in the activists’ experiences and adaptations. The surveying of these experiences reveals that repression has a lot of the expected effects on activists; the legal proceedings, police presence, bad mouthing and misinformation are tough on activists' mental health and cause fatigue. Still, the effects on their numbers are diffi cult for activists to determine. The movement doesn’t wane; instead, it goes two ways: they adapt through tactical escalation in various ways or retreat to reconsider their goals and repertoire when the cost of participation becomes too high. Sometimes both happen in close succession.