Repression as the Closing of the Public Space and Sphere: The Multi-dimensional Repression of Climate Civil Disobedience in Britain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1285/i20356609v19n2p478-497Keywords:
civil disobedience, climate movements, repression, soft repression, social movementsAbstract
The concept of soft repression has broadened the study of social movement policing by drawing attention to strategies that go beyond states’ overt strategies to suppress or control activism. However, the most subtle and insidious practices are often examined in isolation from more coercive tactics, and the meaning of “soft” remains ambiguous – frequently conflated with extra-state, covert, or discursive forms of repression. This article draws on the case of British climate civil disobedience policing to argue for a more integrated approach. I propose that repression should be analysed along two dimensions: repression in the public space, which restricts movements’ access to the streets, and repression in the public sphere, which seeks to delegitimise them. I demonstrate that these distinct forms of repression can overlap, precede, or reinforce one another; operate with varying levels of visibility; be enacted by both state and non-state actors; and provoke specific responses from movements.
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