Fotaki, Marianna and Foroughi, Hamid (2022) Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement. Leadership, 18 (2). pp. 224-246. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/17427150211005578
Fotaki, Marianna and Foroughi, Hamid (2022) Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement. Leadership, 18 (2). pp. 224-246. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/17427150211005578
Fotaki, Marianna and Foroughi, Hamid (2022) Extinction Rebellion: Green activism and the fantasy of leaderlessness in a decentralized movement. Leadership, 18 (2). pp. 224-246. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/17427150211005578
Abstract
This article interrogates the idea of leadership in a decentralized organization, using Extinction Rebellion (XR) as a case study. Through close observation of this environmental movement, we problematize the notion of leaderless organizations and question whether the idea of a hierarchy- and power-free ‘decentralized organization’ is a fantasmatic endeavour. Psychoanalytic analysis of discussions between XR members following two disruptive actions during XR’s International Rebellion in October 2019 reveals that these actions temporarily provoked members to question the attainability and effectiveness of XR’s so-called ‘leaderless autonomous organization’. This article contributes to psychoanalytic studies of leadership and to the social movements literature and argues that the power relations present in any form of organized endeavour must be recognized in order to develop effective and democratic activism.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Leaderless leadership; Extinction Rebellion; fantasy; psychoanalysis; activism; leaderfull |
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Essex Business School |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 08 Jun 2023 15:41 |
Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 15:47 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/35312 |
Available files
Filename: fotaki-foroughi-2021-extinction-rebellion-green-activism-and-the-fantasy-of-leaderlessness-in-a-decentralized-movement.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0