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Legal Governmentality - governing climate activism through criminal law and human rights in Europe

Objective

Since 2018, the European climate movement has embraced civil disobedience to denounce government inaction on climate mitigation. Governments increasingly respond with criminalization of climate civil disobedience, while NGOs, activists and transnational institutions (e.g. Amnesty Intl., the UN) defend it. Criminalization and defense of civil disobedience highlight a growing tension between state efforts to restrict political protests (often by treating protests as a matter of security), and transnational efforts to legitimize protests (usually treating them as a matter of rights).

LeGo advances our understanding of criminalization and rights-based defense of climate civil disobedience in the UK (common law system) and in Germany (civil law system). Both countries are at the center of a growing repression of climate civil disobedience. To date, there is little understanding of how criminalization and defense of climate civil disobedience affect activists and the climate movement. The main research objective is to examine how the use of criminal law and human rights discourses shapes the legal consciousness and conduct of climate activists. To this end, the project examines criminal trials against climate activists; state efforts to pass new laws and mobilize criminal codes and security frames to prosecute activists; efforts of transnational actors and institutions to counter criminalization; and climate activists’ perceptions of and responses to criminalization and rights-based defense.

LeGo adopts a mixed method approach drawing on methods and concepts from political and legal anthropology and geography, social movements and mobilization studies, and critical legal studies. Theoretically, the project advances our understanding of how environmental activism is governed through the uses of law and rights. Empirically, the project highlights the consequences of criminalization on the European climate movement, (trans)national climate politics, and the rule of law.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITAET BERN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 499 875,00
Address
HOCHSCHULSTRASSE 6
3012 BERN
Switzerland

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Region
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Espace Mittelland Bern / Berne
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 499 875,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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