In spite of the great tradition in social movement studies, Italy completely lacks any contribution regarding animal advocacy from the point of view of political sociology. This is despite the fact that, as in the rest of Western societies, interest in the wellbeing, rights and status of non-human animals is growing. This can be seen both among the general population and in the very varied organised forms of welfare and activism. In this article, we will investigate this internal differentiation, starting from an initial stratification in welfare, protectionism and anti-speciesism, and focusing in particular on the following two aspects: ethical values; and political ‘careers’ and multi-membership affiliations. The investigation was accomplished by means of 20 semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire answered by 704 volunteers and activists. The tripartition hypothesised was confirmed, although with a few exceptions: more progressive values emerged among anti-speciesists, and conservative positions among protectionists and welfarists, but the overall spectrum is characterised by utilitarian perspectives. Similarly, previous experience in the specific field of animal advocacy is typical of the protectionist area, while anti-speciesists also come from other opposition movements.
In resisting climate change, to what extent can lifestyle forms of activism be considered to be political, especially when compared to claim-based forms of action? What are their determinants and to what extent do they differ from the determinants of other forms of action? What role do generational factors play? Does the centrality of lifestyle changes for young participants translate into a disaffection towards more traditional forms of action? This article explores the forms of action adopted by participants in two Fridays For Future (FFF) strikes, focusing on the repertoires of action and lifestyles of (young) climate justice protesters. While FFF does not only involve young people, it is a movement in which the youngest generation in society plays a leading role. We draw on protest survey data covering the FFF demonstrations held in 15 European countries in March and September 2019. Starting from a sharp generational contrast between the importance given to individual lifestyle changes in addressing the climate emergency, we investigate whether this results in significant generational differences in the choice of the repertoires of action. Challenging the vision of young people as 'disaffected citizens', it is demonstrated that young activists do not participate less in political, claim-based forms of action than older cohorts. Furthermore, a process of politicisation can be seen to be unfolding that leads to increased commitment in both lifestyle and political forms of participation-at least among active milieus.
During recent years, Italian social movements have experienced a period of crisis, in part due to diffuse antipolitical feelings and latent social conflict. However, environmental issues and especially territorial mobilizations remain relevant, due to the appearance of new contentious actors and to the permanence of long-standing organizations and important local grassroots campaigns. Based on 19 semistructured interviews with activists belonging to informal groups and formal associations, this article discusses the role of age and generations within the variegated Italian environmental archipelago, in which organizational and collective aspects prove to currently have a relevant role. Indeed, age does not represent an important fracture, representing a partial anomaly if confronted with the other case studies discussed in this special issue. The only diversities between cohorts are related to the forms of action preferred and (eventually) adopted, while the common perception of job precariousness among young activists is not translated into a single frame and common path of resistance. More than a Millennials’ identity, it is rather appropriate to speak of various and divergent political generations: individuals belonging to different cohorts share some ideologies and visions of the world, especially related to territorial belongings or to specific ways of looking at environmental issues. Also for this reason, a final comparison between contemporary young activists and those of previous generations is proposed to address the generation(s) in movement(s) in a dynamic perspective.
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