Strategic Gestures in Bill McKibben's Climate Change Rhetoric

Abstract

Although Bill McKibben is widely recognized as one of the leading strategists of the US climate change movement, several observers identify significant limitations to his approach to climate advocacy and politics. These criticisms are based on his reliance upon "symbolic gestures," such as campaigns to promote fossil fuel divestment and stop fossil fuel infrastructure construction. In this essay we reconsider McKibben's work, drawing specifically on his speeches given in the US from 2013 to 2016 in support of the fossil fuel divestment campaign and campaigns attempting to block the construction of fossil fuel infrastructure, in order to show how McKibben's strategic orientation is grounded in a politics of gesture. His speeches provide a model for how to reconceive gestures and assemble them for political ends, and expand a sometimes narrow focus on policy mechanisms. Beyond the case of McKibben our analysis contributes the concept of strategic gestures to identify and theorize social movement interventions that have significant symbolic and material consequences.

Rhetorical citizenship and the environment

“…With disruptive rhetorical acts, such as accusations, rhetorically underprivileged and marginalized citizens can demand recognition, attract attention to marginalized societal issues and challenge established beliefs and power structures (e.g. Bsumek et al., 2019; Schwarze, 2006).…”

“…In a similar vein, Bsumek et al. (2019) argued that one of the leading strategists of the US climate movement, Bill McKibben's, “strategic gestures” serve as interruptions of dominant discourses and enactments of alternative futures. Bsumek et al.…”

“…Bsumek et al. (2019) challenged earlier criticisms of McKibben's rhetoric as “merely” symbolic and, thus, ineffective in addressing the problem and generating public support for the cause (Cox, 2009, 2010; Endres, 2009). Moreover, activists’ use of accusations, which I discuss more at length below, is increasingly discussed as means by which community's norms are performed and negotiated in relation to environmental issues (Andersen & Fløttum, 2022; Bjerggaard Nielsen, 2021; Hoff‐Clausen, 2018).…”

“…DeLuca has discussed environmental activists' "body rhetoric" (DeLuca, 1999b) and staging of "image events" (DeLuca, 1999a) as powerful forms of political argument and social critique. In a similar vein, Bsumek et al (2019) argued that one of the leading strategists of the US climate movement, Bill McKibben's, "strategic gestures" serve as interruptions of dominant discourses and enactments of alternative futures. Bsumek et al (2019) challenged earlier criticisms of McKibben's rhetoric as "merely" symbolic and, thus, ineffective in addressing the problem and generating public support for the cause (Cox, 2009(Cox, , 2010Endres, 2009).…”

“…In a similar vein, Bsumek et al (2019) argued that one of the leading strategists of the US climate movement, Bill McKibben's, "strategic gestures" serve as interruptions of dominant discourses and enactments of alternative futures. Bsumek et al (2019) challenged earlier criticisms of McKibben's rhetoric as "merely" symbolic and, thus, ineffective in addressing the problem and generating public support for the cause (Cox, 2009(Cox, , 2010Endres, 2009). Moreover, activists' use of accusations, which I discuss more at length below, is increasingly discussed as means by which community's norms are performed and negotiated in relation to environmental issues (Andersen & Fløttum, 2022;Bjerggaard Nielsen, 2021;Hoff-Clausen, 2018).…”