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Covert repertoires: ecotage in the UK

Doherty

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Abstract

Ecological sabotage (ecotage) has been a feature of the more radical parts of the environmental movement in the Western world for several decades. While it may be perceived as being the preserve of underground cells of 'eco-terrorists', in the UK those who carry out small-scale acts of sabotage are also often engaged in relatively conventional political activity; view sabotage as a complement to other action, not as an end in itself; and are committed to avoiding physical harm to people. Drawing on ethnographic data from research with British activists, this article seeks to define ecotage and to explain its place in the repertoires of the environmental direct action movement in the UK. It is argued that the self-limiting form of ecotage in the UK has its roots in cross-movement debates that have developed over several decades and that national traditions remain important in understanding the development of social movement repertoires.

Publication Date Jan 1, 2004
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Social Movement Studies
Print ISSN 1474-2837
Publisher Routledge
Pages 199 - 220
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/1474283042000266128
Keywords Earth First!, ecotage, repertoires, non-violent direct action (NVDA), Earth Liberation Front; affinity groups
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1080/1474283042000266128

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