Grief and Action: emotion as an infrastructure in climate movements

This thesis explores the role of emotion as a political force in contemporary youth-led climate activism. Rather than treating emotions such as grief, anger, and anxiety as secondary to rational policy making, this project argues that emotional expression forms an infrastructure to resistance in climate politics.Through analysis of movements like Fridays for Future and figures such as Greta Thunberg, as well as cultural productions including feminist comics and social media, the project traces how emotional responses to climate change generate shared identity, moral urgency, and collective action. Drawing from psychological studies, discourse analysis, and comparative research across Sweden, Germany, and the U.S., this thesis demonstrates how emotions both motivate activism and challenge norms of political legitimacy. It concludes that emotional protest is not only ethically justified but also effective, pressuring institutions, shaping public discourse, and redefining boundaries of climate politics.

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Grief and Action: emotion as an infrastructure in climate movements

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