From throwing soup to suing governments, there’s strategy to climate activism’s seeming chaos − here’s where it’s headed next

Climate marches and protests often aim for local impact. (Photo: iStock.) & by Shannon Gibson, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Climate activism has been on a wild ride lately, from the shock tactics of young activists throwing soup on famous paintings to a surge in climate lawsuits by savvy plaintiffs. While some people consider disruptive “antics” like attacking museum artwork with food to be confusing and alienating for the public, research into social movements shows there is a method to the seeming madness. By strategically using both radical forms of civil disobedience and more mainstream public actions, such as lobbying and state-sanctioned demonstrations, activists can grab the public’s attention while making less aggressive tactics seem much more acceptable. Two activists were arrested after throwing tomato soup on Vincent Van Gogh’s glass-covered ‘Sunflowers’ at the National Gallery in London in 2023 in a bid to draw media attention so they could talk about oil’s role in climate change. Just Stop Oil/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images I study the role of disruptive politics and social movements in global climate policy and have chronicled the ebb, flow and dynamism of climate activism over time. With today’s political institutions largely focused...