Newsletter

This edition of the newsletter includes our commentary on the global wave of youth-led protests, new research on factory farming, and an invitation to a webinar exploring mobilisation challenges in the AI safety movement.

Its been a busy Summer here at Social Change Lab. This edition of the newsletter includes details about our new AI safety movement report, results from research into Sweden's wetland restoration campaign, and we're also seeking new trustees to join our board. 

Upcoming Event - Direct Action: Has it Come Unstuck? We're pleased to be joining an upcoming event hosted by Fossil Free London: Has direct action come unstuck? The state of climate protest in 2025.

Our new report maps the emerging AI safety movement and finds critical gaps in grassroots mobilisation and public voice.

Clampdowns are making it tougher for people to exercise their right to protest, but activists are finding creative ways to apply pressure - opinion piece by Cathy Rogers & Markus Ostarek

On 10 July, we were pleased to host a great panel of speakers sharing the latest research and insights on the impact of disruptive protest. You can watch the full recording here.

Between 2022 and 2024, a previously unknown campaign group in Sweden made wetlands a national issue. Återställ Våtmarker (Restore Wetlands), inspired by the tactics of Insulate Britain, ran a high-profile campaign of highway blockades and public event disruptions. Two years later, they declared victory, citing a significant government funding pledge and widespread public support for wetland restoration.

​​​From motorway sit-ins to museum protests, disruptive protests are hard to ignore. One of the most high-profile groups behind these actions, the UK-based Just Stop Oil, have announced they’re “hanging up the hi-vis”, and stepping back from civil disobedience. The move has reignited a familiar question: do these tactics win public support—or provoke backlash?

Many activist groups believe there is a clear and urgent moral imperative to stop the companies most responsible for climate breakdown from making the crisis worse. More and more campaigners, communities and organisations are recognising that meaningful change means targeting the industry itself. Not the individual consumer, not the abstract public, but the companies digging and drilling, the banks backing them, and the systems that allow them to carry on.