Living Differently and Changing Society: The Everyday Ecological Practices of Climate Protesters in Italy and France

This research contributes to the literature on everyday ecological practices (EEPs) within the framework of climate mobilization. While environmental politics has often framed sustainability as a matter of individual responsibility, the climate mobilizations emerging after 2018 refocused attention on the state’s central role in addressing the climate crisis. This renewed emphasis on state responsibility coexists with an ambivalence among activists toward individual action. Research shows that while some activists see lifestyle changes as part of the solution, others consider them inadequate given the scale of the problem. This tension between practice and meaning lies at the core of my study. This study explores how ecological practices are adopted and justified by participants in climate protests. First, it examines whether the adoption of these practices is uniform across respondents and identifies the social traits most associated with their uptake. Second, it investigates the discursive frameworks used to justify these practices. The study focuses on Italy and France—two countries with broadly similar environmental trajectories, though recent mobilizations reveal some differences. It adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data. Surveys from 11 climate mobilizations (2021–2023, N = 1,646) gathered data on protesters’ EEPs and their socio-political traits, while 51 semi-structured interviews provided insight into the reflexive foundations of these practices. The findings show that EEPs are shaped by socio-demographic factors—such as gender and family background—as well as political orientations and activist experiences. Activists justify these practices through various arguments (responsibility, guilt, alignment, exemplarity, preparation) that form broader systems of justification. The findings also point to potential connections between social traits and systems of justification—highlighting, in turn, possible links between reflexivity and social conditions. This thesis argues that the adoption and justification of EEPs among climate activists reflect both their underlying social dispositions and the socialization processes within activist circles. By linking individual life choices to political commitments, this research provides a lens to understand the co-evolution of everyday ecology and activism, while also seeking to integrate reflexive dimensions into a dispositional sociological framework.