Toward a problem-centered approach to social movements: the case of European climate activism

Abstract

This paper addresses a significant gap in social movement theory by introducing a “problem-centered approach” to understand how the nature of problems influences collective efforts to address them. Traditionally, social movement theory has focused on how movements frame problems and navigate issue-specific opportunity structures. However, I argue that the nature of the problems movements seek to address also matter outside how they are understood subjectively and thereby fundamentally shapes the structures they navigate, creating specific strategic dilemmas and challenges. Drawing on insights from social problems literature, climate governance, and environmental sociology, the problem-centered approach posits that problems affect movements as motivation and context and through underlying features such as spatiality, temporality, and complexity. Using the European climate movement as a case study, the paper illustrates how this approach provides a deeper understanding of why particular strategic challenges arise and how they shape the movement's trajectory and outcomes. The problem-centered approach not only enhances our understanding of climate activism but also offers a framework for comparative research across different movements, enabling a more comprehensive analysis of how the nature of problems influences collective efforts to address them.