Mobilization of emotions and judicialization of protest. The climate emergency and the fight against government inaction

Abstract This article examines how the mobilization of emotions can be fully integrated into the repertoire of contentions. To do this, the analysis must be attentive to the way in which appealing to emotions, far from being limited to impulsive and disruptive actions, is part of the tactical know-how accumulated within social movement organizations. A survey relating to one of the first French climate change litigation cases highlights the complementarity between emotions and formalization of expertise when it comes to forcing the hand of the authorities by rallying a large number of supporters while resorting to the law.