Description
Climate activism has surged worldwide, with nonviolent sit-ins playing a central role in demanding urgent policy action. In Portugal, these protests have garnered significant public attention, raising essential questions about social resistance and public perception. Drawing from Nonviolent Action Studies, we analyse how Portuguese climate sit-ins are signified and which factors shape vernacular narratives of support and backlash. Through social media analysis, we examine public responses to these protests, revealing how various factors shape opposition and supportive narratives. Our findings highlight both well-studied elements such as perceptions of violence, and understudied factors including perceptions of legality and threats to everyday security. In Portugal's highly polarised social context, with increasingly effective state smart repression, these factors generally shape public opinion against climate resistance, with support increasing only when perceptions shift the subject of insecurity from protesters to the state. By examining digital narratives surrounding these sit-ins, this paper offers insight into how vernacular discourse influences the evolving landscape of climate activism, situating Portuguese protests within global patterns and highlighting the significance of nonviolent action in climate justice efforts. This study enriches understanding of contemporary climate resistance and the construction of support and backlash, providing valuable implications for activists, policymakers, and scholars.
