Grassroots Social Resistance Movements: The Influence of Conflict Narratives in Relation to Mining Policy Development in Australia and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The development of unconventional gas is widely disputed and has generated a global anti-fracking movement protest. Using a qualitative approach, this study seeks to explore if and how the anti-fracking movements in Australia and the UK influence the mining policies and politics around fracking. Using thematic and narrative analysis, I argue that the anti-fracking movement is a social movement that has three characteristics: (i) key pro- and anti- narratives, (ii) use of the discretionary principle and (iii) deployment of a range of protest mechanisms to drive and shape conflict about unconventional gas, which in turn affects policy. Pro- and anti-fracking narratives across Australia and the UK have impelled a range of circumstances. The anti-fracking narratives have spurred social conflict and organised protest. Pro-fracking narratives have motivated governments to exercise their discretionary power to favour industry by establishing governance regimes that facilitate industry projects, inhibit community engagement, and criminalise protest. A social movement has grown in response to these inherent tensions. The anti-fracking movement is galvanised by community identity, values, and perception, thus building opposition to fracking through numerous forms of protest. The resolutions for this conflict lie in their reconciliation between community and government. The analysis concludes that governance regimes that afford greater public participation, consideration of community concerns in decision-making and knowledge production will work towards resolving the social problems of the industry and thus the tensions at the heart of the anti-fracking movement.