Meeting the challenge of social mobilization with participant turnover: knowledge transmission in the U.S. youth climate movement

In the past decade, the U.S. has seen a proliferation of youth-led climate organizations and activist groups. However, the youth climate movement faces a dilemma: the time horizon of the movement far exceeds the tenure of most members and leaders. In other words, youth climate activists are highly prone to aging out of youth-based organizing. How does the youth climate movement create longevity when faced with high participant turnover? Based on participant observation and interviews with 30 activists and community organizers, I argue that mechanisms for knowledge transmission within the movement–including institutionalized training programs and intergenerational relationships–facilitate the movement’s endurance despite activist attrition. I conclude by considering this paper’s empirical implications for the study of youth climate activism, as well as its theoretical implications for the study of social movements with long time horizons.