Climate politics in populist times: climate change communication strategies in Germany, Spain, and Austria
Routledge - London
2024
242 p.
political ideology ; climate change ; extremism ; populism ; environmental policy
Politics
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003536987
English
Bibliogr.;Index
"This book navigates the neglected territory where far-right populism intersects with climate change, presenting a nuanced examination that transcends traditional research boundaries.
In recent decades, Europe has grappled with the surge of far-right and populist movements, fueling robust academic debates. Simultaneously, the global discourse on climate change has become increasingly pervasive in societal and political spheres. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of how populist far-right parties discuss climate change within their national contexts, focusing on Germany, Spain, and Austria. Using a meticulous methodology rooted in critical discourse studies, Mirjam Gruber examines the perspectives on climate change held by mainstream parties thereby defining the national policy field. Gruber then delves into the discourse about climate change of populist far-right parties, revealing a complex web of obstructionist arguments intricately tied to the national policy context. By analyzing a diverse array of documents spanning five years, including social media posts, press releases, parliamentary debates, and policy documents, Gruber uncovers a stark contrast between the willingness of mainstream parties to address climate concerns and the obstructionist rhetoric employed by their far-right counterparts. This illuminating exploration underscores the importance of context in understanding political communication and provides profound insights into how different nations frame the climate change narrative."
This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Digital
ISBN (PDF) : 9781003536987
Table of contents:
1 Introduction 1
A very short literature overview 3
Research questions and research design 5
Relevance of this research project 7
The European context 8
Structure of the book 10
References 11
2 Navigating the discourse: unravelling climate change communication, political orientation, and populist far-right ideology 18
Conceptualisations of climate change scepticism, denial, and obstruction 19
Climate change communication and political orientation 23
Nationalism 28
Ecofascism 31
Climate change communication and populist far-right actors 33
Analysing the arguments 34
The ideational approach as an enlightening theoretical framework 38
The role of populist ideology 51
Chapter summary 55
References 56
3 Methodology: innovatively integrating comparative aspects in critical discourse studies 77
Germany, Spain, and Austria: data and cases 77
Selection and justification of the time frame 78
Selection and justification of the cases 78
Selection and justification of the data 80
Critical discourse studies: DHA and BG 87
The policy field of climate change: DHA and BG 89
The discourse about climate change in populist far-right communication: DHA 91
Chapter summary 95
References 95
4 Decoding climate policy fields in Germany, Spain, and Austria: a deep dive into mainstream parties’ communication 99
Germany and the climate 99
The policy field of climate change in Germany from 2016 to 2018 104
The policy field of climate change in Germany from 2019 to 2020 108
Discussing party similarities and differences 113
Spain and the climate 114
The policy field of climate change in Spain from 2016 to 2018 118
The policy field of climate change in Spain from 2019 to 2020 122
Discussing party similarities and differences 127
Austria and the climate 128
The policy field of climate change in Austria from 2016 to 2018 133
The policy field of climate change in Austria from 2019 to 2020 136
Discussing party similarities and differences 142
Chapter summary 144
References 145
5 Understanding far-rights climate stand: hostility, environmental self-perception, and climate obstruction 150
The AfD against the climate 151
Entry-level analysis of discourse topics 152
In-depth analysis of discourse strategies 153
Vox against the climate 162
Entry-level analysis of discourse topics 163
In-depth analysis of discourse strategies 164
The FPÖ against the climate 172
Entry-level analysis of discourse topics 173
In-depth analysis of discourse strategies 175
Chapter summary 185
References 186
6 Contextualising and comparing: climate obstruction within the national policy field 189
Starting easy: how does the presence of climate change among mainstream parties and PFRPs correlate? 190
Gaining traction: how do discourses about climate change by PFRP relate to their respective national political fields? 191
Germany and its economy 191
Spain and its urgency 193
Austria and its opposition to nuclear power 195
Closing thoughts 196
Delving further: how do PFRPs interact with each other and what does that say about populism? 197
Practical implication, limitations, and future research 204
Chapter summary 206
References 207
7 Conclusion 213
References 216
Index
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.