As part of his research fellowship at the Digital Media Research Centre at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, Henri Mütschele will present his current research project on August 15, titled “Climate Movements’ Public-Strategic Communication as a Driver for Democratic Change? An Analytical Framework on Frames and Arguments.”
Climate movements have become central actors in the contentious domain of climate discourse. In Germany, a variety of distinct groups of climate activists have emerged, sharing similar political objectives but differing significantly in their protest tactics. Climate movements employ persuasion as a means of strategic communication with supporters and the public, aiming to influence the political-administrative system and the public regarding their far-reaching and controversial demands. This role serves to facilitate a central societal mediation function in democracies. From a normative perspective, social movements are obliged to provide justifications for their claims to ensure a certain degree of argumentative rationality.
This talk will examine the persuasive functions of climate movements’ communicatively conveyed interpretations, demands, and actions, taking into account the underlying justifications of the claims made. To identify justifications and analyze their persuasive functions, a combination of frame and argument analysis is proposed. This allows for the empirical measurement of the frequency and structure of justifications for claims made by means of a quantitative content analysis. In the hybrid media system, different social media platforms are presumably used differently for different target groups, requiring the analysis of several channels. This research project contributes to a better understanding of how social movements can enhance democratic change through persuasive agency.
For more details, see the seminar flyer.