Climate Politics in Populist Times

Mirjam Gruber is a Post-Doc Researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies of Eurac Research, Bozen-Bolzano (Italy). She completed her doctoral studies in Political Science at the University of Leipzig (Germany), focusing on climate change communication. In 2022, she enhanced her academic pursuits with a five-month research visit at the University of Leicester (United Kingdom). Until 2017, she pursued her Master's degree in Political Science and Sustainable Development at the University of Bern (Switzerland) and the University of Konstanz (Germany). During her Bachelor's studies, she specialized in International Development and Cooperation at the University of Bologna (Italy) and the University of Valladolid (Spain). Her current research interests include climate change communication, populism, far-right parties, critical discourse studies and mainstreaming of the far right.

• 1. IntroductionA very short literature overviewResearch questions and research designRelevance of this research projectThe European contextStructure of the bookReferences2. Navigating the Discourse: Unravelling Climate Change Communication, Political Orientation, and Populist Far-Right IdeologyConceptualisations of climate change scepticism, denial, and obstructionClimate change communication and political orientationNationalismEcofascismClimate change communication and populist far-right actorsAnalysing the argumentsThe ideational approach as an enlightening theoretical frameworkThe role of populist ideologyChapter summaryReferences3. Methodology: Innovatively Integrating Comparative Aspects in Critical Discourse StudiesGermany, Spain and Austria: Data and casesSelection and justification of the time frameSelection and justification of the casesSelection and justification of the dataCritical Discourse Studies: DHA and BGThe policy field of climate change: DHA and BGThe discourse about climate change in populist far-right communication: DHAChapter summaryReferences4. Decoding Climate Policy Fields in Germany, Spain and Austria: A Deep Dive into Mainstream Parties' CommunicationGermany and the climateThe policy field of climate change in Germany from 2016 to 2018The policy field of climate change in Germany from 2019 to 2020Discussing party similarities and differencesSpain and the climateThe policy field of climate change in Spain from 2016 to 2018The policy field of climate change in Spain from 2019-2020Discussing party similarities and differencesAustria and the climateThe policy field of climate change in Austria from 2016 to 2018The policy field of climate change in Austria from 2019-2020Discussing party similarities and differencesChapter summaryReferences5. Understanding Far-Rights Climate Stand: Hostility, Environmental Self-Perception, and Climate ObstructionThe AfD against the climateEntry-level analysis of discourse topicsIn-depth analysis of discourse strategiesVox against the climateEntry-level analysis of discourse topicsIn-depth analysis of discourse strategiesThe FPÖ against the climateEntry-level analysis of discourse topicsIn-depth analysis of discourse strategiesChapter SummaryReferences6. Contextualizing and Comparing: Climate Obstruction within the National Policy FieldStarting easy: How does the presence of climate change among mainstream parties and PFRPs correlate?Gaining traction: How do discourses about climate change by PFRP relate to their respective national political fields?Germany and its economySpain and its urgencyAustria and its opposition to nuclear powerClosing ThoughtsDelving further: How do PFRPs interact with each other and what does that say about populism?Practical implication, limitations, and future researchChapter summaryReferences7. ConclusionReferencesIndex