Being Skeptical? Exploring Far-Right Climate-Change Communication in Germany

Abstract

This article explores climate-change communication by the German far right-spanning a continuum which ranges from anti-liberal democracy radical-right populists, to the extreme right and to antidemocratic neo-Nazis-and asks: how do these actors articulate the phenomenon of climate change? In responding to this question, we conduct a discourse network analysis which identifies relations between actors, objects, phenomena and processes, and point out differences/similarities across a continuum of exemplary far-right sources. The investigated actors put forward a rather skeptical climate change narrative, even though differences exist as the significance attached to the Volk and its sovereignty, rooted in far-right ideology, sometimes overrides, and sometimes is in harmony with, their ideological-driven affinity with nature protection. We thus contribute to the growing body of knowledge on climate-change communication and, more specifically, on the link between ideology and climate-change skepticism.

Right‐Wing Populism and Climate Change Denial: The Roles of Exclusionary and Anti‐Egalitarian Preferences, Conservative Ideology, and Antiestablishment Attitudes

“…Less concern for climate injustice could make it easier to demand more evidence for climate change before admitting it. Climate change denial could also in part reflect opposition to transnational collaborations and international influences that are unavoidable when developing climate policies (Forchtner, Kroneder & Wetzel, 2018).…”

“…Populist antiestablishment views could help explain climate change denial (Forchtner, Kroneder & Wetzel, 2018). Indeed, dismissive discourses regarding climate change often portray the mainstream researchers as untrustworthy and corrupt (Cann & Raymond, 2018).…”

“…Despite the extensive research into the relationships between climate change denial and traditional mainstream political views, less is known about the correlation between denial and populist attitudes. Populist right‐wing parties have been growing in several Western countries over the past decades, and politicians and supporters of these parties are particularly inclined to dismiss climate change (Forchtner & Kølvraa, 2015; Forchtner, Kroneder & Wetzel, 2018; Jylhä, Rydgren & Strimling, 2019a, Lockwood, 2018). Thus, lack of research in this area is surprising.…”

Climate Change Denial among Radical Right-Wing Supporters

“…Being an issue that needs to be solved through wide-ranging political solutions and societal reforms, climate change has become politicized in several countries, with politically right-leaning individuals expressing more climate change denial and opposition to climate policies than individuals that lean toward the left [4][5][6]. Recent analyses suggest that politicians and voters of far-right (i.e., radical and extreme) parties are particularly inclined to dismiss climate change [7][8][9], but only a few studies have empirically investigated possible explanations for this. The far right differs from the mainstream right in some important domains (most importantly in their focus on sociocultural issues and antiestablishment rhetoric instead of the traditional socioeconomic issues), which makes it unclear if the extant research results can be applied when explaining their views on climate change.…”

Corporatism, fractionalization and state interventionism: the development of communication studies in Brazil

“…Forchtner et al. 2018 ). Mede and Schäfer ( 2020 , p. 484) refer to its specific arrangement as science-related populism, which they define in terms of a moral antagonism between “an (allegedly) virtuous ordinary people and an (allegedly) unvirtuous academic elite”.…”