Narratives of Climate Change. Outline of a systematic approach to narrative analysis in cultural sociology. Von der Fakultät Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften der Universität Stuttgart zur Erlangung der Würde einer Doktorin der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften (Dr. rer . pol.) genehmigte Abhandlung. Vorgelegt von Annika Arnold aus Göttingen Hauptberichter: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ortwin Renn Zweitberichter: Prof. Dr. Stephan Moebius Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 13.10.2015 Institut für Sozialwissenschaften der Universität Stuttgart, Abteilung für Technik- und Umweltsoziologie (SOWI V) 2015 Table of Contents Summary (English) ..................................................................................................... 6 Summary (German) .................................................................................................... 8 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 11 1.1 Research questions ..................................................................................... 13 1.2 Addressing research gaps in narrative analysis and climate change communication ........................................................................................... 15 1.3 Outline of the study ...................................................................................... 17 2 Current state of research: social sciences approaches to climate change ........ 18 2.1 Social Sciences and the phenomenon of climate change ........................... 19 2.2 Knowledge-theoretical approaches to climate change ................................ 21 2.3 Studies of attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about climate change ............. 25 2.3.1 Attitudes and beliefs towards climate change ....................................... 26 2.3.2 Knowledge about climate processes, causes of, and solutions to climate change ................................................................................................. 31 2.3.3 Studies on requirements for successful climate change communication ............................................................................................................ 32 2.4 Discourse-analytic studies: media logic, scientific reporting and science communication ........................................................................................... 37 2.4.1 Media coverage of climate change I: the issue attention cycle ............. 40 2.4.2 Media coverage of climate change II: the norm of balanced reporting .. 43 2.4.3 Science communication: critiquing the deficit model of information ...... 44 2.5 The role of culture in climate change research ............................................ 49 2.5.1 Cultural studies and cultural theory approaches ................................... 50 2.5.2 Cultural sociology approach towards climate change: analysis of narratives ............................................................................................. 59 2.6 Conclusions from the state of research ....................................................... 66 3 Theoretical foundations I: cultural sociology and cultural theory ....................... 69 3.1 Origins of cultural sociology: the cultural turn .............................................. 71 3.1.1 The concept of meaning in cultural sociology ....................................... 71 3.1.2 Semiotics in cultural sociology: Clifford Geertz ..................................... 75 3.1.3 Semiotics in cultural sociology: Ferdinand de Saussure ....................... 76 3.2 The strong program in cultural sociology vs. the weak program of culture .. 79 3.2.1 The relative autonomy of culture ........................................................... 83 3.2.2 Binary oppositions as structural elements of a strong program in cultural sociology ............................................................................................. 85 3.3 Conclusions of the first part of theoretical foundations ................................ 89 3.3.1 Critical response to cultural sociology ................................................... 89 3.3.2 Conclusions from the theoretical outline of cultural sociology ............... 90 4 Theoretical foundations II: narrative analysis .................................................... 91 4.1 The role of narrative in social organization .................................................. 93 4.2 Formal definitions of narrative ..................................................................... 96 4.3 A typology of narrative analysis ................................................................... 98 4.3.1 The Structural Model of Narrative: the structure of narrative ................ 99 4.3.2 The Structural Model of Genre: the form of narrative .......................... 102 4.3.3 The Narrative Policy Framework: the content of narrative .................. 107 4.4 Shortcomings of the presented models of narrative analysis .................... 109 4.5 Structure – Form – Content: towards an integrated model of cultural narrative analysis .................................................................................................... 110 5 Methodical approach ....................................................................................... 117 5.1 A qualitative approach with problem-centered interviews .......................... 117 5.2 Process of data collection .......................................................................... 119 5.3 Constructing the case studies ................................................................... 121 5.3.1 Case study 1: Enzkreis, Baden Württemberg, Germany ..................... 123 5.3.2 Case study 2: Lower Hudson River Valley, New York, USA ............... 124 5.4 Conducting interviews: methodical concerns ............................................. 126 5.5 Process of editing data .............................................................................. 127 5.6 Data evaluation.......................................................................................... 128 5.7 Reliability and validity of the data .............................................................. 130 6 Empirical findings: climate change narratives .................................................. 133 6.1 Narrative of economy ................................................................................ 135 6.1.1 Negative economic consequences ..................................................... 135 6.1.2 Positive economic consequences ....................................................... 140 6.2 Narrative of climate change as political topic ............................................. 143 6.2.1 Climate change as partisan distinction ................................................ 143 6.2.2 Climate change reflecting the role of a nation ..................................... 149 6.3 Narrative of environment ........................................................................... 154 6.4 Narrative of humanity and solidarity .......................................................... 161 6.5 Narrative of responsibility and history ........................................................ 164 6.6 Other topics derived from the dataset ........................................................ 168 6.6.1 Vulnerability of local community .......................................................... 168 6.6.2 The issue of adaptation ....................................................................... 169 6.6.3 Climate change communication .......................................................... 170 6.6.4 Uncertainty and scientific logic ............................................................ 171 7 Discussion of empirical findings ...................................................................... 173 7.1 Discussion of empirical implications .......................................................... 173 7.1.1 Recurring motifs and themes .............................................................. 173 7.1.2 Topics as result of the relationship between storyteller and audience 175 7.1.3 Boundaries between characters .......................................................... 176 7.2 Discussion of theoretical implications ........................................................ 179 7.2.1 Hierarchies and the role of characters ................................................ 179 7.2.2 The foundation of binary codes ........................................................... 181 7.2.3 Narratives exist in various forms simultaneously ................................ 182 7.3 Summary of selected aspects of findings .................................................. 184 8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 185 8.1 Suggested implications for policy makers .................................................. 185 8.2 Critical review of the study ......................................................................... 188 8.3 Outlook on further research ....................................................................... 190 References ............................................................................................................. 193 Appendix A: List of interviewees and short description ........................................... 209 Appendix B: Code book .......................................................................................... 215 Appendix C: Schematic presentation of narratives ................................................