History has its eyes on you: A rhetorical analysis of the arguments made against Swedish climate activists and its historical resemblance to the opposition of women's suffrage in Sweden.
2024 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Sustainable development
Sustainable Development
Abstract [en]
Similarities exist between the current climate change movement and the earlier suffragette movement. Both are progressive, challenge the status quo, have feminist underpinnings, and face opposition from the political right and through the media. However, the link between the similarities in argumentative opposition between the two, remains unestablished. Therefore, this study seeks to first establish the argumentative strategies developed to oppose climate activists and then place these in a historical perspective by comparing them to the opposition to women's suffrage in Sweden. Using rhetorical topoi analysis, this study examined Facebook posts to find, categorize, and analyze arguments with the help of green backlash and countermovement theory. These findings were then compared with pre-established arguments against women's suffrage in Sweden. The study finds that the argumentative strategies deployed against Swedish climate activists are characterized by climate denial, hostility, and mockery, which are used as tactics to discredit, undermine, and oppose them. The analysis also shows a historical resemblance between the opposition to climate activists and the suffragettes, highlighting the recurring resistance to socially progressive pro-women movements.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. , p. 43
Keywords [en]
Climate activist, Social media, Opposition, Women’s suffrage, Countermovement, Green backlash, Climate denial
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-65445OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-65445DiVA, id: diva2:1879105
Subject / course
HLK, Media and Communication Studies
Supervisors
Examiners
2024-06-282024-06-272025-10-13Bibliographically approved