In this “Graduate Friday” session of the Online Hot Politics Lab, PhD candidate Tobias Widmann (European University Institute) will give a talk titled “How Renewable Energy Divides Politics. The Impact of Wind Turbines on Moral-Emotional Language in Political Discoursee“. Aftwards PhD candidate Maaike Homan (University of Amsterdam) will give a talk (title TBA).
Abstract for “How Renewable Energy Divides Politics. The Impact of Wind Turbines on Moral-Emotional Language in Political Discoursee” (Tobias Widmann): Climate change became an increasingly polarized issue over recent years. Research has shown that elite cues and, in particular, the emotional framing of the climate change debate matter for the shaping of public opinion. Yet, we still have limited knowledge about factors influencing emotional political discourse. In this study, I investigate how local exposure to climate-mitigation policies impacts the political debate. To do so, I combine information on wind turbines with parliamentary speeches from Germany. Using novel machine learning classifiers, I measure discrete emotional appeals in parliamentary speeches. Relying on generalized difference-in-difference models, I will investigate how individual politicians change their moral-emotional rhetoric after wind turbines have been constructed in their electoral district.
The talks will be followed by a Q&A, and everbody is welcome to join via Zoom: https://uva-live.zoom.us/j/96492065253 at 3pm (CET).
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