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Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Fridays for Future's Disruptive Potential: An Inconvenient Youth Between Moderate and Radical Ideas

Jens Marquardt

Frontiers in Communication · 2020

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Summary

This discourse analysis examines how the Fridays for Future school strike movement in Germany functions beyond climate advocacy, exploring competing visions between moderate and radical approaches to societal transformation. Through analysis of media discourse, official documents, speeches, and interviews with youth leaders and experts, the study employs a sociotechnical imaginaries lens to illuminate tensions within the movement's self-understanding and broader political implications. The research suggests that school strikes reflect contestation over fundamental visions of social life and political order, extending beyond climate action alone.

UK applicability

The framework and findings regarding youth climate activism discourse and competing visions of transformation may be relevant to understanding similar school strike movements and political contestation in the United Kingdom, though direct applicability would depend on comparative analysis of UK media discourse and youth movement rhetoric.

Key measures

Thematic analysis of competing student-led visions of the future; identification of moderate versus radical approaches to climate action and societal transformation using sociotechnical imaginaries framework

Outcomes reported

The study analysed discourse in news media, official documents, and speeches, complemented by qualitative interviews with youth representatives and experts, to identify competing imaginaries and themes of contestation within the Fridays for Future movement in Germany.

Theme
Policy, governance & rights
Subject
Food & agricultural policy
Study type
Research
Study design
Discourse analysis with qualitative interviews
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Germany
System type
Other
DOI
10.3389/fcomm.2020.00048
Catalogue ID
SNmokbvsps-x1k14w

Topic tags

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