Master Frame Research Articles

Framing and movement outcomes: the #BringBackOurGirls movement

This paper is concerned with two questions: What are the master frames of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) movement? Why did the #BBOG attract significant global attention but achieve only moderate success in its goal – the release of all the school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok in April 2014? The paper draws on primary and secondary data to argue that the international attention generated by #BBOG framing had historically specific resonance with local contestations for political power. The reverberation of the framing led to the alienation of key political actors in Nigeria who could have helped achieve the movement’s objective. The involvement of elite women in the movement played a major role in its global popularity but their political activities and loyalties before and during movement activities influenced local perceptions of the movement. The #BBOG’s rhetorical over-reliance on international support for achieving the movement’s objective was a strategic error. The #BBOG experience suggests the need for activists, particularly in the developing world, to recognise the constraints of their political context, work with local actors to achieve objectives, and publicise what ‘international support’ means for movement objectives.

Thinking outside the box: the political process model and far right party emergence

ABSTRACT Traditionally, a framework of demand- and supply-side factors provides insights into FRP emergence. This study proposes an alternative framework for FRP emergence by applying a more active – social movement – theory, namely the political process model. The political process model consists of three distinct dimensions that can individually affect FRP emergence. Together, they serve as necessary, but also sufficient, conditions for FRP emergence. First, political opportunities refer to dynamic factors outside the FRP that can provide a favourable (institutional) environment for emergence. Second, resource mobilisation refers to more structural factors through which people can mobilise and engage in collective action. Third, a situationally adjusted master frame includes cognitive and cultural factors that allow FRPs to attract both electoral and financial support. While the model is not without its criticisms, this study argues it provides a much-needed complement to more structural and variable-oriented theories of FRP emergence.

The Signs of Our Discontent: Framing Collective Identity at the Women’s March on Washington

ABSTRACT As organizing logics shift as the result of increasing reliance on digital technology, social movement framing also shifts. Understanding these changes is vital to shaping contemporary movement organizing. This article examines the budding anti-Trump movement at its earliest and thus far largest organized event, the Women’s March on Washington. We conduct a frame analysis of messages shared via protest signs to analyze the constructions of protester collective identity in this digitally-networked movement. Explicit appeals to collective identities framed the march as intergenerational but often aspire to, rather than embody, intersectionality. Opposition framing as Trump as a metonymy for larger social forces also helped to frame collective identity by coalescing around a common adversary. We also find that collective identity is multitudinous, fragmented, and tension-laden. Tensions are managed through construction of a master frame of resistance, which unites protestors through shared action even when the content of frames differs. We discuss the implications of our work for framing processes of collective identity in personalized and individualized networked social movements.

A New Gravitational Paradigm for Relativity and Dynamics, and its Philosophical Scope

The present framework of dynamics and relativity is based on Albert Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity. However, the empty featureless space and its time that are assumed in constructing these theories are in direct conflict with the reality of the vast universe with enormous quantity of matter-energy and its gravity. Gravitational interaction affects spatio-temporal intervals and dynamics in general. Since all the physical phenomena as well as the theories that attempt to describe them are operative in this single real universe, really existing as given, the factual gravitational background of cosmic matter should be the inseparable basis of our theories of relativity and dynamics. After proving the need for a new paradigm of relativity and dynamics based on cosmic gravity, I will outline the empirically consistent theory and its crucial experimental support. I will show that the factual results on the one-way propagation of light and relativistic motional corrections of clocks contradict the current theoretical framework. The gravitational paradigm, called Cosmic Relativity, is Galilean and Machian, and includes all relativistic physical effects, with the universe as the determining master frame. It accords a physical measure of real motion and also, a universal time. Most importantly, Cosmic Relativity is in perfect agreement with all known experimental results. These remarkable developments in physics support and vindicate Henri Bergson’s criticism of Einstein’s theory and his philosophical stand on the notions of universal time and absolute simultaneity.

“Time's Up!”: Framing Collective Impatience for Radical Political Change

Grievance is a prominent feature of mobilization for radical political change. Existing scholarship, however, does not pay sufficient attention to the temporal texture of grievance narratives. Temporally “flat” narratives of grievance are ill equipped to provide either the cognitive or emotional stimulus for major political reorientation. In response to this issue, the article develops the concept of collective exhaustion master frames. These are frames that narrate the aggrieved community's arrival to a threshold of collective impatience. Such narratives have two functions—to legitimize radical departures from prevailing political habits (a cognitive task) and to stimulate collective impatience with the political status quo (an emotional management task). In addition to developing the concept of exhaustion frames, the article demonstrates its empirical relevance by outlining five distinctive framing episodes, starting with the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The conclusion outlines the future directions for the study of collective impatience and points to the range of implications for political psychology and adjacent disciplines.

The Global Justice Movement in the US and the Anti-Neoliberal Master Frame

The global justice movement has been among the most important social movements of the neoliberal era. It represented a model and provided a training ground for future movements and challenged the h...

Civil society as a counterbalance to democratic backlash? The civil society master frame and discursive opportunities of politically active civil organizations in Hungary

ABSTRACT Since the mid-2010s a political discourse began on the role of civil organizations as a counterbalance to the democratic backlash in Hungary. The idea that civil society can be an agent of democratic transition and have control over politics can be dated back in East Central Europe to the end of the 1970s. The paper aims to reveal how the political control function, i.e. the civil society master frame resonates in Hungarian society with the help of a representative survey of 1100 respondents. The data shows that the target group of the civil society master frame can be left-liberal citizens in mid-sized towns, which indicates a discrepancy between discursive and mobilization opportunities as politically active civil organizations can approach citizens from the country’s capital with a high social status.

A virtuous nation and its deserving immigrants. How the immigrant rights movement embraced nationalism

ABSTRACT Immigrants, and particularly undocumented immigrants, are oftentimes seen as disrupting the nation state and destabilizing its boundaries. This paper develops the argument that immigrants can, under certain conditions, actively employ nationalist frames and language to support their rights claims. It presents a two-prong argument to explain for this outcome. First, immigrant rights advocates needed to select a ‘master frame’ that would will resonate with audiences in different regions of the country and counter the anti-immigrant discourses of their adversaries. These constraints favored the selection of a frame that was nationalist enough to make sense to middle-of-the-road Americans and liberal enough to provide ‘deserving immigrants’ a pathway to citizenship. Second, advocates needed to ensure that their frames were delivered with a degree of consistency in different localities across the country. This favored a robust and centralized discursive infrastructure that could exercise dominance over the production and diffusion of core messages. The paper uses a range of sources – including interviews with leaders of immigrant rights associations, organization documents, training materials – support the argument.

The emergence and evolution of master terms in the public debate about livestock farming: Semantic fields, communication strategies and policy practices

In the new public space shaped by short, fast, and networked interactions on social media, single keywords, often used in combination with a hashtag, have become important framing devices that structure conversations and communities. This study provides insight into how keywords become dominant framing devices. We conduct a longitudinal comparative case study on the emergence and evolution of two dominant keywords in the Dutch livestock debate: plofkip (booster-broiler) and megastal (mega-stable). Based on an analysis of social media messages, news articles, and policy debates and documents, we study the role of keywords in semantic fields, communication strategies, and policy practices. We present four dynamics that help to understand how keywords become ‘master terms’: (1) loaded keywords for contested politicized objects can become powerful framing devices because they carry normative meaning and yet are open enough to be applied widely; (2) if activists explicitly and consistently relate the meaning of a loaded term to realities and responsibilities in the sector, the term becomes the signifier of an activist frame; (3) counter terms and frames increase attention, broaden the involvement of actors and deepen the conversation to a value-based debate, through which keywords become master terms; (4) master terms shape policy practices, which in turn reinforces the affordance of the terms in the conversation. We propose the concept of ‘master term’ as a keyword that not only reflects, but activates and establishes a master frame around which conversations and practices revolve.

Authoritarian populism and neo-extractivism in Bolivia and Ecuador: the unresolved agrarian question and the prospects for food sovereignty as counter-hegemony

ABSTRACTThe new economic flows ushered in across the South by the rise of China in particular have permitted some to circumvent the imperial debt trap, notably the ‘pink tide’ states of Latin America. These states, exploiting this window of opportunity, have sought to revisit developmentalism by means of ‘neo-extractivism’. The populist, but now increasingly authoritarian, regimes in Bolivia and Ecuador are exemplars of this trend and have swept to power on the back of anti-neoliberal sentiment. These populist regimes in Bolivia and Ecuador articulate a sub-hegemonic discourse of national developmentalism, whilst forging alliances with counter-hegemonic groups, united by a rhetoric of anti-imperialism, indigenous revival, and livelihood principles such as buen vivir. But this rhetorical ‘master frame’ hides the class divisions and real motivations underlying populism: that of favouring neo-extractivism, principally via sub-imperial capital, to fund the ‘compensatory state’, supporting small scale commercial farmers through reformism whilst largely neglecting the counter-hegemonic aims, and reproductive crisis, of the middle/lower peasantry, and lowland indigenous groups, and their calls for food sovereignty as radical social relational change. These tensions are reflected in the marked shift from populism to authoritarian populism, as neo-extractivism accelerates to fund ‘neo-developmentalism’ whilst simultaneously eroding the livelihoods of subaltern groups, generating intensified political unrest. This paper analyses this transition to authoritarian populism particularly from the perspective of the unresolved agrarian question and the demand by subaltern groups for a radical, or counter-hegemonic, approach to food sovereignty. It speculates whether neo-extractivism’s intensifying political and ecological contradictions can foment a resurgence of counter-hegemonic mobilization towards this end.

Dissent Dressing: The Colour and Fabric of Political Rage

Dissent Dressing: The Colour and Fabric of Political Rage

Antagonistic framing of sustainability by energy suppliers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine inasmuch energy suppliers dedicate communicative resources toward sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR), also paying attention to how they frame it, and if they manage to achieve consistency in their communication or fall victim to contradictions.Design/methodology/approachBy use of a qualitative content analysis, online communication tools (information on corporate websites) as well as content for download were examined in detail. The present study sample comprised of 12 case studies from selected countries (Austria, Russia, Germany, the USA, France and Korea).FindingsOverall, findings indicate that CSR has already been implemented in most energy and energy-related industries; however, it is put forward with varying degrees of attention and intensity, depending on which topics energy companies choose to address communicatively (results were classified according to a frame positioning scheme by Weder, 2012, 2018). Results underscore the fact that, at times, companies are struggling to link their CSR projects back to their core businesses. Yet, a clear trend to politicization can be described as a strong correlation of communication strategies of energy suppliers and political programs of the respective country becomes obvious.Research limitations/implicationsLimited research as to how CSR topics are framed in different branches has been conducted to date; likewise, the energy sector, whose motives has been often subject to public questioning, has received little attention in CSR communication research to date. Hence, ambiguities were presumed to exist.Originality/valueThe present study examines the relevance and framing of CSR in a highly competitive, centralized industry that is challenged by a global process of transition to renewable energy. The results show that the analyzed energy suppliers offer only a limited variety of issue-specific frames; instead CSR as well as sustainability are (ab)used as master frames or “buzz words” in a fairly shallow economic or socio-political argumentation.

Robust Discourse and the Politics of Legitimacy: Framing International Intervention in the Syrian Civil War, 2011–2016

Legitimacy is widely invoked as a master frame in international political discourse. During episodes of contention, this frame is used by opposing sides to advance competing interpretations of the same social problems. Through an analysis of elite political discourses surrounding international intervention in the Syrian Civil War, we examine what distinguishes the effectiveness of actors' framing efforts when they use a shared frame to advance conflicting agendas. We show how features of the objects (i.e., what or who) being framed shape the resonance and stability of the framing. Moreover, we show how framing objects that can be coherently interpreted in multiple ways facilitate the cultivation of discourses that are consistent despite changing social conditions and the evolution of framers' goals. We refer to this as robust discourse and elaborate on the implications of this concept.

The metanarrative of rural environmentalism: Rhetorical activism in Bold Nebraska’s Harvest the Hope

The ongoing, decade-long fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline in the state of Nebraska has incorporated traditional levers of public relations such as media relations and lobbying but has also borrowed from the long-standing tradition of rhetorical activism within U.S. environmental history. Through Fisher’s narrative paradigm, a rhetorical analysis of Bold Nebraska’s Harvest the Hope music festival is provided to understand the role of symbolic appeals in building an environmental activism metanarrative or master frame. Such an analysis shows how the social movement organization communicates to its members and mass audiences through a non-traditional communication approach such as the benefit rock concert. As a site of public relations study, Bold Nebraska’s music festival activism draws from mainstream, alternative, and Indigenous cultural artifacts, symbols, and histories in contesting existing metanarratives. With its incorporation of historical ecological symbols and rhetorical tropes, Harvest the Hope helped attendees and audiences make sense of both the organization and the movement in which they found themselves a part of. By bringing rural and Indigenous communities together, it justified Bold Nebraska’s broader pipeline activism and helped audiences see the project through the lens of a broader, rural-based coalition.

Breaking free from siloes: intersectionality as a collective action frame to address toxic exposures and reproductive health

ABSTRACTThere has been increasing interest in collaborative approaches between the environmental justice (EJ) and reproductive justice (RJ) movements to address the higher burden of toxic exposures and associated reproductive health outcomes in vulnerable communities. This study examined the collective action frames (CAFs) of advocates at the EJ/RJ nexus. CAFs highlight how advocates identify problems and solutions, and motivate action. The use of intersectionality was identified as a main CAF used in three key ways: breaking free from identity-based, issue-based, and movement-based siloes. First, interviewees described breaking free from identity-based siloes by identifying risks of toxic exposures that result from intersecting social locations (e.g. gender, race/ethnicity, income, immigration status) and by equally prioritizing multiple aspects of their identities as they engage in advocacy. Second, they described breaking free from issue-based siloes by developing multi-issue agendas that address a complex web of interrelated problems impacting health. Third, they described breaking free from movement-based siloes by developing cross-movement collaborations to address issues of mutual concern. Among multiple reasons given for cross-movement collaborations, advocates perceived them as valuable in order to disrupt social, political, and economic power imbalances that shape environmental reproductive health inequities, as well as other health and social inequities. Based on these findings, we suggest that intersectionality is a master frame, and thus may be useful to advocates in other social movements addressing intersectional issues. Understanding an intersectionality frame can help to inform advocacy approaches to promote health and health equity, particularly those focused on policies and structural drivers of health.

Riding the wave of success: the role of trans-national diffusion mechanisms in the development of far right parties

ABSTRACTThe far right party (FRP) literature is quite variable-oriented and often undervalues the dynamics that motivate FRP development. Previous research describes the implausibility of developmental independence between FRPs, mainly by identifying extensive similarities in master frame adoption and by introducing trans-national diffusion as an indicator of developmental interdependence between FRPs. To further substantiate this initial claim, the current study formally models how trans-national diffusion between West European FRPs operates, and how one can explicitly reject the notion of FRP independence. First, a master frame change model provides a cognitive account of how and why FRPs consider and adopt an alternative master frame. Second, supporting this theoretical framework, the study distinguishes between two diffusion mechanisms that illustrate how change decisions are interdependent: learning and emulation. To conclude, an empirical illustration suggests that emulation mechanisms are more likely to be prevalent in earlier development, whereas learning mechanisms are more likely to be relevant beyond emergence.

Empowering New Agents of Civil Society or Fostering Good Citizens? Framing Youth Participation in Finnish Youth Organizations

ABSTRACTThis article investigates how nationwide Finnish youth civil society organizations frame their approaches to youth participation. By analyzing data from interviews, websites, and annual reports, five frames are identified. The frames differ in how they define the purpose of participation, whom they see as the main actors, and what kind of member, volunteer, or other participant roles they provide to young people. Three frames are used as master frames that see young people as agents, learners, or targets of support; two subordinate frames expand the scopes of the organizations. Only some of the frames include any concept of integrating young people into the civil society.

Discourses and Practices of Radical Democracy. The 15M movement as a space of mobilization

Social movements are builders of what are known as “grammars of democracy”, that is, values, participatory experiences, political cultures, languages and structures for articulating demands. This article analyses the 15M or indignados (outraged) movement in Spain; a collective action that went beyond classical protests in response to the economic crisis and proposed changes in democratic practices. Social movements, particularly from the 1990s onwards, have focused on democracy as both a means and an end in order to address what they perceive as authoritarian globalization. The article approaches 15M mainly as a space for mobilization articulating the heterogeneity of the movement as well as its effects in Spain (anti-eviction struggles, PAH, social tides, etc.) with a direct reference to the master frame of 'radical democracy'. Methodologically, this work is based upon interviews, focus groups and participant observation conducted from May 2011 to June 2012 during the occupation of public squares and subsequent mobilizations. The text situates this phenomenon in the core of the New Global Movements, and connects it with a decade of similar collective actions in Spain and other parts of the world. Finally, aspects such as the role of the Internet as a tool for and driving force of new models of democracy and the scale of assemblies in relation to deliberative democracy are also discussed.

Frame Analysis of ENGO Conceptualization of Sustainable Forest Management: Environmental Justice and Neoliberalism at the Core of Sustainability

Normative judgments on sustainability underpin concepts that shape the supply scenarios of timber consumption. The modern understanding of sustainable forest management is shaped by a diverse spectrum of social demands, going beyond the principle of sustainable yield management. Rival stakeholders compete to incorporate their ideas and interpretations of sustainable forest management into policy institutions. Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) have emerged as one of the dominant stakeholders in the forest-based sector. We set out to explore ENGO-specific conceptualizations of sustainable forest management and investigate differences in understanding among various ENGOs. By conducting a frame analysis of ENGO press releases, we identified two master frames: environmental justice and environmentalist frames. A difference in the emphasis placed on procedural and distributive justice as well as a different standpoint in the commons versus commodity debate emerged as the main divergences between the master frames. The results of our study demonstrate how the differences between the master frames underpin different conceptualizations of sustainable forest management. On the one hand, the ENGOs associated with the environmental justice master frame advocate for the broader implementation of community forest management based on power-sharing. On the other hand, the ENGOs associated with the environmentalist master frame promote a wide range of approaches associated with ecosystem management and social forestry paradigms. Moreover, the ENGOs associated with the environmentalist master frame challenge the concept of sustainable forest management as defined by the Helsinki and Montreal process by advocating for ecosystem management. The ENGOs associated with the environmental justice master frame reject the mainstream concept of sustainable forest management in any guise. Future research on ethical issues underlying forestry concepts may provide more conceptual and operational clarity for both forest managers and policy-makers.

Between deliberation and contestation: the convergence of struggles against austerity and its world in the Nuit Debout movement

ABSTRACTNuit debout represents one of the main mobilizations in France in recent years and the most important anti-austerity movement in the country since the financial crisis. Based on document analysis and fieldwork, this paper addresses the development of master frames within the context of free spaces. The introduction of the parliamentarian debate on the French Jobs Act can be understood as a suddenly imposed grievance that triggered the emergence in France of a movement against austerity and the perceived retrenchment of democratic life. This happened as the grievance was framed within the French left-wing movements through the adoption and adaptation of ideas coming from a movement cascade that started in 2008 in Iceland, peaked in 2011 in Spain, Greece and the US and continued in countries as Turkey in 2013. Moving from structure to action, the paper highlights how Nuit debout provided a platform for the convergence of previously disconnected mobilizations. In particular, the movement’s self-characterization as a ‘convergence of struggles’ and as a movement ‘against the Jobs Act and its world’ developed within free spaces in which contentious but also deliberative practices were accommodated.