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I cannot fix what doesn’t exist: Energy Poverty Discourse(s) in Germany

Jakob, Felix LU (2022) WPMM43 20221
Department of Political Science
Abstract
The war in Ukraine has made the issue of energy poverty salient again in Germany after a long period of political neglect and limited attention. In studying the issue, I bridged agency and structure by employing Hajer’s Argumentative Discourse Analysis to examine both discourse coalitions and their storylines between 2017 and early 2022. I examined the discursive mechanisms behind the marginalization by turning Fraser’s reflections on misrecognition into a framework for analyzing the apparent discursive repudiation and de-structuralization of energy poverty. I find that the debate is structured by a plethora of misconceptions about both the nature of the problem and those affected by it, leading it to focus on micro-level solutions. A... (More)
The war in Ukraine has made the issue of energy poverty salient again in Germany after a long period of political neglect and limited attention. In studying the issue, I bridged agency and structure by employing Hajer’s Argumentative Discourse Analysis to examine both discourse coalitions and their storylines between 2017 and early 2022. I examined the discursive mechanisms behind the marginalization by turning Fraser’s reflections on misrecognition into a framework for analyzing the apparent discursive repudiation and de-structuralization of energy poverty. I find that the debate is structured by a plethora of misconceptions about both the nature of the problem and those affected by it, leading it to focus on micro-level solutions. A dissonant left-wing coalition has so far failed to overcome these misconceptions and mainstream the issue, while a right-wing coalition seems to have succeeded in telling a story that marginalizes it. A far-right coalition remains discursively isolated. I conclude that misrecognition has been used as a non-policymaking tool and that narrative coherence is key for discourse coalitions seeking to put a new issue on the agenda. Finally, I argue that the intentional and unintentional misrecognition of energy poverty is a form of injustice and leads to bad governance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Jakob, Felix LU
supervisor
organization
course
WPMM43 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
energy poverty, misrecognition, discourse coalitions, storylines, non-policymaking
language
English
id
9080013
date added to LUP
2022-07-03 09:04:38
date last changed
2022-07-03 09:04:38
@misc{9080013,
  abstract     = {{The war in Ukraine has made the issue of energy poverty salient again in Germany after a long period of political neglect and limited attention. In studying the issue, I bridged agency and structure by employing Hajer’s Argumentative Discourse Analysis to examine both discourse coalitions and their storylines between 2017 and early 2022. I examined the discursive mechanisms behind the marginalization by turning Fraser’s reflections on misrecognition into a framework for analyzing the apparent discursive repudiation and de-structuralization of energy poverty. I find that the debate is structured by a plethora of misconceptions about both the nature of the problem and those affected by it, leading it to focus on micro-level solutions. A dissonant left-wing coalition has so far failed to overcome these misconceptions and mainstream the issue, while a right-wing coalition seems to have succeeded in telling a story that marginalizes it. A far-right coalition remains discursively isolated. I conclude that misrecognition has been used as a non-policymaking tool and that narrative coherence is key for discourse coalitions seeking to put a new issue on the agenda. Finally, I argue that the intentional and unintentional misrecognition of energy poverty is a form of injustice and leads to bad governance.}},
  author       = {{Jakob, Felix}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{I cannot fix what doesn’t exist: Energy Poverty Discourse(s) in Germany}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}