Environmental Public Debate: In the Context of the Arctic in Russian and Norwegian Media

Abstract

This interdisciplinary and comparative study explores environmental public debate on the Arctic in the context of Russian and Norwegian media. The aim of the study is to define how environmental public debate is constructed in the media and its possible effect on the present resource-oriented policy-making processes regarding the Arctic in the perspective of the climate change. The novel aspect of this study is that analysis of the public debate is conducted in parallel with the analysis of official debates. The research is based on the discourse analysis of several Russian and Norwegian media sources within the time frame of May 2013/2014. With the focus on newspapers articles and radio programs in both countries I intend to check whether the idea of sustainable development is perceived as an efficient and practical alternative to argue against resource depletion and for conservation of the Arctic ecosystem. Important part of this study concerns the evolution of historical representations and narratives of the Arctic. It helps to trace modern Arctic narratives and discourses from both countries historical context.