Policy Discourse and Sustainability

Abstract

What can an analysis of discourse bring to our understanding of policy and sustainability? The papers in this panel presents work which shows how discourse analysis can be used to critique how sustainability is communicated in various areas of policy. We discuss how to combine critical discourse analysis with critical policy analysis, as showcased in Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (eds. Montesano Montessori, Farrelly, Mulderrig). Four major claims are made for Critical Policy Discourse Analysis: ▪️ It encourages and facilities a relational analysis of policy ▪️ It emphasises the constitutive role of discourse in policy analysis ▪️ It encourages analysis of the context of policy discourse ▪️ It encourages analysis of the connection between policy and power The panel papers take policy and discourse as their starting point for a critical analysis of communicating sustainability in the world of policy to answer the following questions: ▪️ What is policy discourse around sustainability? ▪️ How is sustainability understood or conceptualised? ▪️ What is the relationship between overt sustainable policy and sustainability as embedded in other areas of policy? ▪️ Is there a hegemonic sustainability discourse in policy practices? If so, what is it? Is it problematic? can we assess the likelihood of success?

Title	Details
Neoliberalism in the Glasgow Climate Pact: Interdiscursivity and Faux-Sustainability at COP26	View Paper Details
Local climate change discourse: Discursive effects of the funding call “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”	View Paper Details
Discourse Pre-figuring Policy Failure and Policy Success? Applying Critical Policy Discourse Analysis to UK Policies on Environmental Sustainability	View Paper Details
Performing conflict A dramaturgical analysis of contentious urban climate change policy	View Paper Details