The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany
Abstract Given that wolves have been extinct in Germany for approximately 150 years, their return and growing population over the last decade has caused intense discussion and conflict. To develop a widely accepted and just coexistence between humans and wolves, a comprehensive understanding of the...
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ftsubgoettingen:oai:publications.goettingen-research-online.de:2/114542 2023-09-05T13:18:43+02:00 The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany Zscheischler, Jana Friedrich, Jonathan 2022 https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/114542 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01719-3 en eng 0364-152X 1432-1009 Geographisches Institut https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/114542 doi:10.1007/s00267-022-01719-3 1719 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 journal_article yes published_version 2022 ftsubgoettingen https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01719-3 2023-08-20T22:16:41Z Abstract Given that wolves have been extinct in Germany for approximately 150 years, their return and growing population over the last decade has caused intense discussion and conflict. To develop a widely accepted and just coexistence between humans and wolves, a comprehensive understanding of the conflict is needed. There are indications that the conflict goes beyond dealing with the wolf population and marks a spatial–cultural divide between urban and rural areas. Nevertheless, the social dimensions of the human–wolf conflict in Germany have been little studied. The aim of this paper is to narrow this gap by means of a media discourse analysis including reader comments in order to provide insights into the constituent elements of this conflict. We conducted a qualitative content analysis. The sample comprises articles ( n = 63) and reader comments ( n = 515) over a period of one year (5/2018-5/2019) from six online periodicals in Germany. The results support the assumption of an urban–rural divide in terms of perspectives and values. The discourse indicates that rural actors who are most affected by the wolves’ vicinity have more negative attitudes towards them. At the same time, they feel abandoned and dominated by urban perspectives and politics. In addition, linkages to right-wing populist positions and conspiracy narratives that can be interpreted as a consequence of political alienation are found. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Georg-August-Universität Göttingen: GoeScholar Environmental Management 70 6 1051 1065 |
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Open Polar |
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Georg-August-Universität Göttingen: GoeScholar |
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ftsubgoettingen |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Given that wolves have been extinct in Germany for approximately 150 years, their return and growing population over the last decade has caused intense discussion and conflict. To develop a widely accepted and just coexistence between humans and wolves, a comprehensive understanding of the conflict is needed. There are indications that the conflict goes beyond dealing with the wolf population and marks a spatial–cultural divide between urban and rural areas. Nevertheless, the social dimensions of the human–wolf conflict in Germany have been little studied. The aim of this paper is to narrow this gap by means of a media discourse analysis including reader comments in order to provide insights into the constituent elements of this conflict. We conducted a qualitative content analysis. The sample comprises articles ( n = 63) and reader comments ( n = 515) over a period of one year (5/2018-5/2019) from six online periodicals in Germany. The results support the assumption of an urban–rural divide in terms of perspectives and values. The discourse indicates that rural actors who are most affected by the wolves’ vicinity have more negative attitudes towards them. At the same time, they feel abandoned and dominated by urban perspectives and politics. In addition, linkages to right-wing populist positions and conspiracy narratives that can be interpreted as a consequence of political alienation are found. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zscheischler, Jana Friedrich, Jonathan |
spellingShingle |
Zscheischler, Jana Friedrich, Jonathan The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany |
author_facet |
Zscheischler, Jana Friedrich, Jonathan |
author_sort |
Zscheischler, Jana |
title |
The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany |
title_short |
The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany |
title_full |
The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany |
title_fullStr |
The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany |
title_full_unstemmed |
The wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? Results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in Germany |
title_sort |
wolf (canis lupus) as a symbol of an urban–rural divide? results from a media discourse analysis on the human–wolf conflict in germany |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/114542 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01719-3 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
0364-152X 1432-1009 Geographisches Institut https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/114542 doi:10.1007/s00267-022-01719-3 1719 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01719-3 |
container_title |
Environmental Management |
container_volume |
70 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1051 |
op_container_end_page |
1065 |
_version_ |
1776199605067710464 |