Moralization in Policy Narratives
Insights From the Politics of Climate Change and Public Health
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6328895 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Simon Schaub (0000-0001-5377-8826, Institute of Political Science, Heidelberg Center for the Environment Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany), J Tosun (0000-0001-9367-5039, Institute of Political Science, Heidelberg Center for the Environment Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany, corresponding author), Maria Becker (0009-0008-0709-4456, Germanistisches Seminar, Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/psj.70050 |
| OpenAlex | W4411298050 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 56 |
In this study, we examine the process of moralization—defined as the use of moral values to mobilize support for or against policy proposals. Specifically, we investigate how political parties strategically employ moralization to influence policy processes, varying their approach depending on their political ideology and institutional position. We address several key questions: How do policy actors integrate moral values into policy narratives? Does their institutional position and policy‐shaping power affect their use of moralization? Can ideology explain variation in moralization strategies? Our research combines theoretical refinement of the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) with in‐depth analysis of policy narratives from German political debates on climate change and the COVID‐19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that both party ideology and institutional role (government versus opposition) explain variation in the degree and type of moralization employed in narratives. More broadly, our work suggests that the NPF, as a relatively new conceptual framework, would benefit from explicitly incorporating moral values and moralization, as these elements provide a more nuanced understanding of the diverse narratives used in policy processes
Art · Biology · Climate change · Literature · Narrative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public health · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Law · Medicine · Public Administration · Risk Perception and Management
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| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |