The Rise of (Affective) Obstruction
Conceptualizing the Evolution of Far-Right Climate Change Communication (1986–2018)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7153239 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bernhard Forchtner (0000-0001-7782-9288, University of Leicester, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 28-46 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1752-4032 • E-ISSN: 1752-4040 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17524032.2025.2596620 |
| OpenAlex | W7117480071 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 35 |
Research has illustrated that today’s far right in the Global North takes largely climate obstructionist stances, commonly featuring ageist/misogynistic/racist tropes. However, little is known about how this present became to be, how climate change was articulated in the 2000s and earlier. I therefore ask: how has far-right climate communication evolved between 1986 and 2018? Have there been notable changes at the level of both specific claims and their emotiveness – and if so, what might explain them? In response, I analyze 733 articles printed across four exemplary, continuously published (non-)party sources covering the Austrian and German far-right spectrum, in order to offer a novel conceptualization of three periods: benevolent silence (1986-1996), concerned acceptance (1997-2006), and antagonistic obstruction (2007-2018). Thus, I show that the far right became today’s (affective-)obstructionist force and link this shift to: the US climate countermovement; dynamics in the political field; and, interrelated, increasingly melodramatic (affective) climate communication, turning climate change into another site for the making of far-right subjectivity. By conceptualizing three periods, by considering the development over time of both specific claims and affect, and by suggesting reasons behind this evolution, I substantively contribute to understanding far-right climate obstruction and the anti-liberal/anti-democratic backlash it facilitates
Climate change · Global change · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Computational and Text Analysis Methods · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Climate Obstruction
A Climate Backlash
From Denial to the Culture Wars
Apocalyptic Authoritarianism
Playing the Race Card
Cultural Circuits of Climate Change in U.K. Broadsheet Newspapers, 1985–2003
Dead White men vs. Greta Thunberg
The green, green grass of the nation. A new far-right ecology in Spain
Balance as bias
Affective rebirth
The Racialised Geographies of the Far-Right
De/legitimising EUrope through the performance of crises
Scepticisms and beyond? A comprehensive portrait of climate change communication by the far right in the European Parliament
The people against the sun? ideology and strategy in far-right parties' climate obstruction of solar energy
Eco-Fascism Online
Ecofascism in the shadow of ‘patriotic ecology
Climate Sceptics or Climate Nationalists? Understanding and Explaining Populist Radical Right Parties’ Positions towards Climate Change (1990–2022)
Female Politicians as Climate Fools
Far right
Climate-Soviets,’ ‘Alarmism,’ and ‘Eco-Dictatorship
Global warming and polarization. Wind turbines and the electoral success of the greens and the populist radical right
Going Against the Grain
Far-Right World Ordering from the Margins
The Populist Zeitgeist
Right-wing populist parties and environmental politics
Conditional environmentalism of right-wing populism in power
Cassandra from the far right
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |