ABSTRACT
This chapter serves as a comprehensive guide to the research design of the study, outlining shortly the data, cases, and focusing on the analytical toolkit. Recognising the pivotal role of language in understanding societal issues like climate change, the analysis focuses on how different parties, with a particular emphasis on populist far-right parties, communicate about this critical issue within various national contexts. The examination of mainstream parties includes investigating their perspectives on climate change in Germany, Spain, and Austria, defined as the policy field. Employing Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), a methodology adept at revealing hidden meanings and exploring the intricate connections between discourse, ideology, and power, the study aims to categorise discourse patterns and strategies related to climate change. The analytical approach combines Discourse-Historical Analysis (DHA) and conceptual history (BG) to delve into the understanding of climate change of mainstream parties and uses DHA to analyse the populist far-rights’ climate change communication. This research design allows for a nuanced exploration of climate change communication by various political actors, contributing valuable insights to the field.
