Oracles of Peace: Topic Modeling, Longitudinal Frame Analysis, and the Nobel Prize for Peace, 1902-2012

• In Event: 049 - Section on Peace, War and Social Conflict Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Peacebuilding

Abstract

A well-established characteristic of social movement frames are the stability they bring to organizations as common themes that participants rally behind. However, social movement frames are also dynamic and contextualized shifting in response to historical change or other exogenous forces. The international peace movement, in part identified by the Nobel Prize for Peace, is no exception. Winners of the Nobel Prize become “instant oracles,” in Desmond Tutu’s phrase. In this article, we turn to the under-studied dynamic property of social movement frames in an analysis of the Nobel Prize. Through topic modeling – a computational technique that identifies commonalities between texts – we develop a map of the predominant frames in the Nobel Peace Prize speech corpus from 1902-2012 (N=97). We use this map to launch an in-depth historical discussion of how frames within the international peace movement have changed over time with Nobel Prize laureates as our case. Results highlight the increased influence of globalization and neoliberal policies on peace frames, displacing Christian frames and frames based on the establishment of international peace institutions. We conclude by outlining several additional uses of topic models in peace and social movement research.

Authors

• Ryan Light, University of Oregon

• Jeanine Cunningham, University of Oregon