Deeply Held Beliefs and Discourses of Eco-Terrorism: Do Ethics Constrain the Frames?

• In Event: 4153 - Perspectives on Interaction, Conflict, and Discourse

Abstract

Our study analyzes rhetoric of eco-terrorist groups. We use qualitative analyses to investigate summary symbols and framing techniques used across domestic terrorist groups. Similar ideological themes are found across ecoterrorist groups and other non-terrorist groups, such as environmentalists and the American general public. Findings suggest ecoterrorists tend to use discourse to explain their purpose and activities similar to discourses that are used by mainstream environmental groups. This contrasts with rhetorical patterns of right-wing and left-wing terrorists, which tend to bypass appeals to mainstream ideals. We find theoretical support for deep-seated ethical beliefs. While framing strategies may well flow from those beliefs, those framing strategies are nonetheless typically constrained by them as well. The implications for the social movements literature as well as for social theory are important, and the praxiological implications are significant.

Authors

• Kimberly Michelle Murray, Texas A&M-Texarkana

• Thomas J. Burns, University of Oklahoma