PUBLICACIONES:

Thailand has engaged with global collaboration to reduce greenhouse gases since the activation of the Kyoto protocol. Recently, the country has ratified the Paris agreement and pledged to reduce its emissions by 20% unconditionally by 2030 relative to a business-as- usual model. Further emission reduction up to 25% is conditional on international financing (see the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution and Relevant Information, UNFCCC 2015). Therefore, climate change is advanced by diverse actors in society. Importantly, news media play a part in “recontextualis[ing]” (Beck 2009) the meaning of climate change in Thai society. In order to clarify social and cultural contexts of Thailand, related norms and values about environment in Thailand are provided as follows:

Despite the fact that Thailand is an industrial country, the nation values highly its roots in agriculture. The perception of Thais to the richness of natural resources in their land reflects the Thai idiom, “There are fishes in the water. There is rice in the fields.”². Due to the advantages in geography and tropical climate dominated by monsoons, households historically rely on foraging and agricultural activities. Although in the present day, the economic growth of Thailand relies on the industrial sector; 60 percent of the total population is working in the agricultural sector. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector acquired

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The idiom; ในนํVามีปลา ในนามีข้าว (Nai nam mee pla nai na mee kao) expresses the idea that the country is rich with

natural resources and good living conditions. People can gather food freely from forests, land, and rivers. This idiom

is generally used in narratives that portray the living condition of Thais before the modern era. The idiom is

compa-rable to; ‘Land of milk and honey’ in the western context.

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merely 12.3 percent of overall GDP in 2012. Thailand was the second largest rice exporter in 2016, earning $4.4 billion.

In terms of culture, Thailand has been influenced by three major religions, namely Animism, Theravada-Buddhism, and Hinduism. As a result, belief in a number of gods whose superpowers protect crops’ yield and worship rituals, are sustainable in society. In the present day, the shrines of gods and goddesses, such as the goddess of water and goddess of land³ are in daily service. Moreover, doctrine has significant influence on social values about nature. The idea of “moderate living” in Theravada-Buddhist doctrine, which is generally understood as maintaining self-sufficiency in life, praises harmony living among nature.

Therefore, over-consumption and over-commodification are perceived as “sins” in Thai culture.

In relation to the concept of nature, the term “environment” or “

สิ#งแวดล้อม

” (Sing Wad Lom) in Thai is a contemporary concept that emerged during the transformation of Thailand’s economy from an agricultural to an industrial base. Similar to other developing countries, Thailand has accelerated its economic growth since 1972. The third National Economic and Social Development Plan (1972-1976) aimed at regenerating the country by 29arginaliz the 29arginalize of natural resources all over the country. However, ten years later, the National Economic and Social Development Board changed the direction of the policy. The fifth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1982-1986) mentioned that regarding previous regeneration of the country, large amounts of forest areas had been trespassed on and the industrial zone had been developing widely. Subsistence agriculture activity that was the basic occupation of Thais was transformed into commercial farming to supply industrial activity. This radical change in fundamental living of Thais resulted in a number of issues, namely, inequality of income distribution between urban and rural areas, population mobility issues, pollution, garbage management issues, and deforestation. The rapid change to capitalism during the ’70s-’90s reflects the negative side of 29arginal-ized2929, as well as environmental dangers which are side-effects of industrialization. In

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Goddess of land or พระแม่ธรณี (Pra Mae To Ra Nee) and goddess of water or พระแม่คงคา (Pra Mae Kong Ka) are

the goddesses from Hindu mythology. Hindu mythology has influence on high-culture in Thailand, especially the

etiquette of the Siamese royal court. The beliefs in sacred spirits that protect nature also associate to native Animism

mythology. Native to the South-east Asian, whose life depends on foraging, has worshiped female spirits as

god-desses that have superpowers to protect natural resources such as water, land, and plants.

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repercussion, the first environmental management academy in Thailand, which adopted modern disciplines in their curriculum, was established in 1999 at Kasetsart University (Kasetsart University 2015).

Regarding this background, Thailand is a country where a number of ideologies contradict and contest each other in public discourse of environment. To elaborate, while the influence from religious beliefs and its culture praises conservatism in environmental issues, the necessity of maintaining their industrial productivity and competitiveness has induced capitalism. In addition, the country has an obligation to encourage sustainability in energy sources as it has pledged to the Paris agreement. This global pressure has become the other factor in the emergence of modern environmental ideologies in the country. Accordingly, this thesis’s research, which aims to analyse news related to climate change, can contribute to the clarification of discursive practice in society where the tension between ideologies is sustained. Furthermore, empirical data can advance over understanding of risk society by clarifying the fragments in the definition of climate change taking place in developing coun-tries.

This thesis’s research employs two major theories, namely, risk society and the concept of mediascape to underpin the context of Thailand and climate change as a global issue. Arguably, these theories assist comprehension of the relationship between climate change discourse and its implication to the context of Thailand, which can be identified by the analysis of news accounts. The following sub-section briefly provides the core concepts of the mentioned theories.

2.4.1 Risk society

Risk society (Beck 1992) explains paradoxical circumstances in modern society, in which science knowledge and technology are promoted to increase productivity in capitalisation, simultaneously bringing negative consequences to its society. Moreover, these side effects of modernisation, for example, climate change and radioactive waste, seem uncontrollable; therefore, humans are facing uncertainty about the future. This situation is called “reflexive modernization” in the theory of risk society. Beck (1992) indicates that

“The more and better knowledge often means more uncertainty” (ibid., p.5).

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Furthermore, the danger that has been emerging in modern society is not limited to one locale. The effects can rapidly spread globally. By this, everyone and every nation is facing a common hazard in risk society. This mutual threat conversely embraces nation states together. This situation can encourage an atmosphere of cooperation among nations to solve a number of problems ranging from politics to environment. Three phenomena in the reflexive modernisation are 1) society becomes an issue and problem for itself: global dangers produce global mutualities and a world public sphere; 2) the perceived globality of the self-endangerment of civilisation triggers a politically mouldable impulse towards the development of cooperative international institutions; 3) the political boundaries come to be removed (Beck 2009, p.20).

The impact of risk on a global scale is presented as “staging of the reality” (ibid., p.10). Since consequences from destruction of ecology and social systems are greater and difficult to predict with scientific knowledge, society is struggling to comprehend its future.

This situation leads to advancement of virtual reality which is performed to describe the opportunity of future catastrophes, to validate the future events 31arginalized at present. It is mentioned that:

‘Staging’ here is not intended in the colloquial sense of the deliberate falsification of reality by exaggerating ‘unreal’ risks. The distinction between risks as anticipated catastrophe and the actual catastrophe force us instead to take the role of staging seriously. (Beck 2009, p.10)

Accordingly, the individual relies on social assumptions to make sense of and presume risks in modern society. Hendel (2008), Beck (1992, 2009), Strydom (2002) and Giddens (2011) agree that risk is socially constructed and is concerned with the possibility of catastrophe occurring in the future. By this, the notion of risk society intends to raise questions about institutional actors that own the power to construct the realities of risk in a society, especially experts and scientists.

Anderson (2010) points out that technocratic elites such as scientists, experts, journalists, officials and pressure groups own power over the discourse of risk. In risk society, the dispute between powerful elites is increasing while the “sub-politics of technocracy” continues. Giddens (2011) 31arginalize risks into two different types: tradi-tional risk and new risk. The traditradi-tional risk is equal to external risk and the new risk refers to the risk which is manufactured in public discourse in 31arginalized31. Priest (2010, p.208)

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emphasises that journalists have the accountability to scrutinise the definitions of risk, which are usually initiated by powerful social institutions. These definitions of risks are the sustenance of power structure in the society. Accordingly, journalists are supposed to provide the public more than merely stick to the “objective” report. This is vital for journal-ists to acknowledge that institutional stakeholders in environmental issues seem to emphasise particular types of risks and ignore the others. This notion points out the significance of journalism institutions in shaping the definition of risk in the society.

Despite the self-destruction of risk society, Beck (2009) indicates the opportunity to create innovative models, which interact with the different modernities happening around the world, in modern society. Furthermore, the transnational framework of world risk society assists to clarify “the glocal” (ibid., p.15) tensions, which means the worldwide extension of unsatisfied outcomes produced in modern societies, that are unable to be resolved within national politics. Olausson (2009), and Uusi-Rauva and Tienari (2010) agree that climate change coverage encourages discourse that endorses global collaboration in climate change mitigation. However, the actor who holds responsibility for the climate change problem is still limited within local and national domains. Concerning this thesis’s research, this notion contributes to frame the questions toward representation of risk in climate change in Thailand. This thesis’s research thus pursues the examination of whose definitions of climate change are prominent in environmental debates in society. Also, from which aspect, either from a local or global dimension, climate change is defined against the backdrop of distinct culture.

2.4.2 Mediascapes and the meaning of climate change

This thesis’s research aims to explore discursive practice in news related to climate change, particularly of journalism in Thailand. Since climate change is a global issue, this study employs the concept of “Mediascapes” (Appadurai 1996) to assimilate the cultural impact of climate change on the environmental claims appearing in Thai society. The concept of “Mediascapes” concerns 32arginaliz media that endorse multiple representations of reality. The reality in a society that previously anchors to its location has become one of convergence. The reality from diverse cultures can be combined together from capability of technology, conglomeration, and constructed content. Finally, mediascapes contribute to the emergence of global cultural flow.

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Edwards (2011) mentions that the power of global cultural flow is amplified by the media transfers, and exchanges multiple discourses in the global arena. This results in the emergence of a dominant discourse and a 33arginalized discourse which are dialectically sustained in one culture. This competitive field of discourses allows people to identify themselves with the transferred context that is not anchored to their actual location.

Arguably, the identity of groups and individuals is possible to position together as an imaginative community which connects local, national and global. In consequence, there is a possibility that social practice does not absolutely belong to normative discourse but alternative discourse can be constructed to justify social practice.

The concept of mediascape helps to illuminate how the realities of climate change, which is a global issue, are transmitted worldwide by international news agencies. Therefore, there are myriads of cultural meanings of climate change in a particular culture. Research shows that the issue is constructed differently by news media across nations, as is the context of social and cultural influences on how climate change is represented in news (Carvalho 2007). A study (Woods et al. 2010) shows that conservative British newspapers employed religious metaphors to disparage scientific data about climate change in their articles. This representation undermines the perspective of human-caused climate change, whereas, Boykoff (2007) shows that newspapers in the USA tend to focus on scientific debates about climate change certainty that has resulted in the bias toward climate change uncertainty.

Olausson (2009) reports that Swedish media frame climate change as a certainty and a social problem which requires mitigation policy in multi-level collaborations ranging from national, international and transnational, along with individual adaptation. Moreover, Uusi-Rauva and Tienari (2010) insist that the representation of climate change solution in UK media is determined by some domestic corporations, which have power in the market.

While climate change discourse in western news content is analysed from diverse perspectives, there has not been the study of representation of climate change in the lens of discourse analysis that can help identify the power of global media over environmental concepts in Thai culture. Because climate change politics has been increasingly intense globally, this knowledge is vital for understanding environmental issues in world risk society. The next section explores the relationship of news media in constructing discourses related to environment that are embedded with particular ideologies.

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In document Ámbito de estudios ISCED 2 (*): Bellas Artes (página 54-58)