SUSTAINABILITY AND MODERNITY IN THE EUROPEAN-UNION - A FRAME-THEORY APPROACH TO POLICY-MAKING

Frame analysis has been often used by scholars studying New Social Mov ements to analyze their discourses and their ability to mobilise peopl e. This paper refers to the application of 'frame analysis' to a diffe rent context, namely to discourses of both social movements and instit utional actors in the context of public policy-making. More particular ly, the study is concerned with the discourses of social actors who pa rticipate in the making of EU environmental policy. The advantages and limitations of frame analysis as a method for analysing discourse in an institutional context are discussed. Two case-studies are used to h ighlight the pros and cons of the method. First, the competing discour ses of environmental organisations, business associations, and EU offi cials with regard to environmental sustainability and the Fifth Action Programme are examined. The second case study addresses the issue of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-Ts) and examines different type s of framing of sustainable mobility developed by policy actors. Concl usions are drawn with regard to the contribution of frame theory in th e analysis of policy-making processes.