The discovery of ash dieback in the UK: the making of a focusing event
Tomlinson, Isobel (2016) The discovery of ash dieback in the UK: the making of a focusing event. Environmental Politics 25 (4), pp. 709-728. ISSN 0964-4016.
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Abstract
Why did the identification of ‘Ash Dieback’ (Chalara Fraxinea) in 2012 in the UK catch the national media, public and political zeitgeist, and lead to policy changes, in a way that no other contemporary tree pest or pathogen outbreak has?The identification of Ash Dieback in the UK is conceptualised as a successful ‘focusing event’ and the ways in which it was socially constructed by the media, stakeholders and the government are analysed. National newspaper coverage contributed to the way that the disease was understood and was significant in driving the political response. Ash Dieback’s focal power derived from the perceived scale and nature of its impact; the initial attribution of blame on government; the ‘war-like’ response from the government; and Ash’s status as a threatened ‘native’ tree. The Ash Dieback focusing event has increased the salience of plant health issues amongst policymakers, the public and conservation organisations in the UK.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis, available online at the link above. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Ash dieback, tree disease, focusing events, plant health |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Isobel Tomlinson |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Dec 2015 10:02 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:20 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/13696 |
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