Background. This thesis directs attention to how attitudes towards immigrants evolve under different contextual circumstances. Unlike previous research that primarily focuses on contextual factors related to the availability of material resources, the included studies explore the influence of less tangible aspects of our surroundings, brought together under the term immaterial contexts. Three kinds of immaterial contexts are in focus: political representatives’ use of nationalistic rhetoric, the parliamentary presence of the extreme right, and the religious context. The studies examine the direct effects of these contexts, but also how individuals’ beliefs, loyalties, and experiences interact with the contextual factors to shape peoples’ attitudes. Methods. The thesis takes a comparative approach where countries serve as the main contextual unit. Data on attitudes and other individual features are gathered from the European Social Survey 2002-2012. To be able to analyze these data in the same model as used for country-level data, the thesis applies multi-level models. Results. The findings support a theoretical expectation that immaterial contexts influence anti-immigrant attitudes. How people perceive immigrants and immigration can be traced to political and religious aspects of their surroundings. Also, it is found that individuals are not passive recipients of contextual influences as their reactions depend on their preferences and experiences. While political representatives influence anti-immigrant attitudes, these effects are strongly conditional both on features of the representatives themselves, and on characteristics and experiences of individuals. For example, individuals respond to political rhetoric by traditional political parties but are not influenced by the same kind of message if conveyed by a party belonging to the extreme right. Conclusion. The thesis is an attempt to widen the very notion of contexts in empirical research, and as such, it is a contribution to the literature on anti-immigrant attitudes. It shows that anti-immigrant attitudes depend not only on material circumstances, but also on immaterial circumstances tied to the political and religious arena. Further, the thesis demonstrates how combining the theoretical perspectives of group threat theory and framing theory implies greater possibilities to conceive of the link between contexts and attitudes, as well as improved theoretical tools to understand when and why such effects do not occur. It signals that research on immaterial contexts is necessary to further advance the comparative scholarship on anti-immigrant attitudes and reach a deeper understanding of how such attitudes emerge and evolve.

This study explored how women involved in U.S. politics visually framed themselves on their Instagram pages. While recent research in political communications examined the use of Facebook and Twitter, few studies assessed Instagram's role in the game of politics. Guided by political and visual framing theories, a quantitative content analysis of Instagram posts (N = 1,947) from women involved in U.S. politics was conducted. This examination allowed for an exploration of how these public figures framed themselves on Instagram and the extent to which they shared personal content, despite their varied involvement in U.S. politics. Results showed that: both Democrat and Republican women shared political content more often than personal content; Instagram affords a visual-first emphasis for different political issues; and women most often framed themselves as the credible, ideal stateswoman, while still showcasing their personality. Implications for this study affirm Instagram as a legitimate political communications platform, despite its reputation as a food and travel haven.

In this essay the framing of the politics of the two prime minister candidates Magdalena Andersson and Ulf Kristersson have been analyzed. This during two interviews broadcasted before the election 2022 on public service channel 1 (SVT 1) in a program called Election 2022: The Hearing (Val 2022: Utfrågningen). The study has looked at several different types of framing including thematic, episodic and gameframing to be able to analyze how the politics are portrayed. The study has also acknowledged the importance of the power relations that take place between interviewee and journalist in a political interview. Also how the role of the journalist acting as a program manager affects the framing of the politics. The conclusion is that politics are framed in all kinds of framing analyzed. But there are differences between how Andersson and Kristersson´s politics are framed through the analyzed frames. The program managers had different strategies to confront the politicians depending on who they interviewed.

Die Arbeit analysiert das politische Framing in den Bundestagsdebatten rund um die Einführung und Abschaffung der sogenannten Praxisgebühr. Da Framing begrifflich und methodisch uneinheitlich verwendet wird, wurde ein politischer Framing-Ansatz hergeleitet. Insbesondere der konflikthaften Dimension politischen Framings kam bislang nur wenig Aufmerksamkeit zu. Auch wenn die Prozesshaftigkeit von Frames anerkannt wird, werden sie meist zu einem Zeitpunkt und als statische Objekte untersucht. Ihr strategisches Moment manifestiert sich aber in Anpassungen an die Diskursumgebung. Um diese Anpassungsprozesse durch politische Eliten zu analysieren, bieten sich Plenardebatten an. Hier wird der Wettstreit um ein imaginäres Publikum ausgetragen und im Zeitverlauf lassen sich Veränderungen nachvollziehen. Außerdem wird das Framing politischer Eliten selten untersucht und Bundestagsdebatten um Policy-Wechsel bieten einen neuen Untersuchungsgegenstand. Dabei wurden insbesondere zwei Forschungslücken bearbeitet: Framing-Konflikte und die Veränderung von Framing im Zeitverlauf. Im empirischen Teil wurden die Framing-Strategien in den Plenardebatten von der Verabschiedung der Gesundheitsreform 2003 bis zur Abschaffung der Praxisgebühr 2012 untersucht. Elementare Werte des Gesundheitssystems, wie Solidarität oder Entscheidungsfreiheit, wurden neu verhandelt. Außerdem erhöhten Einschränkungen im Leistungskatalog und höhere Belastungen den Rechtfertigungsdruck. Zur Identifikation der verschiedenen Strategien wurde ein manuell-dimensionsreduzierendes, qualitatives Verfahren verwendet. Es erlaubt nachzuvollziehen, was salient gemacht werden sollte und welche Konflikte ausgetragen wurden. Die identifizierten Frames wurden anschließend zu themenunabhängigen Frames abstrahiert. Die Arbeit liefert eine konzeptionelle Erweiterung des politikwissenschaftlichen Framing-Ansatzes und eine Analyse der Framing-Strategien in den Debatten zwischen Einführung und Abschaffung der Praxisgebühr. / The dissertation analyzes political framing in the Bundestag plenary debates surrounding the introduction and abolition of the so-called "Praxisgebühr". Scholars use the framing-approach in a terminologically and methodologically inconsistent manner. From the fund of approaches, the dissertation develops an approach to political science questions. The research interest refers to dimensions of framing that have received little attention so far. In particular, the conflictual dimension of political framing. Frames are usually examined at isolated points in time and thus treated as static objects. Consequently, such an analytical approach fails to capture their strategic quality, which manifests itself in strategic alignments to the discourse environment. To analyze these adaptation processes, plenary debates provide a suitable setting. Here, speakers compete for an imaginary audience and framing strategies and their alignments can be identified over time. Furthermore, Bundestag debates around policy changes offer a new object of study. In particular, this study addresses two research gaps: Framing conflicts and the change of framing over time. The dissertation examines the framing strategies in the plenary debates from the passing of the health care reform of 2003 to the abolition of the "Praxisgebühr" in 2012. Fundamental values of the German health care system were renegotiated. In addition, limitations of services and higher burdens for patients and healthcare providers led to pressure to justify the reform. A manual dimension-reducing qualitative method was used to identify the different framing strategies. It allows tracing of the aspects of an issue, which were made salient by framing and which conflicts were expressed by that. The identified health care specific frames were subsequently abstracted into general frames. Thus, the dissertation provides a conceptual extension of the framing approach and an analysis of framing strategies in these debates.