Extreme Weather Events and the Politics of Climate Change in Europe and Beyond

This panel examines how extreme weather events (EWEs) shape political dynamics around climate change, from individual attitudes and behaviour to collective mobilization and policy debates. Although understudied, political and media discourse plays a central role in framing these events, mediating the interaction between individual and collective dynamics in translating exposure into political consequences, with different types of events (floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, storms) potentially producing different effects. The panel welcomes papers that address, from theoretical, methodological or empirical perspectives, the impact of EWE exposure on public opinion, political attitudes and behaviour; the politicization or depoliticization of EWEs in political and media discourse; and the role of collective actors, including social movements and parties, in framing climate risk. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods contributions are equally welcome. While the panel is grounded in the European context, comparative and non-European case studies are also very welcome, in order to explore how political, institutional and media conditions shape the politics of climate risk across different contexts.