Networks, Context and Media Control - Network Analytical Comparison of Discursive Polarization in the Situation of "Moral Panics" in Malaysia and Germany

The project “Networks, Context and Media Control” investigates the relationship between media dynamics, discursive polarization, and the shift towards the far right in contemporary societies. It focuses on the phenomenon of moral panics, defined as periods of heightened public concern in which media and political actors construct specific events, groups, or behaviors as threats to societal values (Cohen, 1972; Goode & Ben-Yehuda, 2009). Such dynamics can contribute to intensified polarization and may weaken democratic norms by amplifying moralized narratives and antagonistic group identities.

The project adopts a comparative and relational research design to examine how moral panics and discursive polarization emerge within different media systems. Empirically, it compares the cases of Germany and Malaysia, two contexts that differ significantly in terms of political institutions, media regulation, and historical trajectories of public communication. Despite these differences, both societies exhibit increasingly polarized debates around issues such as migration, national identity, religion, and cultural belonging. By employing a Most Different Systems Design, the project seeks to identify common mechanisms that drive the escalation of polarized discourses across distinct political and media environments (Esser & Vliegenthart, 2017).

The theoretical framework combines research on moral panics (Cohen, 1972; Garland, 2008; Goode & Ben-Yehuda, 2009) with newer adaptions, e.g. “polarizing moral panics” (Zielińska & Pasamonik, 2022), recent work on discursive polarization (Brüggemann & Meyer, 2023) and populist communication practices. In particular, the project examines how polarized framing of issues and the construction of antagonistic group identities (“us vs. them”) are embedded in media discourses and reinforced through communicative networks.

Methodologically, the study integrates qualitative network analysis, discourse analysis, and comparative case studiesto map the relationships between actors, narratives, and media platforms within controversial public debates. By analyzing both media content and communicative interactions (e.g. commentary sections), the project investigates how discursive structures and actor networks contribute to the emergence and amplification of moralized narratives and polarizing frames.

Through international collaboration with Dr. Gayathry Venkiteswaran from Nottingham University Malaysia, the project also advances a context-sensitive and globally oriented perspective on media systems research, addressing limitations of predominantly Eurocentric approaches in communication studies. The findings aim to contribute to theoretical debates on media power, moral polarization, and democratic resilience, while generating empirically grounded insights into the mechanisms and interrelations which shape contemporary political conflict in different media systems.

The project is funded through the Bavarian Gender Equality Funding Programme.