Specifics of institutionalising sustainability in democratic discourse

Ladeyshchikov Ilya (2026) Specifics of institutionalising sustainability in democratic discourse. In: Clocks Can Be Stopped, Tipping Points Cannot. Budapesti Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem, Budapest, Magyarország, pp. 1-14. ISBN 978-615-6886-34-7

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Abstract

The article examines how “sustainability” is institutionalized in democratic discourse, treating “sustainability” not as a narrative‑discursive construct produced under conditions of uncertainty and elite control over communication. It asks how the sustainability narrative is constructed, which obstacles hinder its institutionalisation as a democratic norm, and how political elites contribute to its deconstruction. The study fills a gap between legal‑administrative analyses of green measures and purely normative debates by focusing on discourse itself. The theoretical framework combines Alexander’s sociocultural sphere, van Dijk’s socio‑cognitive theory of symbolic elites, Blumenberg’s concept of political myth, Bacchi’s approach to problem representations, and Habermas’s discourse theory of democratic norm‑formation. This presents a heuristic potential for narrative-construction analysis. Methodologically, the study applies WPR (What’s the Problem Represented to Be?) qualitative discourse analysis to United Nations texts, elite speeches, and media commentary, tracing how the United Nations’ mythic core of sustainable development is reworked as a moral imperative, an economic threat, mere branding, or an elitist ideology. The article argues that elite-driven institutionalisation both legitimises and undermines sustainability, thus creating a sincerity gap between rhetoric and practice that obstructs its stable institutionalisation. Theoretically, this refines understandings of sustainability as a contested myth in democratic civil spheres; practically, it highlights that strengthening sustainability norms requires constraining elite discursive deconstruction, and not merely adopting new policies.

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Budapesti Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem

Mű típusa:	Könyv része
Szerző publikációban használt neve:	Publikációban használt név ORCID MTMT szerző azonosító Ladeyshchikov Ilya
Kulcsszavak:	Sustainability, democratic discourse, narrative construction, political myth, problem representation
Felhasználó:	Kinga Eszenyi-Bakos
DOI azonosító:	https://doi.org/10.29180/978-615-6886-34-7_3
Rekord készítés dátuma:	2026. Aug. 19. 11:39
Utolsó módosítás:	2026. Aug. 19. 11:39
URI:	https://publikaciotar.uni-bge.hu/id/eprint/2680

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