Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
 | Online Publication Date: 21 Feb 2006
Strategic Imperative, Ideology, And Frame
Strategic Imperative, Ideology, And Frame
Page Range: 287 – 304
The concept of framing has come to be recognized as one of the few foundational ideas in social movement theory in a relatively short time. However, its core meaning as an interpretive process has never been given adequate theoretical treatment. I propose that the operant meaning of framing is a composite of two grounding ideas: framing is (1) derivative of ideology, and (2) a form of strategic meaning construction; and that these are jointly incorporated in persuasive discourse. I explore the framing literature and show that it contains at least six distinct forms of framing defined by the different ways in which ideology and the strategic imperative are bundled together. Finally, I suggest that these types may have quite different implications for the fate of the movement.
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