Analyzing the Publicization of Drought Debates in Arizona Newspapers
Résumé
The aim of this article is to analyze the publicization of debates on public policy orientations, socio-technical choices and alternative solutions put forward by stakeholders to deal with situations of drought and water shortage. The case study is the state of Arizona (USA), where these situations are multiplying and intensifying. The analysis combines knowledge gained from field surveys with the analysis of stakeholder networks and discourses collected in the two largest regional newspapers. It emerges that political and economic positions and decisions have a decisive impact on the distribution of water resources. The article shows how textual data represent an important source for assessing the spatio-temporal configurations of drought episodes, and for identifying the risks and measures implemented or to be implemented that preoccupy societies and are the subject of public debate.
