The framing contest unravelled: Mayors, framing strategies and political outcomes in the wake of three riot-related crises in the Netherlands

Abstract

This study seeks to unravel meaning making and framing contests of mayors in the aftermath of riot-related crises in the Netherlands. Approaching crisis exploitation as a process sensitive phenomena allowed us to analyse framing strategies and how they coincide with particular political outcomes, while taking into account the different stages of the aftermath during which framing strategies may shift. In contrast to theoretical assumptions, findings of our multiple case study suggest no pattern between the use of a specific framing strategy by the mayor and their success in terms of political outcomes. Instead, our findings suggest that contextual factors, including official inquiries, time spend in office and media pressure, could explain variation in framing dynamics and political outcomes.