Framing the Calamity. The Coal Crisis within Public Debate in Prague and Beyond, 1914–1918

This preprint examines the socio-discursive construction of coal scarcity in Prague during World War I, and analyses how scarcity resonated in the public debate. It combines the use of content analysis and operationalisation of the framing theory to investigate how the Czech-written period press framed the coal scarcity during the WWI, and how the Czech-written media, censorship notwithstanding, suggested that coal scarcity be remembered. The main findings suggest that despite the use of crisis terminology and emotional-driven language (calamity), coal scarcity remained a marginal and contained issue in public discourse during the early stages of war, while later, from 1916 onwards, the framing shifted, and the reassuring tone used earlier evolved into an openly critical discourse. It furthermore underscores that coal-dependency rendered the urban communities more vulnerable not only to material shortages but also to discursive manipulation.