The securitisation of migrations in Europe : the case of Slovenia

english

2017

volume 54, issue 6

Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za družbene vede

This article explores the securitisation of migrations in Slovenia as a transit country for migrants during 2015-2016. We examine the representation of migrations in the printed media, social media and in political discourse. The article contributes to the theoretical debate by proposing a dynamic migration-related security continuum which takes into account the legitimate security concerns of the migrants, the transit countries, and those of the host societies. The empirical analysis explores the attempts to frame migrants in the context of securitisation. Our findings reveal that the printed media was relatively neutral in this process or even opposed the over-securitisation of migrations, whereas political actors were biased. The Slovenian government adopted a balanced approach in terms of recognising the legal rights of migrants, especially of refugees, as well as the legitimate security concerns of its own citizens. In practice however, restrictive measures were applied which contributed to the securitisation of migrations. The main opposition political party spearheaded the securitisation of migrations with a discourse based on selective information, simplification and exaggeration. Our analysis of the survey data reveals that this influenced public opinion.

12.11.2019