The migration–terrorism nexus: an analysis of German and Italian press coverage of the ‘refugee crisis’
Over the last few years, terrorist attacks in European cities, together with the so-called ‘refugee crisis’, have (re)ignited a debate on whether there is an association between the two issues. Drawing on sociological approaches to risk and uncertainty, I claim that the discursive construction of ca...
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| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2022
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| In: |
European journal of criminology
Jahr: 2022, Band: 19, Heft: 2, Seiten: 259-281 |
| Online-Zugang: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Lade...
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| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Zusammenfassung: | Over the last few years, terrorist attacks in European cities, together with the so-called ‘refugee crisis’, have (re)ignited a debate on whether there is an association between the two issues. Drawing on sociological approaches to risk and uncertainty, I claim that the discursive construction of causal linkages connecting refugees and migrants to terrorist activities is a fundamental passage in the process of social construction of migration as a threat. To identify the terrorism–migration linkages constructed in/through the media, this article examines the coverage of migration issues in two Italian and two German newspapers in 2015 and 2016, combining computer-assisted and qualitative content analysis. My findings reveal, firstly, how and in what circumstances the discourse on the terrorism threat is conflated with the discourse on migration. Then, the in-depth analysis of causal links in the coverage of four main terror attacks in Europe shows the predominance of a chain of causation linking terrorism to new migrants and refugees. Given the limited empirical research informing the debate over the migration–terrorism nexus, this study contributes to a better understanding of the process of social construction of migrants as threat objects. |
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| ISSN: | 1741-2609 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1477370819896213 |
