The refugee crisis which engulfed Europe in the period between 2015 and 2017 sparked the proliferation of securitising discourse targeting migrants across the European Union. Whist plenty of...Show moreThe refugee crisis which engulfed Europe in the period between 2015 and 2017 sparked the proliferation of securitising discourse targeting migrants across the European Union. Whist plenty of scholarly ink has been dedicated to the study of the securitising rhetoric emanating from political representatives of individual EU member states, little attention has been paid to that of the heads of key EU institutions. To fill this gap, I have chosen to examine the President of the European Council’s securitisation of migrants by conducting a discourse analysis on 120 of his speeches, press remarks and interviews that occurred in the years between 2015 and 2017. Having coded this large body of data, I have been able to establish that Tusk systematically securitised migrants by presenting them as existential threats in relation to the Schengen Agreement, public order and security, as well as European values and subsequently calling for policies to regulate their entry into the EU. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the manner in which asylum-seekers are securitised differs to that of ‘irregular’ migrants, in ways that have not been extensively covered in securitisation literature thus far.Show less
Social movement theory and research in political science has been disproportionately focused on state movement dynamics; only recently have alternative actors such as the countermovement been...Show moreSocial movement theory and research in political science has been disproportionately focused on state movement dynamics; only recently have alternative actors such as the countermovement been considered. Yet, most approaches concerning the countermovement-movement synergy still overestimate the role of the state or are limited to its manifestation in protest mobilization. In an increasingly virtualized world with growing transnational movements, however, it is necessary to both think beyond the jurisdiction/role of states and the salience of protest dynamics. Through the example of the feminist and manosphere movement, this thesis argues for an inclusive approach on counter-movement dynamics that considers narrative exchange. Here, the argument is developed that the countermovement generates narrative affronts to the movement that are either met with retaliation or a recuperation by the movement. This is encouraged to be used as a basis for future research on social movements and countermovements.Show less
