Projects / Programmes
Political and Media Populism: “Refugee crisis” in Slovenia and Austria
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.06.00 |
Social sciences |
Political science |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S265 |
Social sciences |
Press and communication sciences |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.06 |
Social Sciences |
Political science |
populism, media, migration, politics of fear, public opinion
Researchers (11)
Organisations (1)
| no. |
Code |
Research organisation |
City |
Registration number |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
0366 |
Peace Institute |
Ljubljana |
5498295000 |
3,578 |
Abstract
This project investigates the nexus between political parties, media and right-wing populism with regard to the so-called “refugee crisis” in 2015 and 2016 in two countries at the central-north end of the Balkan route, i.e. Slovenia and Austria. Historical background of the project is the erosion of “party democracy” and the rise of “populist democracy” with classical political leadership declining, coupled with the rising far-right political forces who mobilize against “the other”. The growing number of refugees fleeing to European countries along the Balkan route from war torn and economically devastated zones mainly in the Middle East fuelled the populist upsurge across Europe, including Slovenia and Austria, as refugees were increasingly regarded as dangerous, culturally deviant and as a threat to the national security and the welfare system. In this context the “exclusionary populism” that proposes cultural and religious difference as the rationale for excluding those who do not belong to “the nation” has found its ground to flourish.
Against this background the research project proposes a novel analysis of “political-media populism” based on previous research on media and internet populism conducted by project partners. It encompasses the analysis of a) trends in politics and the policy making, b) trends in the media and journalism, and c) the related public perceptiaon on migration in comparative perspective. The project focuses on the populist production of “politics of fear and securitization” which addresses the emotions and affects of people and converts fear of social and economic decline into anger against refugees and migrants. The dynamic interplay between political strategies and media representations – the “media-political parallelism” – is of central concern, i.e. how the legal, policy and journalistic frames are reflected in public opinion and become common sense.
The project contributes to the development of science by devising an innovative approach to research “exclusionary populism” combining a) interdisciplinary b) scale-sensitive, c) policy tracing and framing, and d) comparative epistemological approach, together with mixed methods approach. Methodologically, the project will combine legal and case-law analysis, in-depth interviews (with politicians, civil society actors and journalists), frame and discursive analysis (of migration policies, party documents, broadcast and press news items and online user’s commentaries), and the analysis of survey data to explore “exclusionary populism” at the example of migration.
The project adds the important but hitherto lacking media dimension to the growing debate on populism, it incorporates a new emotional and affective theoretical perspective into rather rationalist argumentations on populism, and it focuses on the currently most prominent issue of right-wing populist exclusion: the othering of migrants. By bringing new theoretical and empirical knowledge the project is expected to impact research in the fields of political science and communication science, in particular studies on populism, media and politics, emotion and politics, but also more generally, on studies of democracy and democratic inclusion.
Significance for science
Public opinion is formed under the influence of political and media discourses, practices and the policies adopted, which in the time of the “refugee crisis” in Slovenia and Austria have taken a visible populist turn. To understand the features of contemporary populism it is important to analyse the logic of the populist upsurge, how it develops at the intersections of political and media fields and how the “politics of fear” has an impact on “othering” and exclusion as well as on what it means for democratic inclusion and participation. Focusing on “exclusionary populism” in a comparative perspective of two EU states this project will fill in the gap in research that so far has not considered the relation of populism to “politics of fear” and “politics of affect” in the context of political and media framing of migration.
The project contributes to the development of science by devising an innovative approach to research “exclusionary populism” combining a) interdisciplinary b) scale-sensitive, c) policy tracing and framing and d) comparative epistemological approach, together with mixed methods approach. By bringing new theoretical and empirical knowledge the project is expected to impact research in the fields of political science and communication science, in particular studies on populism, media and politics, emotion and politics, but also more generally, on studies of democracy and democratic inclusion. Also, the project is of high social and political relevance addressing problems of exclusion in populist democracies, pointing to important challenges of increased diversity contemporary societies are facing. The project results, the new theoretical approaches and the data collected will represent the basis further research, public debate and also for policy making.
Significance for the country
Public opinion is formed under the influence of political and media discourses, practices and the policies adopted, which in the time of the “refugee crisis” in Slovenia and Austria have taken a visible populist turn. To understand the features of contemporary populism it is important to analyse the logic of the populist upsurge, how it develops at the intersections of political and media fields and how the “politics of fear” has an impact on “othering” and exclusion as well as on what it means for democratic inclusion and participation. Focusing on “exclusionary populism” in a comparative perspective of two EU states this project will fill in the gap in research that so far has not considered the relation of populism to “politics of fear” and “politics of affect” in the context of political and media framing of migration.
The project contributes to the development of science by devising an innovative approach to research “exclusionary populism” combining a) interdisciplinary b) scale-sensitive, c) policy tracing and framing and d) comparative epistemological approach, together with mixed methods approach. By bringing new theoretical and empirical knowledge the project is expected to impact research in the fields of political science and communication science, in particular studies on populism, media and politics, emotion and politics, but also more generally, on studies of democracy and democratic inclusion. Also, the project is of high social and political relevance addressing problems of exclusion in populist democracies, pointing to important challenges of increased diversity contemporary societies are facing. The project results, the new theoretical approaches and the data collected will represent the basis further research, public debate and also for policy making.
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report
