Islamophobic Discourse of Czech Politicians and Political Parties on Twitter during the 2015 Migration Crisis

Abstract

This article focuses on the manifestations of Islamophobia of Czech politicians and political parties on the social networking service Twitter during the 2015 migration crisis. It utilizes the securitization theory of Copenhagen school as a theoretical framework, and through content analysis of relevant tweets aims to provide more data on what role Islamophobia played in the securitization of incoming migrants. We find that although securitization, and much more politicization, of migrants took place, obvious Islamophobia, similar to the one of the Czech Islamophobic movement, happened only in some cases. A number of those politicians who politicized or migrants and Islam usually raised their voices against radical Islamophobes.

La frontera de Europa en África: reacciones sociales online ante la crisis migratoria de Ceuta en cinco idiomas europeos

“…The findings are consistent with previous research, as they highlight the high degree of politization of Twitter discussions surrounding migration crises (Hadgu et al, 2016;Öztürk & Ayvaz, 2018;Vallo et al, 2020) and the prominent role played by media outlets and particularly political elites in shaping these discussions (Bartlett & Norrie, 2015;Ferra & Nguyen, 2017;Siapera et al, 2018). Indeed, they suggest that VOX effectively mobilized users to support their interests, ultimately contributing to the politization of the debate, in line with previous studies (Olmos-Alcaraz, 2022, 2023a, 2023b.…”

“…Indeed, they suggest that VOX effectively mobilized users to support their interests, ultimately contributing to the politization of the debate, in line with previous studies (Olmos-Alcaraz, 2022, 2023a, 2023b. Moreover, a humanitarian narrative was observed, focusing on migrant minors and Luna (Red Cross volunteer), and a negative narrative based on a threat perception, particularly an invasion, which also is coherent with previous literature (Gualda & Rebollo, 2016;Kreis, 2017;Siapera et al, 2018;Vallo et al, 2020). However, references to invasion, migrants and even to national politics encompass only a part of the sample.…”

“…For instance, Öztürk and Ayvaz (2018) compared tweets in English and Turkish, concluding that former expressed more negative opinions (40%) and focused on the war near their borders while users tweeting in English discussed more about national politics. Studies conducted at the national level have reported similar findings: two narratives combined with palpable nuances such as references to the political context and the specific characteristics of the issue in question (Barlett & Norrie, 2015;Krzyzanowski, 2018;Vallo et al, 2020;Combei & Giannetti, 2020).…”

“…Ferra and Nguyen (2017) argue that the 2015 migration cri-sis was discussed similarly to other political issues. The rejection (or acceptance) of foreigners allows politicians to reassure the support of certain segments of the electorate (Vallo et al, 2020): in such exceptional scenarios different political viewpoints compete in the public realm, so stakeholders try to ensure visibility and push their agendas (Bartlett & Norrie, 2015). This influence of media and political elites, along with the specific features of the platform, fosters the organization of users into affective communities: connected through shared affect stories that are selected and interpreted in a primary ideological way (Siapera et al, 2018;Castillo de Mesa et al, 2021).…”

“…This study is intended to answer three research questions concerning the Twitter online discussion about this dramatic event. First, given previous literature identified palpable differences depending on the language of the tweets (e.g., Gualda & Rebollo, 2016;Öztürk & Ayvaz, 2018;Vallo et al, 2020;Castillo de Mesa et al, 2021), wondering whether (and in which way) the crisis was discussed differently in tweets in Spanish and in other languages (RQ1). Second, the literature suggests that news media agencies and political elites remain as the primary actors in online debates about migration crises, so which were the most salient actors in the Twitter discussion about the Ceuta migration crisis?…”