Right-wing populism and the criminalization of sea-rescue NGOs: the ‘Sea-Watch 3’ case in Italy, and Matteo Salvini’s communication on Facebook

Abstract

The contemporary outbreak of right-wing populism in combination with increasing migratory flows toward Europe raises concerns about the social construction of migrations and migrants and the policy orientations toward them. Research indicated worrying tendencies to perceive migrations negatively and criminalize migrants. However, this paper focuses on a different tactic adopted by a number of populist forces: the criminalization of sea-rescue NGOs. In particular, it presents the case-study of Sea-Watch 3, an NGO sea-rescue vessel which docked in Italy with several migrants on board in June 2019, after a long struggle with Minister of Internal Affairs Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League (a right-wing, anti-migrants populist party). By means of content analysis, the paper discusses Salvini’s Facebook communication strategy about the event. The aim of this study is to cast new light on how the criminalization of NGOs can be exploited to reinforce other aspects of right-wing populism, such as anti-elitism, nationalism, exclusionary politics, personalization, and polarization. In this respect, the implications of criminalizing sea-rescue NGOs for policy orientations and policymaking are also highlighted.

Guilt by association? The criminalisation of sea rescue NGOs in Italian media

“…Shortly after his appointment as interior minister in June 2018, League Secretary Matteo Salvini declared Italian ports 'closed' to rescue ships, consistently vetoing or delaying the disembarkation of migrants on Italian territory to showcase his tough stance on irregular migration. During the Conte I cabinet (June 2018 -August 2019), Italy engaged in several standoffs with NGO ships and enacted specific legal provisions criminalising maritime rescue (Berti 2020;McDowell 2020). Besides being the target of policy restrictions, NGOs were increasingly subjected to judicial proceedings.…”

“…While several works have examined media coverage of irregular migration to Italy (Barretta et al 2017;Berry, Garcia-Blanco, and Moore 2016;Quassoli 2013;Urso 2018), no study focuses specifically on the discursive criminalisation of non-governmental rescue operations. Existing scholarship has only briefly examined reactions to the 2018 standoff between the Italian government and SOS-Méditerranée's Aquarius (McDowell 2020) and statements made by Italian politicians (Berti 2020;Colombo 2018), prosecutors, and European Union (EU) agencies like Frontex (Cusumano and Villa 2020).…”

United to rescue? Humanitarian role conceptions and NGO–NGO interactions in the Mediterranean Sea

“…One of the non-signatory NGOsthe German youth organisation Jugend Rettethad its boat impounded for allegedly abetting illegal immigration soon thereafter (Cusumano and Villa 2020). The criminalisation of SAR NGOs culminated in the summer of 2018, when Italy declared its ports closed to all foreign-flagged vessels (Berti 2020, McDowell 2020. Between 2014 and early 2017, however, NGOs could rely on a more permissive legal and political environment to conduct SAR, which offered comparatively fewer logistical and security challenges than most crisis scenarios on land.…”

Habermas on people-building in the European Union

“…Similarly, Matteo Salvini (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019 and the Federal Secretary of the Northern League since 2013) published a constitutionally dubious ‘Security Decree’ on legal provisions and protections for migrants in Italy, particularly for migrants seeking asylum (Corsi, 2019). Salvini has also frequently attacked the EU’s neoliberal policies (Berti, 2020), namely the EU’s aversion to state financial expenditures (see Salvini’s rhetoric following the collapse of the Ponte Morandi in Genoa) in combination with its open-border policy towards immigrants.…”