The Construction of the Mediterranean Refugee Problem from the Italian Digital Press (2013-2015): Emergencies in a Territory of Mobility

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea is a historical stage of mobilities and has been a witness to important movements of people and goods since ancient times. In this liquid territory, different social processes of globalization can be observed; yet, in recent years, it has been predominantly depicted as an emergency scene, a crossing platform for those in search of refuge in Europe. This scenario becomes connected to a set of dimensions of securitization and quests for control that redirect the debates about national and European responsibilities regarding maritime territories. In this article, this issue is addressed exploring the construction and development of the social problem of refugees in the Mediterranean, departing from a frame analysis of news items thematically filtered from the digital platforms of two Italian newspapers in 2013-2015. The problem is contextualized in time and content progression, deepening the framing of some critical events, and reframing the Mediterranean as a referent/emergent territory of mobility.

The Evacuation of the Idomeni Refugee Camp: A Case of Discursive and Iconographical Representation on Digital Media

“…In the last few years, studies on the representation of refugees and asylum seekers on digital media have provided data especially on North America and some European countries (e.g. Esses et al 2013, Gabrielatos and Baker 2008, Ibrahim and Howarth 2016, Tudisca et al 2017, Van Gorp 2005, Vieira 2016. Other recent research has also focused on print-based newspapers analysis about migrants (Berry et al 2015, Binotto et al 2016, Greussing and Boomgaarden 2017, Maneri 2011, Silveira 2016, Steimel 2010, including analysis within journalism (Barretta andMilazzo 2016, European Journalism Observatory 2015), which attests to the attention paid by journalists themselves to the way in which such a subject is being dealt with.…”

Teaching Non-Italian Students: Italian Adaptation of the Questionnaire on Teachers’ Perspectives

“…Refugee flows through the Mediterranean Sea to Greece and Italy have been particularly large, especially after the EU-Turkey Agreement (European Council, 2016). There is still concern about the transfer of a large number of refugees and Vieira (2016) pointed out that the Italian press talked about immigration as an emergency and, in that way, contributed to crystallizing over time a univocal interpretation of immigration. This interpretive frame led to policies that did not guarantee the right conditions for promoting an effective integration (Campani, 2007).…”