Premium
Right‐Wing Populist Parties' Bordering Narratives in Times of Crisis: Anti‐Immigration Discourse in the Genevan Borderland during the COVID ‐19 Pandemic
Author(s) -
Yerly Grégoire
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
swiss political science review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.632
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1662-6370
pISSN - 1424-7755
DOI - 10.1111/spsr.12516
Subject(s) - narrative , newspaper , immigration , context (archaeology) , politics , pandemic , covid-19 , political science , cohesion (chemistry) , media studies , political economy , sociology , law , history , literature , medicine , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , art , chemistry , archaeology , organic chemistry
Right‐wing populist parties (RWPPs) view immigration as a threat to national identity and cultural and political cohesion. This paper explores the discourse on immigration of two such parties during a systemic crisis (the COVID‐19 pandemic) in a borderland area that entails a specific “symbolization” of the border as a result of geographic proximity. What kind of bordering narratives occur in this context, and how do they evolve? To answer these questions, the major RWPPs operating in the Geneva region were studied: the Genevan Swiss People's Party and the Geneva Citizens' Movement. Through a critical discourse analysis, a total of 181 documents published between 1 January and 31 August 2020 were analyzed, including the parties' official Facebook posts, press releases, and newspaper articles. Results show that the context of the pandemic favored the emergence of a strong re‐bordering narrative.