Article published in:
Media, Migration and Human Rights: Discourse and Resistance in the Context of the Erosion of Liberal NormsEdited by Ekaterina Balabanova and Ruxandra Trandafoiu
[Journal of Language and Politics 19:3] 2020
► pp. 413–435
Norm destruction, norm resilience
The media and refugee protection in the UK and Hungary during Europe’s ‘Migrant Crisis’
Ekaterina Balabanova | University of Liverpool
Alex Balch | University of Liverpool
Principles of refugee protection in Europe are said to have come under great pressure with the populist and
nationalist backlash to the ‘migrant crisis’, often traced to illiberal regimes in post-communist countries. This paper tests
these claims by comparatively analysing media coverage in the UK and Hungary, establishing the extent to which specific norms were
challenged or upheld in April and September 2015. It develops a new methodology connecting ethical justifications for migration
controls with the ‘normative terrain’ of refugee protection. The findings complicate existing assumptions about differences
between conservative and progressive-leaning publications, and also the divide and direction of travel between Old/New and
East/West in the European context. The article challenges the narrative of the ‘illiberal wind’ and advances understanding of the
relationship between political culture and media systems in Europe, and the toxic nature of media coverage in relation to the
survival of the normative regime around refugees.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction: What/which ‘crisis’?
- 2.Mapping the normative terrain
- 3.Hungary and UK: At the forefront of Europe’s backlash
- 4.Methodology
- Datasets
- 5.Results and discussion
- 5.1April 2015 – UK
- 5.2April 2015 – Hungary
- 5.3September 2015 – UK
- 5.4September 2015 – Hungary
- 6.Conclusions
- Notes
-
References
Published online: 25 March 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.19055.bal
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.19055.bal
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