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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 23:2 (2024) ► pp.176–196

Borderless fear?

How right-wing populism aligns in affectively framing migration as a security threat in Austria and Slovenia

ORCID logo | Free University of Berlin
ORCID logo | University of Ljubljana | Peace InstituteLjubljana
ORCID logo | University of Vienna
ORCID logo | Peace InstituteLjubljana
Studies have highlighted differences between right-wing populism in Western and Central Eastern Europe but suggested that discourses have been converging since the so-called “refugee crisis” in 2015. This article examines this claim by focusing on right-wing populist frames and affective communication on migration in Austria and Slovenia. Taking a communication-centred approach, the study is based on a critical frame analysis of 70 speeches from far-right to centre-right parties in parliamentary debates on migration between 2015 and 2019. The results show that right-wing populist discourses in the two adjacent countries have aligned in appealing to affects, particularly to fear and in framing migration as a threat to security and culture. Despite differences in mobilizing affects, the findings indicate a mutual alignment of right-wing populism beyond borders, signalling a potential risk of a broader right-wing populist bloc unified by fear of migration.
Keywords: right-wing populism, migration, discourse, affects, framing, Austria, Slovenia
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Right-wing populism in Austria and Slovenia
  • 3.Right-wing populist discourse and affects. Theoretical considerations
  • 4.Material and method
  • 5.Securitarian mobilization of right-wing populist migration frames
  • 6.The affective structure of right-wing populist discourses
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Literature
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 28 November 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.22026.thi
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