Securitization of Migration: The Case of Italy at the Outbreak of the Arab Spring
Abstract
This article presents a qualitative and empirically oriented analysis of the
Italian political discourse which took place in response to the immigration
wave that appeared after the outbreak of the Arab Spring in the first half of
2011. Using the concept of securitization introduced by the Copenhagen
School, the author seeks to deconstruct the discursive strategy of Silvio
Berlusconi’s government at the time, which was intended to legitimize
extraordinary reactive measures at both national and supranational (EU)
levels. The author also provides an interpretation of how the Italian cabinet
presented the mass influx of African migrants while exerting instrumental
pressure on the EU to provide appropriate assistance to Italy. The article
concludes by showing how the discourse, which was accompanied by
administrative and political practices, led to an escalation of the crisis within
the EU and subsequently opened up the space for a fundamental revision
of the rules regarding the Schengen area.
Keywords
securitization theory, immigration, Italy, political discourse, Arab Spring, Schengen area
Author Biography
Ondřej Kaleta
Ondřej Kaleta, born in 1987, he graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University in Prague in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science
and International Relations. At the same faculty he continued in his studies
by taking part in the Master's degree program in Security Studies, which he
finished in 2013. During the 2011-2012 academic year, he spent two
semesters at the University of Bologna in Italy. He focuses on migration
issues and questions of European security in his research. Currently he is a
PhD candidate in International Relations at the Department of International
Relations, Charles University, and works in the Section for European A!airs
at the Office of the Government.