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Viral bodies: racialised and gendered logics in the securitisation of migration during COVID-19 in Italy

Pacciardi, Agnese LU orcid (2023) In Critical Studies on Security 11(3). p.176-193
Abstract
Since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, migrants’ mobility has been increasingly securitised as governments have been adopting extraordinary measures to close both external and internal borders. Similarly, the presence of migrants within countries has often been met with lower levels of acceptance, leading to the implementation of discriminatory and xenophobic measures. Although debates on the securitisation of migration are well established in the literature, this article demonstrates how the securitisation of migration during the COVID-19 pandemic has relied on gendered and racialised notions deeply entrenched in the legacy of colonial modernity. Examining newspaper articles and declarations by Italian prominent politicians, this... (More)
Since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, migrants’ mobility has been increasingly securitised as governments have been adopting extraordinary measures to close both external and internal borders. Similarly, the presence of migrants within countries has often been met with lower levels of acceptance, leading to the implementation of discriminatory and xenophobic measures. Although debates on the securitisation of migration are well established in the literature, this article demonstrates how the securitisation of migration during the COVID-19 pandemic has relied on gendered and racialised notions deeply entrenched in the legacy of colonial modernity. Examining newspaper articles and declarations by Italian prominent politicians, this contribution shows how this process has happened through 4 main discursive frames imbued with racial and gendered assumptions: 1) the virus as a foreign threat; 2) migrants as diseased bodies; 3) migrants as a burden; 4) migrants as racialised hypermasculine bodies. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Critical Studies on Security
volume
11
issue
3
pages
176 - 193
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85168686707
ISSN
2162-4909
DOI
10.1080/21624887.2023.2248437
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8c1b1bf0-fdb0-4b58-982f-6c61b2fe6712
date added to LUP
2023-08-24 16:58:13
date last changed
2023-11-06 15:18:29
@article{8c1b1bf0-fdb0-4b58-982f-6c61b2fe6712,
  abstract     = {{Since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, migrants’ mobility has been increasingly securitised as governments have been adopting extraordinary measures to close both external and internal borders. Similarly, the presence of migrants within countries has often been met with lower levels of acceptance, leading to the implementation of discriminatory and xenophobic measures. Although debates on the securitisation of migration are well established in the literature, this article demonstrates how the securitisation of migration during the COVID-19 pandemic has relied on gendered and racialised notions deeply entrenched in the legacy of colonial modernity. Examining newspaper articles and declarations by Italian prominent politicians, this contribution shows how this process has happened through 4 main discursive frames imbued with racial and gendered assumptions: 1) the virus as a foreign threat; 2) migrants as diseased bodies; 3) migrants as a burden; 4) migrants as racialised hypermasculine bodies.}},
  author       = {{Pacciardi, Agnese}},
  issn         = {{2162-4909}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{176--193}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Critical Studies on Security}},
  title        = {{Viral bodies: racialised and gendered logics in the securitisation of migration during COVID-19 in Italy}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21624887.2023.2248437}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/21624887.2023.2248437}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}