Love thy European Neighbour – but not for long? The Framing of Ukrainian Immigration Among German Mainstream Right and Far Right Parties
(2024) STVM23 20241Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- 2024 marks the second anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war
has resulted in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees entering EU member states, including
Germany. As far-right parties are on the rise across Europe, the topic of immigration is high
on the political agenda again. Mainstream right and far right parties are competing for the
discursive upper hand on the topic, but how do they deal with this new, different situation?
Mainstream parties have modified their positions on immigration in general, moving closer to
their radical right neighbours. Does this shift in framing also apply to Ukrainian immigration?
This thesis investigates the issue in the German political landscape, focusing on the... (More) - 2024 marks the second anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war
has resulted in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees entering EU member states, including
Germany. As far-right parties are on the rise across Europe, the topic of immigration is high
on the political agenda again. Mainstream right and far right parties are competing for the
discursive upper hand on the topic, but how do they deal with this new, different situation?
Mainstream parties have modified their positions on immigration in general, moving closer to
their radical right neighbours. Does this shift in framing also apply to Ukrainian immigration?
This thesis investigates the issue in the German political landscape, focusing on the Christlich
Demokratische Union (CDU), the Christlich Soziale Union (CSU), and the Alternative für
Deutschland (AfD). Its research question is thus: How has the CDU/CSU’s framing of
Ukrainian immigration been influenced by that of the AfD? The theoretical framework
combines strategic theory on niche party success and interaction type theory to inform the
hypotheses used to answer this question. A qualitative content analysis of the parties’ framing
on their official YouTube channels is used to test three possible strategies: accommodative
cooptation; adversarial confrontation; and dismissive demarcation. The findings confirm that
Ukrainian immigration is a deviant case and indicate that the CDU/CSU’s framing has been
influenced by the AfD. The results suggest a combination of nuanced cooptation and
moderate confrontation by the MRP. For most of the studied period, there is no support for
the dismissive strategy of demarcation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9152405
- author
- Gallacher Roig, Calam LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- STVM23 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Ukraine, Germany, immigration, framing, right-wing
- language
- English
- id
- 9152405
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-18 13:55:44
- date last changed
- 2024-07-18 13:55:44
@misc{9152405, abstract = {{2024 marks the second anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has resulted in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees entering EU member states, including Germany. As far-right parties are on the rise across Europe, the topic of immigration is high on the political agenda again. Mainstream right and far right parties are competing for the discursive upper hand on the topic, but how do they deal with this new, different situation? Mainstream parties have modified their positions on immigration in general, moving closer to their radical right neighbours. Does this shift in framing also apply to Ukrainian immigration? This thesis investigates the issue in the German political landscape, focusing on the Christlich Demokratische Union (CDU), the Christlich Soziale Union (CSU), and the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Its research question is thus: How has the CDU/CSU’s framing of Ukrainian immigration been influenced by that of the AfD? The theoretical framework combines strategic theory on niche party success and interaction type theory to inform the hypotheses used to answer this question. A qualitative content analysis of the parties’ framing on their official YouTube channels is used to test three possible strategies: accommodative cooptation; adversarial confrontation; and dismissive demarcation. The findings confirm that Ukrainian immigration is a deviant case and indicate that the CDU/CSU’s framing has been influenced by the AfD. The results suggest a combination of nuanced cooptation and moderate confrontation by the MRP. For most of the studied period, there is no support for the dismissive strategy of demarcation.}}, author = {{Gallacher Roig, Calam}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Love thy European Neighbour – but not for long? The Framing of Ukrainian Immigration Among German Mainstream Right and Far Right Parties}}, year = {{2024}}, }