When Migration Unites Political Parties: The Securitisation of Migration in Czech Party Manifestos
When Migration Unites Political Parties: The Securitisation of Migration in Czech Party Manifestos

Summary/Abstract: Migration issues are an important topic of Czech political discourse. However, little is known about the attitudes of Czech political parties, especially in the context of the securitisation of migration. The value of this article is in the comparative perspective it offers by comparing the pre-crisis and post-crisis periods. This is achieved by critical discourse analysis of Czech parties’ manifestos in the 2014 and 2019 European Parliament elections. Based on the results of the analysis, I argue that the securitisation of migration in Czech party manifestos was already set up in the pre-crisis period; the so-called migration crisis just emphasised this framing. The legitimisation of the framing was mainly connected with the issue of ‘illegality’ and the main security measure suggested was the protection of the external borders of the EU. This study also offers theoretic contributions. I propose to consider securitisation as a pragmatic strategy which should not necessarily be linked to the concept of populism. As my results show, securitisation as a pragmatic strategy is used by parties from across the political spectrum, no matter their position on the left-right political divide, their position on the EU or populist rhetoric.

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