Discourse analysis of right-wing populists and the EU on immigration

Abstract

Irregular migration has become an increasingly polarizing topic within the European Union which has sparked numerous debates and fuelled several far-right parties to capitalise on this issue which has seen a sharp increase in the support for the far-right. Perhaps one of the latest and most significant illustrations that the European is moving in the direction of the right has been the election of Meloni in conjunction with Salvini and Berlusconi in the Italian national elections. Although the current coalition is debated as to where it stands on the right spectrum, it has been noticed that a certain populist sentiment has dominated the language and tonality of these politicians especially when speaking about irregular migration. On the other hand, many have debated that the European Union has been struggling with an existential crisis for more than a decade largely driven by highly divisive topics such as irregular migration. These political differences have put the European Union in a vulnerable position both within the international arena as well as within a European context where the very principle of proportionality is questioned given that many populist parties have tried to portray the European Union as an elitist and distant entity from the people. Through the Discourse Analysis theory, this thesis seeks to look at how the language of Italian right-wing populist contrasts when compared to the language used by the European Union. This approach is taken to understand whether the European Union has in any way been influenced in its latest discourse given that many countries within the bloc have shifted to electing populist parties. Therefore, an array of content ranging from public speeches to political written statements shall be critically analysed to understand what similarities and differences are present between Italian right-wing populists and the European Union.