In 2015, the European Union (EU) was faced with close to 1.3 million asylum claims in 2015 (European Commission, 2016). This vast increase in applications came to be described as a ‘migrant crisis’, not just in humanitarian terms, but as a test to ‘Europe’ as an identity. This research sought to understand how the responses of EU-states towards the migrant crisis (re)affirmed ‘Europe’, both as an identity and as a means of legitimacy in determining policy. This conceptualisation was achieved by analysing common features of language that have been used by European leaders, researchers and media to interpret, respond and justify responses to the migrant crisis.
Johnson, Stephen
Supervisors: Managhan, T
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2017
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