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When Populists Govern the Country: Strategies of Legitimization of Anti-Immigration Policies in Salvini’s Italy

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  • Laura Cervi

    (Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain)

  • Santiago Tejedor

    (Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain)

  • Mariana Alencar Dornelles

    (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, C/Isabel Torres, 21, 39011 Santander, Spain)

Abstract

The study aims at disclosing the narrative of immigration and the construction of the otherness in Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini’s discourse, geared towards the legitimization of anti-immigration policies. For this purpose, the author analyzes a sample of the Italian Interior Minister’s discourses related to three cases of migrant landings, drawing on Proximization Theory, revealing how the concepts of closeness and remoteness are manipulated for the construction of threat and the legitimization of negative political response. The study concludes that Salvini’s discourse presents all the classic characteristics of populism. It depicts virtuous and hardworking people threatened by the “others”, them “illegals” who are not “legitimate refugees”, along with inventing a new antagonist “other”, the rescue NGOs that are framed as criminals, justifying their criminalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Cervi & Santiago Tejedor & Mariana Alencar Dornelles, 2020. "When Populists Govern the Country: Strategies of Legitimization of Anti-Immigration Policies in Salvini’s Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:10225-:d:458365
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christian Dustmann & Kristine Vasiljeva & Anna Piil Damm, 2019. "Refugee Migration and Electoral Outcomes," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(5), pages 2035-2091.
    2. Laura Cervi & Santiago Tejedor, 2020. "Framing “The Gypsy Problem”: Populist Electoral Use of Romaphobia in Italy (2014–2019)," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Becker, Sascha O. & Fetzer, Thiemo, 2018. "Has Eastern European Migration Impacted UK-born Workers?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1165, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Yuriy Bilan & Halyna Mishchuk & Natalia Samoliuk & Halyna Yurchyk, 2020. "Impact of Income Distribution on Social and Economic Well-Being of the State," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    5. Beatrice Brunner & Andreas Kuhn, 2018. "Immigration, Cultural Distance and Natives' Attitudes Towards Immigrants: Evidence from Swiss Voting Results," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(1), pages 28-58, February.
    6. Sekeris, Petros & Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2016. "The Mediterranean Refugees Crisis and Extreme Right Parties: Evidence from Greece," MPRA Paper 72222, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alicja Domagała & Marcin Kautsch & Aleksandra Kulbat & Kamila Parzonka, 2022. "Exploration of Estimated Emigration Trends of Polish Health Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Laura Cervi & Fernando García & Carles Marín-Lladó, 2021. "Populism, Twitter, and COVID-19: Narrative, Fantasies, and Desires," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.

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