CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Etl, Alex |
|---|---|
| Title | Constructing Identity Through the Hungarian "Migration" Discourse |
| Summary | The thesis argues – in contrast with preexisting literature – that the Hungarian ‘migration’ discourse in 2015 cannot be understood solely as a securitization attempt as it also fundamentally targeted the level of identity construction. In order to demonstrate this, I synthetize the frameworks of Critical Discourse Analysis, securitization and hegemony theory in an innovative way, which will demonstrate the impact of the discourse on the level of identity. My empirical analysis of the Hungarian “migration” discourse reveals that the security frame of the situation and the feeling of instability, gained hegemonic character throughout 2015. This affected the level of identity from two aspects. On the one hand, the security frame led to equivalence among in-group actors (Hungarians). This was utilized by the Hungarian government to emphasize the line between the Hungarian Self and the Other (refugees and migrants). Thus, it built heavily on the exclusion of the Other. On the other hand, the feeling of instability aided the ontological insecuritization process, which was utilized to establish a situation where everyday routines were not working and the ontological insecuritization became possible. The other aspect of the discourse linked to ontological security, is that it also fixed the meaning of the new enemy-image (refugees and migrants). In this process, the Hungarian state and the border were directly linked to the ontological security at the individual level as referent objects and frameworks, in which the invasion of the refugees and migrants could mean the end of both Hungarian identity and Hungarian state. |
| Supervisor | Cerny, Hannes |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/etl_alex.pdf |
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