CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Bozko, Alicja |
|---|---|
| Title | The threat of the Other - Ontological security and right-wing populism in Poland |
| Summary | In recent years, much of the literature in International Relations has analysed the link between ontological security and the rise of populism. One of the main concepts in ontological security theory is that of a ‘sense of home’ as a prerequisite for remaining ontologically secure. The aim of my thesis is to address a certain gap in IR scholarship on ontological security by arguing that ‘the other’ who invades the ‘home’ is not necessarily an outsider coming from a foreign culture, but can also be of the same nationality and cultural background, if only populist leaders find it beneficial to render such group a threat. I conduct critical discourse analysis of 30 statements delivered by key-members of the right-wing populist political party, which has been ruling in Poland since 2015. I focus on the statements of which the main topic is either migration or LGBT delivered between September 2015 and April 2021. The analysis shows that immigrants are most often depicted as a physical, external threat, while the domestic LGBT community is presented as an internal, intangible threat to traditional values and cultural heritage. My conclusion is that populists can shift the meaning of ‘home’ by presenting it either as a physical, bordered territory or as a community of ‘virtuous people’. It is done in order to render different groups of people, both internal and external, a threat and cause the feeling of ontological insecurity on a societal level with the aim of gaining popular support and consolidating power. |
| Supervisor | Paul Roe |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/bozko_alicja.pdf |
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