Deconstructing the Migration 'Crisis' in Germany: Problem Representations and Hegemonic Discourses in the Political Debate
Author
Vagt, Luca-Janna
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2026
Abstract
This thesis examines how Germany’s political debate has shifted from the welcoming stance of 2015 toward a more restrictive approach, and how this turn is legitimized through language. Using a post-structural, Foucauldian lens and applying Bacchi and Goodwin’s WPR framework, the study analyzes German parliamentary debates and policy documents from May 2025 to April 2026. Informed by Donna Haraway’s concepts of the “god trick” and situated knowledges, the analysis shows that powerful actors in the governing center and right-wing opposition co-produce a dominant problem representation that frames migration as an existential threat to social order and national security. By presenting this threat narrative as objective fact, humanitarian perspectives are marginalized and deterrence measures such as border controls and deportations are cast as necessary protections. The discussion highlights how this framing masks the state’s exclusionary interests as universal necessity while overlooking structural paradoxes, including Germany’s need for labor migration and integration alongside practices that enforce segregation. The thesis argues that the deterrence system is sustained primarily through discursive power that sidelines migrants’ situated knowledge, and it concludes with reflections on limitations and avenues for further research.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan den tyske migrationsdebat har bevæget sig fra den åbne tilgang i 2015 til en mere restriktiv linje, og hvordan denne udvikling bliver legitimeret i politikernes sprogbrug. Med udgangspunkt i et poststrukturalistisk perspektiv og en foucault-inspireret diskursanalyse anvendes Bacchi og Goodwins WPR-ramme til at analysere tyske parlamentsdebatter og politiske dokumenter fra maj 2025 til april 2026. Analysen, suppleret af Donna Haraways begreber om “gudetricket” og situeret viden, viser, at de mest magtfulde aktører i den politiske midte og på højrefløjen sammen producerer en dominerende problemforståelse, hvor migration fremstilles som en eksistentiel trussel mod samfundsorden og national sikkerhed. Ved at præsentere denne trusselsfortælling som objektiv sandhed marginaliseres humanitære perspektiver, og politikker som grænsekontrol og udsendelser fremstår som nødvendige beskyttelsestiltag. Diskussionen peger på, at denne problematisering maskerer statens selektive interesser som universelle behov, samtidig med at den overser strukturelle paradokser, herunder Tysklands behov for arbejdskraft og integration, mens der skabes eller opretholdes former for segregation. Specialet argumenterer for, at afskrækkelsespolitikken i høj grad opretholdes gennem diskursiv magt og udelukker migranters situerede viden, og afslutter med refleksioner over begrænsninger og muligheder for videre forskning.
[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]