The Dual Construction of Migration in EU Discourse: Migration as a Problem to Be Controlled and a Responsibility to Be Protected in Contemporary European Political Communication
Author
Douliaka, Freideriki
Term
4. term
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-01
Abstract
This thesis examines how migration is constructed in contemporary European institutional communication both as a problem to be regulated and controlled and as a responsibility grounded in protection and human rights. It asks how competing discursive constructions of migration operate within European institutional discourse and what they reveal about underlying tensions in EU migration governance. To address this, the study applies Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis (1992) to two texts: the European Commission’s 2024 communication on striking a fair and firm balance in migration policy and the 2026 introductory remarks by Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty before the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights. The analysis spans textual, discursive-practice, and social-practice levels. Findings show that control- and protection-oriented framings do not exclude each other but coexist within the same institutional field: the Commission largely employs managerial language focused on implementation, efficiency, and control, while O’Flaherty foregrounds legal obligation, rights, and institutional accountability. The thesis contributes by demonstrating how these competing discourses are simultaneously produced, maintained, and contested in European institutional communication, thereby illuminating persistent tensions at the heart of EU migration governance.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan migration i nutidig europæisk institutionskommunikation både fremstilles som et problem, der skal reguleres og kontrolleres, og som et ansvar for at beskytte menneskerettigheder. Specialet stiller spørgsmålet, hvordan konkurrerende diskursive konstruktioner af migration fungerer i europæisk institutionsdiskurs, og hvad de afslører om underliggende spændinger i EU’s migrationsstyring. For at besvare dette anvendes Norman Faircloughs tredimensionelle kritiske diskursanalyse (1992) på to tekster: Europa-Kommissionens meddelelse fra 2024 om at finde en retfærdig og fast balance i migrationspolitikken samt menneskerettighedskommissær Michael O’Flahertys indledende bemærkninger for Europa-Parlamentets Underudvalg om Menneskerettigheder i 2026. Analysen udføres på tekst-, diskursiv praksis- og social praksis-niveau. Resultaterne viser, at kontrol- og beskyttelsesrammerne ikke udelukker hinanden, men sameksisterer i samme institutionelle felt: Kommissionen benytter primært et styrings- og effektivitetssprog med fokus på implementering og kontrol, mens O’Flaherty betoner juridiske forpligtelser, rettigheder og institutionelt ansvar. Specialet bidrager ved at synliggøre, hvordan disse konkurrerende diskurser samtidig produceres, opretholdes og bestrides i europæisk institutionskommunikation, og dermed belyser vedvarende spændinger i EU’s migrationsstyring.
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