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- Justifications for Anti-Refugee Views in German Political Discourse Over Time: Parallel, Changing, and Expanding Boundaries of the ‘Sayable’
Justifications for Anti-Refugee Views in German Political Discourse Over Time: Parallel, Changing, and Expanding Boundaries of the ‘Sayable’
This project investigates the evolution of anti-refugee discourse in Germany, focusing on Jewish and Muslim groups, through a comparative critical discourse analysis spanning from 1900 to 2024. It aims to understand the main arguments used by German governments to justify pro- and anti-refugee views, identify parallels and differences, and explore the boundaries of what is ‘sayable’ in political discourse. Gerda Henkel Foundation, 2025-2027
Leitung
Forschungsfragen
The study is motivated by the puzzling backslide in Germany’s asylum policies, despite its constitutional commitment to protecting refugees after the Holocaust. It investigates the following questions:
- What are the main lines of argument of different German governments to justify pro- and anti-refugee views throughout the 20th century until today?
- Which parallels and differences exist and where are the boundaries of what is ‘sayable’?
- How is this embedded in societal development and power structures?
- What are the main lines of argument of different German governments to justify pro- and anti-refugee views throughout the 20th century until today?
- Which parallels and differences exist and where are the boundaries of what is ‘sayable’?
- How is this embedded in societal development and power structures?
Beitrag zu internationaler Forschung
The project aims to uncover the power relations and social structures that influence asylum and refugee protection in Germany, and thus to identify potential opportunities for change and transformation.
Forschungsdesign und Methoden
The project will conduct a critical discourse analysis (CDA), following a Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) developed by Ruth Wodak. Critical approaches view the construction of social reality as discursive and consider discourses to be imbued with power and interest considerations. According to this view, discourses shape reality, social practices, and even the identities of individuals in ways that perpetuate or counteract existing power structures.
Heuristically, DHA works along five questions: 1. How are persons, objects, processes, and actions named and referred to linguistically?; 2. What characteristics, qualities, and features are attributed to social actors, objects, phenomena, and processes?; 3. What arguments are employed?; 4. From what perspective are these attributions and arguments expressed?; and 5. Are the respective utterances articulated openly; are they intensified or mitigated? (ibid., 93f). These questions will structure the data analysis.
Heuristically, DHA works along five questions: 1. How are persons, objects, processes, and actions named and referred to linguistically?; 2. What characteristics, qualities, and features are attributed to social actors, objects, phenomena, and processes?; 3. What arguments are employed?; 4. From what perspective are these attributions and arguments expressed?; and 5. Are the respective utterances articulated openly; are they intensified or mitigated? (ibid., 93f). These questions will structure the data analysis.