Migration discourse in Scandinavia and East-Central Europe: oppositions or continua?

Immigration, media dynamics, and populism in Scandinavia and Poland

Workshop/public seminar on Contentious debates across borders.

This seminar examines the media coverage of immigration issues in order to discuss how various media dynamics may influence the ways that recent opinions and policies have developed.

Based on ongoing research in Scandinavia and Poland the seminar will map major issues in news coverage and media debates on immigration and how these media representations both reflect and are influenced by political parties and movements, including populist movements.

Furthermore, the seminar will consider how national debates reflect on the perceived nature of neighbouring countries’ policies and debates about immigration, for instance the perception in Poland and Denmark of Swedish debates on immigration as being 'politically correct' and Swedish policies as influenced by multiculturalist values.

Programme

10:15

Anita Pluwak, Krzysztof Stala, University of Copenhagen: Introduction

10:30

Hans-Jörg Trenz, University of Copenhagen: Universalism versus deservingness: Reconsidering solidarity in the Danish welfare state

11:00

Kristina Riegert, University of Stockholm, The role of culture in press coverage of migration  2009-2016

11:30

Coffee break

12:00

Jarosław Kuisz, Warsaw University/University of Copenhagen: The new Iron Curtain? The Visegrad group and the refugee crisis as seen from the Polish perspective

12:30-13:30

Discussion

The seminar brings together three ongoing projects:

  • The Scandinavian ScanPub: The Immigration Issue in Scandinavian Public Spheres 1970-2015: Professor Kristine Riegert (Stockholm University) and Professor Stig Hjarvard (University of Copenhagen)
  • A CEMES project on cultural controversies in post-authoritarian European countries
  • A Danish-Norwegian cooperation: Professor Hans-Jörg Trenz, University of Copenhagen/Oslo