Politicising immigration in times of crisis: empirical evidence from Switzerland
Marco Bitschnau, Leslie Ader, Didier Ruedin & Gianni D'Amato
| Résumé |
This article investigates the politicisation of immigration in
Switzerland during two major socioeconomic crises: the oil crisis
of the 1970s and the financial crisis of the late 2000s. Based on
2,853 newspaper claims from 1970 to 1976 and 1995 to 2018, we
measure and compare differences in salience, polarisation, actor
diversity and frame use between crisis and noncrisis periods. We
find that while claims-making on immigration was indeed more
salient, polarised, and diversified during the oil crisis, the
empirical data for the financial crisis are inconclusive or show a
slight decrease. Nonetheless, we still find a noteworthy increase
in the use of identity frames during both periods. We conclude that
while crises may influence claims-making about immigration and thus
affect the politicisation of the matter, their contextual links to
particular immigrant groups appear to be of importance as well.
Crises do not increase politicisation automatically but may provide
important opportunity structures that foster it. |
| Mots-clés |
Politicisation, immigration, integration, claims-making, crisis, Switzerland |
| Citation | Bitschnau, M., Ader, L., Ruedin, D., & D'Amato, G. (2021). Politicising immigration in times of crisis: empirical evidence from Switzerland. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(17), 3864-3890. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 2021 |
| Nom du périodique | Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |
| Volume | 47 |
| Numéro | 17 |
| Pages | 3864-3890 |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1936471 |