Integration: for, against or on the fence? German media frames of the Europe migrant crisis to a global audience

At the height of the European migrant crisis of 2015, Angela Merkel promised refuge to many migrants fleeing the ravages of civil war. The result of this decision is reflected through an ongoing influx of refugees into Germany, with every fifth person in the country now having a history of immigration. A situation like this raises subsequent questions about the changing dynamics of society and the effect of these changes on sentiments of intolerance. This research will focus on the issue of cultural tension in the form of Islamophobia and the consequential anxieties emerging in Germany as conveyed through dramatic events involving migrants and German citizens. The research will aim to identify leading German public discourse surrounding the representation of cultural tensions between new Muslim migrants and existing German citizens, in order to contribute to the research field of migration and integration. This aim will be undertaken through the content analysis of 150 media publications pertaining to four specific events from three of Germany’s most influential and popular online news outlets, Spiegel Online, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Suddeutsche Zeitung. The events all involve attacks by migrant men on German women, conveying a high level of emotional resonance for analysis