Radical right populism in the European Union: The securitization of migration in France and Germany

The re-emergence of Radical Right Populism (RRP) is one of the most crucial phenomena in current politics, well-manifested in both regional and national governing bodies across the world. The aftermath of the migration crisis in year 2015 brought an influx of immigrants and asylum seekers across Europe, hence, raised major political questions challenging the European Union’s dogmatically interconnected entity. The following years have instantly provided opportunities for the RRPs’ political restructuring of the EU during the parliament and national elections, advocating their anti-immigration platforms while clamoring for restrictive policy reformations in guarding national identity against Islamism and multiculturalism. This opens a question on how the RRPs have successfully gained massive support despite the EU and its Member States’ liberal democratic order. Framed within the Securitization Theory, this study will employ a discourse analysis method to provide a contextual investigation of RRPs’ securitization of migration exhibiting the cases of National Rally in France and the AfD in Germany. Moreover, this study will analyze how the RRPs as securitizing actors have played a significant role in securitizing migration by identifying the sociopolitical factors outlined in their narratives, which might have contributed to their success in manipulating the audience towards their political standpoint