Framing Different Groups of Immigrants in Central Europe Before and During the 2015–2017 EU Refugee Crisis

Abstract

This article examines the media framing of immigrants around the 2015–2017 EU refugee crisis in two Central European countries, Czechia and Slovakia. Unlike most similar studies I investigate how framing varies regarding different migrant groups. Using quantitative content analysis, I show that security and cultural frames are most commonly employed while the opposite holds for the victimisation frame. Particular frames are, however, more frequently used to depict certain immigrants. Those with a Muslim background and/or from the Middle East or North Africa (MENA) are more often framed in security and cultural terms. The victimisation frame is employed more often regarding immigrants from MENA and the economic frame regarding Eastern Europeans.