L'imaginaire national, l'asile et les réfugiés syriens en Allemagne et au Canada : une analyse discursive

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison of the representation of Syrian refugees in one German (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and one Canadian (The Globe and Mail) newspaper. Inspired by the notion of sublimation (i.e., allowing others to become us) as developed by Bauder (2011) and drawing on critical discourse analysis, the paper examines newspaper articles that were published between September 2015 and January 2016. Our results show that the representations of Syrian refugees in these newspapers generally reflect the national traditions of both countries (i.e., Germany as an ethnic nation and Canada as a settler society), however, they also highlight some peculiarities and contradictions: the articles in the Süddeutsche Zeitung reveal stark divisions within German society regarding "the refugee question" (supporters versus opponents), as a result of which the German national solidarity seems to be compromised in favour of an alliance between Germans supporting refugees (the majority) and the refugees. The articles analysed in The Globe and Mail demonstrate that the media coverage of Syrian refugees in Canada is less negative in comparison to that of other refugee groups. However, this positive representation is mainly used to highlight the "true" character of the Canadian nation, i.e., its apparent generosity and benevolence toward minority groups.