Refugee Representations by the Greek Public Administration: A Critical Review of the Greek Institutional Discourse

Abstract

This paper examines the political narratives employed in strategic communication between Greek authorities and the public administration during the refugee flows of 2015-2018. It also looks into the formation of images concerning refugees within the Greek political context and contributes to the existing literature on discursive representations of refugees. The study delves into the role of political rhetoric in strategic or non-strategic image formation, thus revealing the other side of media representations. It focuses on an overlooked aspect of political communication: the discourse of public administration institutions. The methodology uses qualitative content analysis with elements of discourse analysis, focusing on press releases from public administration institutions involved in the refugee crisis, as well as a selected corpus of public speeches from government members and local authorities. The institutions examined include the Ministry of Migration Policy, the Regional Administration of North Aegean, and the Regional Administration of South Aegean. The research covers the period from January 2015 to April 2018, encompassing a total of 159 press releases issued by the authorities under study regarding the refugee situation.