The new “Handbook on Migration and Security” (Edward Elgar Publishing), edited by Philippe Bourbeau, features a chapter by Associate Professor Alexander Caviedes of the Department of Politics and International Affairs.
The handbook provides a state-of-the-art analysis of the critically important links between migration and security in a globalizing world, and presents original contributions from a broad contingent of international experts who suggest innovative and emerging frontiers in the study of the securitization of migration.
Dr. Caviedes’ chapter, “Media Agents,” critically examines the assertion that the media is actively engaged in stressing elements of danger and threat within its coverage of immigration. Caviedes explores theoretical questions such as whether the media actually engages in casting migration in a securitizing light, whether it follows any trends and whose interests this process serves.
It surveys the variety of methodological approaches common in such research, pointing out how choices concerning the balance of qualitative versus quantitative analysis, the focus on specific temporal periods or geographic areas and the selection of representative media can generate diverse conclusions.
The piece concludes with a brief examination of security portrayals within newspaper articles on immigration in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. The empirical analysis illustrates some of the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches, and grounds a call for a more systematic approach in studies on the role of media agents in the securitization of migration.
As with Caviedes’ other recent publications, the empirical section draws on an ongoing research project in collaboration with Fredonia students who review, code and summarize European newspaper articles from five countries spanning English, French, German, Italian and Spanish languages. The project covers almost a decade across 10 newspapers.
