The securitization of male immigrants

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2019-06-21
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en
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The ‘refugee crisis’ caused a lot of debate in Europe. In the Netherlands, people demonstrated with banners proclaiming that male refugees have the desire to rape the girls in town. Where did this fear for male refugees suddenly come from? And more importantly, was this a sign that male refugees were securitized in the Netherlands? The Copenhagen school of securitization is used to answer this question. Securitization means that every issue in essence can be turned into a security issue, which legitimizes the use of extraordinary measures. However, the Copenhagen school of securitization has been criticised for being gender blind. Therefore, the theoretical framework of this thesis has been amended and modified with gender theory. In the analysis, gender is used in an intersectional manner and the focus has been on gender roles and stereotypes. A frame analysis of two Dutch newspapers was conducted in order to see whether male migrants were securitized in the Netherlands. There was only a limited number of articles that did not present migrants as a homogenous group but distinguished them into sexes. Out of these articles, only a few made the connection between gender, migrants and securitization. Therefore, it could not be concluded that male migrants were securitized in the Netherlands. However, the securitization of male migrants might be an ongoing process. Future academic research is necessary in order to determine whether gender has an effect on the securitization process. The results show potential risks of discrimination, segregation, and polarisation for society, but also opportunities that come along with securitization. Furthermore, it identifies some new avenues for future research within security studies.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen