Master Thesis
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Master Thesis Securitization of Migration Policies in Italy Author Paula Guzzo Falci Academic degree aspired Master (MA) Vienna, August, 2011 Studienkennzahl: A 067 805 Studienrichtung: Global Studies - a European Perspective Advisor: Dr. Maren Borkert Abstract English In 2008, following the electoral triumph of the center-right coalition in Italy, the newly appointed Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, announced that a “national security emergency” had deprived the Italian population of the right to be free from fear. Even though the Premier refrained from identifying the roots of this state of affairs, the subsequently launched “security package” clarified that, alongside terrorism and organized crime, immigration was deemed to be one of the security threats to the Mediterranean country. It was based on this assessment that, in the years of 2008 and 2009, immigration policy took a repressive turn in Italy: as a result of this understanding of the phenomenon, a number measures said to criminalize movers, and of provisions accused of violating these individuals' freedoms and basic human rights were adopted. This securitized policy evolution was, however, at odds with the basic values upon which the Italian Republic is founded. As a liberal democracy, Italy should abide by human rights laws and standards, regardless of the pressures and difficulties brought about by the international context. In light of this observation, how have security concerns managed to circumvent and suppress the necessary presence of human rights considerations in the country's immigration policy? The present study aims at addressing this question. Since contemporary political battles over the definition and handling of societal matters mostly occur in and over language, this study is based on a critical discourse analysis of the parliamentary debates that led to the approval of the centerpiece of the Italian “security package”, the Security Law no.94, concerning “Provisions in the Field of Public Security”. Key words: securitization; immigration; immigration policy; security package; Italy. Abstract German In 2008, nach dem triumphalen Wahlsieg der Mitte-rechts Koalition in Italien, verkündete der neu angelobte Premierminister, Silvio Berlusconi, dass eine „nationale Sicherheitsnotlage“ die italienische Bevölkerung um ihr Recht frei von jeder Furcht zu sein gebracht habe. Obwohl der Premier die Ursachen dieser Sicherheitslage nicht näher identifizierte, machten die anschließend verabschiedeten „Sicherheitspakete“ klar, dass neben Terrorismus und Organisierter Kriminalität, Immigration als eine Gefahr für den Mittelmeerstaat angesehen wurde. Basierend auf dieser Einschätzung nahm Immigrationspolitik einen repressiven Schwenk in den Jahren 2008 und 2009 in Italien: daraus folgte das Phänomen der Kriminalisierung von Immigranten. Diese Evolution der Sicherheitspolitik steht aber im Widerspruch zu den grundlegenden Werten, auf Basis deren die italienische Republik gegründet wurde. Als eine liberale Demokratie sollte Italien Menschenrechtsgesetze und Menschenrechtsstandards berücksichtigen, unabhängig von durch den im internationalen Kontext erzeugten Druck und Schwierigkeiten. Angesichts dieser Beobachtungen stellt sich die Frage wie Sicherheitsbedenken es geschafft haben, die Bedenken in der Immigrationspolitik bezüglich der Menschenrechte zu umgehen und zu unterdrücken. Die vorliegende Studie setzt sich mit dieser Frage auseinander. Nachdem aktuelle politische Kämpfe über Definition und Behandlung von gesellschaftlichen Belange mehrheitlich durch Sprache ausgefochten werden, basiert diese Studie auf einer kritischen Diskursanalyse der parlamentarischen Debatten, welche zur Annahme des Herzstücks des italienischen „Sicherheitspaketes“, das Sicherheitsgesetzt Nr. 94, bezüglich „Zusätze im Bereich der Öffentlichen Sicherheit“, relevant waren. Acronyms AN – National Alliance CdL – House of Freedoms CEI – Identification and Expulsion Centers CPTA – Temporary Assistance and Detention Centers ECHR – European Convention of Human Rights ECJ – European Court of Justice EP – European Parliament EU – European Union IdV – Italy of Values LNP – Northern League MpA – Movement for Autonomies MR – Members' resouces NGOs – Non-governmental Organizations PD – Democratic Party PdL – People of Freedoms UDC – Union of Christian and Center Democrats UDHR – Universal Declaration of Human Rights Table of Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5 2 Securitizing Immigration: a theoretical overview ........................................................ 18 2.1 The invisible enemy: the rise of insecurity in Europe .......................................... 18 2.2 Securitization Theory: Copenhagen School and Beyond ..................................... 24 2.2.1 The Copenhagen School: the concept of securitization and the importance of language ................................................................................................................. 25 2.2.2 Theoretical amendments and (some) reformulations: the role of practices and other concerns.................................................................................................. 28 2.3 Migration and security: a “dangerous” connection ............................................... 33 2.4 Language as a social practice: ideology and power .............................................. 46 3 Immigration to Italy: still in search of the “Bel paese” ................................................ 50 3.1 The “Greater Italy”: from emigration to immigration .......................................... 52 3.2 Immigration to Italy .............................................................................................. 60 3.2.1 Immigrants: when, who, why, and where ..................................................... 60 3.2.2 Heading to the insecure North? Social climate and discrimination in Italy .. 69 3.3 Italian migration policy: from the 1980s to 2002 ................................................. 79 3.4 Free from fear? The Italian infamous “Security Package” ................................... 89 4 On Security and Rights: analyzing of the debates over the Law no.94 ...................... 100 4.1 Critiques to the “Security Package”: Immigrants, human beings ....................... 101 4.2 Critical Discourse Analysis: a Methodological Note ......................................... 112 4.3 Security versus rights: an analysis of the debates over the Law no.94 ............... 128 4.3.1 Center-left: more security, more rights ....................................................... 132 4.3.2 Center-Right: more security, more duties ................................................... 150 5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 176 6 References .................................................................................................................. 185 Annex 1: Timeline of the Italian “Security Package” (2008-2009) ............................. 198 Annex 2: List of the Parliamentary Sessions devoted to the Discussion of the Security Bill ................................................................................................................................. 200 CURRICULUM VITAE ................................................................................................ 202 1 Introduction The news coverage of the public security problems afflicting Italy during the late 2007 and the beginning of 2008 heralded what would become one of the central themes of the general elections of March 2008, namely: the “national security emergency”. Aggressions, murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, growing signs of urban degradation, garbage disposal troubles, problems with Rom camps, among others, filled the pages of the main newspapers of the country, and prefigured the (in)security polemic that would take over that year's political campaign.1 As expected, the widespread sense of unease related to the concern about crime and victimization and to the perception of increasing urban disorder and decay was instrumentally mobilized by political actors for electoral purposes. The center-right coalition in particular – which had hitherto been in the opposition, and had observed the successive failures of the center-left government to address Italy's pressing security problems – , built a political platform that strongly relied on the call for legality. It was based precisely on this law and order political program that Silvio Berlusconi became for the fourth time the President of the Italian Council of Ministers.2 In consonance with the bloc's electoral promises, the months that followed the political dispute were marked by an intense endeavor to approve a “package” of security measures that would, according to the rhetoric used by the newly formed majority, restore one of the primary rights of the citizenry: the right to live a life free from fear.3 To this end, the so-called “security package”4 included a large number of legislative measures, which covered a highly heterogeneous set of topics, ranging from terrorism and mafia to violence on sports stadiums and immigration policy. In respect to the latter topic, it is noteworthy that new regulations on immigration gained a disproportionate amount of space in nearly all the laws that compose the “security package”: not only did 1Laura Sartori. Lavavetri, Punkabbestia e Rom,