The Argument about Cultural (In) Compatibility in Far-right Populist Discourse: Constructing the Figure of a “Migrant”

Abstract

In a populist discourse in Serbia, the word “migrant” has become another word for a “brown-skinned Muslim”. This trend hints something that has been recognized by many scholars – the debate about immigration has turned into a debate about Muslims and cultural (in)compatibility. In this discussion, I will analyze the knowledge and information that is being produced by the far-right populist actors about migration and frame it into current political and intellectual trends in Europe. Debates about “culture”, understood as a closed, homogenous system of knowledge, defined by territorial boundaries of a national state, are gaining in importance in debates about immigration. A far-right populist argument that “Muslim culture” is incompatible with “European culture” and therefore poses a threat to “European identity” is interpreted as a manifestation of an increasing cultural fundamentalism. Furthermore, populist far-right interpretations of migration have gradually entered the political mainstream in Europe. It has been recognized that Serbian far-right populist actors advocate for anti-immigration policies under the influence of other far-right networks from Europe and elsewhere. The figure of a ‘migrant’ thus appears in the moment when the EU policies are becoming increasingly restrictive towards non-white and non-European people.