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Dismantling Security Discourses and Threat Perceptions Related to Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Croatia

Between mid-September 2015 and mid-April 2016, more than 650, 000 refugees and other forced migrants transited through Croatia, moving along the Balkan corridor towards Western countries. During this period a series of risk events, such as terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice or sexual assaults in Germany, have left their mark on the public perceptions of refugees and other migrants coming to Europe. One of (un)intended consequences of these events has been the further securitisation of state rhetoric and practices regarding the ‘humanitarian crisis’ which resulted in borders closing at the very edge of Schengen. The shift in attitudes has manifested in more negative sentiments towards refugees and migrants expressed among political elites and in public. The main aims of this chapter are to investigate public attitudes and perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers, to analyse the mechanisms of constructing and (re)creating the images of them and to discuss the possible effects of addressing, utilising and/or withdrawing their human rights. With theoretical models of ‘integrated threat’ and perception of refugees’ rights, the central analysis deals with the results of three studies conducted in 2011, 2013 and 2015 in Croatia aimed at exploring specific attitudes towards asylum seekers and/or refugees expressed by selected groups of Croatian citizens.

refugees ; asylum seekers ; Balkan corridor ; public opinion ; securitisation ; threat perception ; refugee rights

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