Kulturgrenzen, Hot-Spots und Schlepper

Sprachliche Verortungspraktiken von Flucht und Asyl

Abstract

On 5 June 2016, following the Swiss People's Party (SVP) initiation of a new referendum after an initial vote in June 2013, Swiss citizens voted on the revision of the Asylum Act. This political debate resulted in a media debate in the Swiss press regarding refugees and the right to asylum. This article examines the following question: “How were the terms “refuge” and “asylum” processed by the media in June 2016 and which socially accepted systems of meaning were reproduced?”. Using reconstructive methods and the analysis of metaphors, we analysed the structures of meaning linked to the terms “refuge” and “asylum”. It became clear that the press actively ascribed meaning to refuge and asylum by (re-)producing specific subject positions and spatial constructs and putting them in relation to each other, thereby spatially re-presenting actors and actions.