The politicisation of borders in national-populist discourse: Geneva and Ticino during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author(s) : Cecilia Biancalana, Grégoire Yerly

Abstract: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802208054.00009

“Borders constitute an essential resource in national-populist discourse to counter alleged external threats to territorial sovereignty. This chapter aims to ask how national-populist parties politicise borders and which border issues are at stake in the discourse of parties operating in highly integrated cross-border regions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter focuses on the discourse of national-populist parties present in the two cross-border regions of Regio-Insubrica and Greater Geneva: The two cantonal branches of the Swiss People’s Party in Ticino and Geneva, the Lega dei Ticinesi, and the Mouvement Citoyens Genevois. Through a discourse analysis based on the parties’ direct communication, this research show that parties politicise both direct (border as a physical device) and indirect (border as a symbolic and identity device) border issues. However, different narratives are found in the two cross-border regions, depending on the distinct contexts.”

Keywords: National populism; Border issues; Discourse historical approach; Geneva; Ticino