Fortress Europe? Evaluation of Ideas for the Future of the EU

Abstract

Bibliographic note Putensen, J., 2019. Fortress Europe? Evaluation of Ideas for the Future of the EU. Master's thesis. Charles University, Prague. Abstract This thesis explores the use of the symbolic term Fortress Europe by political parties and move- ments in Austria, Germany, and Italy who are in favor of establishing a Fortress Europe and their ideas for what a Fortress Europe should look like. While the use of the term by left-wing critics of European immigration policies has been well covered in the literature, no author has yet analyzed the use of the term by political parties and movements that have started to demand a Fortress Europe since 2015. Based on an analysis of the appearance of the term Fortress Eu- rope in European media coverage conducted via the Factiva database, three countries with a relatively high use of the term in their media were selected for in-depth case studies. In partic- ular, the ideas of the following three extreme right groups were analyzed and compared: the Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ), the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), and Fortezza Europa (literal translation from Italian: Fortress Europe). It was found that their vi- sions of a Fortress Europe are very similar and aim to prevent any type of foreign immigration on a large scale in order to preserve...