The (ab)use of ontological insecurity as an instrument of political mobilization and power-consolidation/legitimization within the Visegrad countries since 2015

Abstract

This dissertation scrutinizes how immigration has been constructed as an ontological security issue by the member states of the Visegrád group (Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia) between 2015 and 2020 employing ontological security theory andtheCopenhagen'sschoolsecuritizationframeworkas theoreticallensfortheanalysis.Thepaper'scentralargumentisthattheVisegrádcountries'approach to the question of immigration is fundamentally different than the Western European states' perception owing to their discrepant historical experiences. The thesis analyses each member of the Visegrád group independently through four prisms in order to provide an all-encompassing understanding about the particular characteristics of migration in each country. The analysis reveals that whereas some common attributes do exist among the member states (e.g. unwavering rejection oftheEuropeanUnion'squotamechanismortheexistenceofpronouncedxenophobicattitudes),their approach to immigration also shows striking discrepancies. Keywords: ontological security, securitization, immigration, migrant crisis, quota mechanism