Abstract
The study of the interrelationship between media, conflict and discourse analysis is gaining increasing academic interest and establishing itself as a field of research. This paper raises concerns about the disparity in UK national mainstream newspapers representation of refugees based on orientalist stereotypical framing through an analytical study comparing the Ukrainian refugees’ representation in UK national print media between 2022 with the Syrian refugees’ representation in the UK national print media between 2015-2016. Both periods witnessed significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants to Europe. It highlights the orientalist approach in the UK national mainstream newspapers discourse and investigates the images that were produced which played a major role in the formation and consolidation of the negative image of Syrian refugees. The orientalist representations did not simply re-present facts, but also constituted them. The research suggests that the orientalist representation is problematic not only because it conflicts with the principles of accuracy and neutrality in reporting, but also because of negating public sympathy towards refugees who fled the conflict. The study compares the Ukrainian refugees’ representation in UK national mainstream newspapers in 2022 with the Syrian refugees’ representation in the UK national mainstream newspapers in 2015-2016. Both periods witnessed significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants to Europe.
Presenters
Ahmad BarakatVisiting Lecturer, Political Science and International Relations, The University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Syrian refugees, Ukrainian refugees, UK mainstream media, Orientalism
