First Advisor
Aaron Roussell
Term of Graduation
January 2025
Date of Publication
1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Language
English
Subjects
Italy, Migrant Crisis, Neo-fascism, Social media
Physical Description
1 online resource ( pages)
Abstract
This dissertation examines the intersection of Italian neo-fascism, the Mediterranean migrant crisis, and digital media. Through a qualitative content analysis of the Twitter and Instagram posts made by Italy’s center-right parliamentary coalition from 2014–2018, this research outlines frameworks that facilitate both the physical and social deaths of migrants. Twitter is a platform on which bite-sized xenophobic messages characterize migrants as criminals, spoiled youth, spreaders of infectious disease, and future terrorists—sometimes in a contradictory fashion. Instagram is a medium for conveying Italian identity and history, which disregards the longstanding contributions of people of color, including Muslims, in Southern Italy. Comment sections serve as spaces in which content from the coalition’s four key politicians is both internalized and challenged. Some commenters double down on corporal punishment or repatriation measures aimed at migrants, while others show greater concern for homegrown organized crime and gendered violence. These findings are oriented within the appointment of Giorgia Meloni as prime minister, who is Italy's first female executive leader and closely linked to neo-fascism. Feedback from commenters suggests that Meloni’s likeness helps repackage her regressive ideas about migration in a fresh and approachable way, with Meloni serving as the picture of white femininity that is under threat by foreign influence. Recommendations for resisting fascist rhetoric online include uplifting the contributions of Italians of color and reclaiming populist language that has become the domain of the far-right.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Recommended Citation
DePasquale, Jenna Lynn, "#Clandestini: How Italy’s Center-Right Parliamentary Coalition Frames the Migrant Crisis on Social Media" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 6874.