<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This paper is a contribution to the academic debate on populism and Islamophobia in contemporary Europe. Its goal is to analyze Czech President Miloš Zeman’s strategy in using the term “security” in his first term of office. Methodologically speaking, the text is established as a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) of a data set created from all of Zeman’s speeches, interviews, statements, and so on, which were processed using MAXQDA11+. This paper shows that the dominant treatment of the phenomenon of security expressed by the President is primarily linked to the creation of the vision of Islam and immigration as the absolute largest threat to contemporary Europe. Another important finding lies in the fact that Zeman instrumentally utilizes rhetoric such as “not Russia, but Islam”, which stems from Zeman’s relationship to Putin’s authoritarian regime. Zeman’s conceptualization of Islam and migration follows the typical principles of contemporary right-wing populism in Europe.</p></abstract>

This paper is a contribution to the academic debate on populism and Islamophobia in contemporary Europe. Its goal is to analyze Czech President Miloš Zeman’s strategy in using the term “security” in his first term of office. Methodologically speaking, the text is established as a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) of a data set created from all of Zeman’s speeches, interviews, statements, and so on, which were processed using MAXQDA11+. This paper shows that the dominant treatment of the phenomenon of security expressed by the President is primarily linked to the creation of the vision of Islam and immigration as the absolute largest threat to contemporary Europe. Another important finding lies in the fact that Zeman instrumentally utilizes rhetoric such as “not Russia, but Islam”, which stems from Zeman’s relationship to Putin’s authoritarian regime. Zeman’s conceptualization of Islam and migration follows the typical principles of contemporary right-wing populism in Europe.

“This is a Controlled Invasion”: The Czech President Miloš Zeman’s Populist Perception of Islam and Immigration as Security Threats

Department of Politics and International Relations

Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

This paper is a contribution to the academic debate on populism and Islamophobia in contemporary Europe. Its goal is to analyze Czech President Miloš Zeman’s...

THREAT is represented by	RUSSIA	Imperialism (later marginalized)
	ISLAM	Extreme enemy; in contradiction to Europe culture; it cannot be assimilated; associated with immigration
	IMMIGRATION	Source of terrorism; invasion to Europe; radicalization of European society; associated with Islam

THREATS	PROVIDING SECURITY	Multilateral army actions
should solved by be		Cooperation with Russia
		War against radical Islam
		Refusal of Muslim immigrants
		Citizens armed with light weaponry
	REDUCING THE	Refusal of Muslim immigrants
	NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS	Control and defense of European borders
		Deportation of illegal immigrants
		Providing help in the places of conflicts

ACTORS DELEGITIMIZED	EUROPEAN UNION	Increase of risk of terrorist attacks by acceptation of immigrants
BY (IN)LABELS SECURITY OF		Sanctions against Russia
		Forcing the Czech Republic to accept immigrants
	JOURNALISTS	Provide false information about immigration

SECURITY is provided by	ARMY (IN THE CASE OF CRISIS, ALSO POLICE, FIRE AND RESCUE TEAMS)	Fight enemy home and abroad
	INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (NATO; EU)	Common actions and training

“This is a Controlled Invasion”: The Czech President Miloš Zeman’s Populist Perception of Islam and Immigration as Security Threats

Article Category: Special Section: Reflections on Islamophobia in Central and Eastern Europe

Publié en ligne: 12 nov. 2018

Pages: 192 - 215

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2018-0008

Mots clés
populism, Miloš Zeman, security, Islam, Islamophobia, immigration, threat

© 2018 Vladimír Naxera and Petr Krčál, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Sources of danger

Solutions

Delegitimizing label

Source of security

“This is a Controlled Invasion”: The Czech President Miloš Zeman’s Populist Perception of Islam and Immigration as Security Threats

Article Category: Special Section: Reflections on Islamophobia in Central and Eastern Europe

Publié en ligne: 12 nov. 2018

Pages: 192 - 215

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2018-0008

Mots cléspopulism, Miloš Zeman, security, Islam, Islamophobia, immigration, threat

© 2018 Vladimír Naxera and Petr Krčál, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Sources of danger

Solutions

Delegitimizing label

Source of security

Mots clés
populism, Miloš Zeman, security, Islam, Islamophobia, immigration, threat