earticle

영어

The so-called ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015-2016 poses a substantial challenge to European migration policies and ignited a new debate on migration across Europe. Germany, in particular, has seen a massive influx of migrants, yet a culture of welcome prevailed and the support for anti-migration groups remains lower than in neighboring countries. The paper explores the changing framingof refuge and (im)migrationin Germanyduring the refugee crisis. While in the past the image of a refugee deserving asylum was clearly defined on political grounds, the increasing number of economic migrants challenges the perception of refuge among Germans. The framing of migrants became more nuanced, shifting from a collective to an individual notion. Following negative incidents, frames for specific groups shifted further, prompting politicians to introduce some policy changes that tightened access. Using a framework of deservingness, the paper looks at the framing ofdifferent migrant groups and subsequent changes of perceptions of deservingness among citizens. Three key criteria of deservingness are studied, the personal responsibility for one’s situation, the level of need, and the identity of recipients.Such analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of changes in public opinion, supplementing quantitative work.