Birleşik Krallık’taki Göç Karşıtı Söylemlerin Brexit Sürecine Etkisi
Murat Çolak, Özge BozkayaBirleşik Krallık’ta Haziran 2016’da gerçekleştirilen referandum sonucuna göre, Avrupa Birliği’nden “ayrılma taraftarlarının” oranı daha ağır basmış ve bu sürecin ardından Avrupa bütünleşmesinin geleceğine ilişkin tartışmalar farklı bir boyutta ele alınmaya başlamıştır. Avrupa şüpheciliğinin belirgin olduğu yerlerden biri olan Birleşik Krallık’ta referandum sonucunda %51,9’luk oranla Avrupa Birliği’nden ayrılma yönünde oy kullanılması şaşırtıcı bir resim çizmemekteyken, ayrılma kararında göçmen karşıtı parti söylemlerinin oldukça etkili olması ilginç bir tabloya işaret etmektedir. Çalışmada, Brexit sürecinde göçmen karşıtı söylemlerin hangi derecede etkili olduğuna yanıt aranmakta ve çalışma literatüre dayanarak ele alınmaktadır. Bu anlamda, göçmen karşıtlığının araçsallaştırılmasında önemli bir örnek sunan ve sert Avrupa şüphecisi olan Birleşik Krallık Bağımsızlık Partisi’nin süreçteki söylemleri üzerinde yoğunlaşılmaktadır. Birlik olma anlayışında çokkültürlülük vurgusu artış gösterse de, göçmenlerin Avrupa Birliği üye devletlerinde ekonomik ve sosyal anlamda bir yük oluşturduğu üzerinde tezlerin sunulması ve göçmen karşıtlığının etki alanının genişletilmesi konusunda Brexit süreci somut bir çıktı sunmaktadır.
The Impact of Anti-Immigration Discourses in the United Kingdom on the Brexit Process
Murat Çolak, Özge BozkayaAs the referendum held in the United Kingdom (UK) in June 2016, the proportion of “leavers” was much higher than “remainers”. Since the referendum, the debate about the future of the European Union (EU) has progressed into a different dimension. The effectiveness of anti-immigrant discourses from political parties points to a very interesting scene. However, it was not surprising that 51.9% of the citizens of UK voted to leave the EU as a result of the referendum, where European skepticism was evident. Based on the literature, this article tries to find an answer as to what extent anti-immigrant discourses can widen their influence. In this sense, it focuses on the discourses of the hard Eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which presents an example regarding the instrumentalization of the opposition to immigration. Although there is an increase in the emphasis on multiculturalism, in the sense of being a part of the Union, the Brexit process is a tangible outcome with respect to the portrayal of immigrants as an economic and social burden, and it is an expansion of the sphere of influence of anti-immigration sentiments.
According to the referendum held in the United Kingdom (UK) in June 2016, the proportion of “leavers” was much higher. Since the referendum, the debate about the future of the European Union (EU) has progressed into a different dimension. In total, 51.9% of the citizens of UK voted to leave the EU as a result of the referendum where European skepticism was evident. This led to some doubts about the future integration model of the EU. In this period, many factors were observed as the impulsion that generated the mode of debates on the future of European integration. One of the most important and controversial factors at the EU level can be identified as migration. Especially after the Syrian Crisis, the number and the types of migrants coming from Syria to other regions were seen as a concern by many states in political, economic, and social terms. Even if the EU’s security and border management policies had taken root far before the start of the Syrian Civil War, the Syrians who escaped from the civil war have increased the security concerns of member states to the highest levels. In parallel with the increase of security concerns, the perception of the EU regarding migrants exists as a controvertible subject at a political level because of the differentiated approaches of EU members regarding this issue. Anti-immigration discourses have become a very effective form of populist expression in certain policy areas. One of the examples of this style of expression that has gained more ground in recent years can be observed in UK’s EU referendum process. In this context, evaluating anti-immigrant discourses in referendum campaigns presents important clues regarding the rise of Eurosceptic trends in the EU.
In this article, discourses on immigration and migrants during the referendum campaigns are presented as one of the main drivers that paved the way for Brexit (Britain-exit). The instrumentalization of the immigrant opposition arose out of debates between the Conservative Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), and this provides an example of the position of migration in the EU. The rise of far-right politics and populist radical discourses are a defined problem that the EU must overcome and the UK referendum process is supposed to be held as a concrete sample regarding this problem. Therefore, as a tool of populist and far-right wing discourses, explaining the anti-immigration aspects in the UK’s referendum process is the main aim of this study. In this context, the presentation of the immigrants as an economic and social burden on the EU member states is a critically moot point that questions the future of the EU. So, as a factor that is pushing the discourses of the far-right wing, populists, and anti-immigrant can be defined as a risk for the EU and its normative characterization. This study aims to explain how anti-immigrant discourses can influence the campaign process and to what extent it affected the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
According to the literature, Brexit has been held in terms of the process itself, and a future model of European integration is now on the agenda of many scholars in terms of the many risks that the EU has confronted. Even if Brexit does not seem like an astonishing step, it is a factor pushing anti-immigrant discourses that draw a considerable scene. Among the member states, UK has been defined as the representative of Eurosceptic tradition for a long time. In the EU, where there has been a developing culture of solidarity among member states in areas such as the Eurozone, the Justice and Home Affairs, and the Schengen Area, the separation of UK politics from the culture of solidarity has been assessed as the axis of European skepticism. When considering UK’s isolated preferences in some European level policy areas and its Eurosceptic tendency, we can evaluate Brexit as not being a surprising event. However, anti-immigrant discourses in the process can be evaluated as a challenging dimension. Anti-immigrant discourse has not only widened its influence in the UK’s political scene, it has reached a worrisome dimension in many other parts of the EU today. Therefore, analyzing the Brexit process presents a tangible outcome about to what extent anti-immigrant and populist discourses can widen their influence in the European Union.
