The Migration Wave and the Narrative of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)

Migračná vlna a naratív Slobodnej strany Rakúska (FPÖ)

Eva HÖHN 

https://doi.org/10.53465/JAP.2025.9788022552806.161-172

 

Abstract: This article examines how Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) has rearticulated the nation through the lens of the Vienna School of Critical Discourse Analysis (VKDA) in the aftermath of the 2015–2016 migration wave. Drawing on the concepts of imagined communities and collective memory, the study traces the discursive and interdiscursive strategies that construct a homogeneous “Austrian people” and frame migration as an existential threat. The analysis considers political speeches, visual and audio campaign materials (e.g., the anthem “Immer wieder Österreich”), and symbolic repertoires such as religious and national iconography, sports, and heritage sites. The findings support VKDA’s view that national identity is a dynamic, historically contingent product of discourse, and illustrate how populist actors instrumentalize symbols, language, and media staging to legitimize restrictive migration policies and consolidate political power.

Keywords: Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Vienna Critical Discourse Analysis, national identity, migration, populism

Kľúčové slová: Slobodná strana Rakúska (FPÖ), Viedenská kritická diskurzná analýza, národná identita, migrácia, populizmus

Fulltext: PDF

Language of the paper: Slovak

Online publication date: 23 December 2025

Pages: 161 – 172

 

ISBN: 978-80-225-5280-6 (online), 978-80-225-5279-0

ISSN: 2729-8973 (online), 2729-8981

Publisher: Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Vydavateľstvo Ekonóm

 

How to cite this conference proceedings paper (APA 7^th Edition):

Höhn, E. (2025). Migračná vlna a naratív Slobodnej strany Rakúska (FPÖ). In R. Štefančík (Ed.), Jazyk a politika. Na pomedzí lingvistiky a politológie X (pp. 161–172). Vydavateľstvo Ekonóm. https://doi.org/10.53465/JAP.2025.9788022552806.161-172