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      Journal of Global Faultlines is published by Pluto Journals, an Open Access publisher. This means that everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles from our international collection of social science journals. Furthermore Pluto Journals authors don’t pay article processing charges (APCs).

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      Journal of Global Faultlines

      Volume 6, Issue 1
       
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      Refugees, Migrants and Citizens in U.K. Socio-Political Discourse: A Postcolonial and Discourse Analytical Critique

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            Abstract

            This paper examines why migrants and refugees are treated differently to citizens by the U.K. government. It brings together written statements from Members of Parliament and three online news sources, unpacking the contemporary dominant discourse using Critical Discourse Analysis. It argues that, as a colonial power, the U.K. has used and continues to use dehumanisation tactics to ‘other’ migrants. The examination of texts found common themes: citizens were presented as helpful, good people, the nation-state as a source of identity and safety and borders as requiring protection — in turn, justifying exceptionalism in the name of security. It concludes that the mistreatment of migrants and refugees is seen as legitimate because the national dominant discourse has constructed their societal identity as ‘others’ who pose a risk to the congruency of the state.

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            Author and article information

            Contributors
            Sophia Hayat Taha
            Journal
            Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50018794
            Journal ID (jcode): jglobfaul
            Title: Journal of Global Faultlines
            Publisher: Pluto Journals
            ISSN: 2397-7825
            ISSN: 2054-2089
            Publication date (Print): 1 August 2019
            Volume: 6
            Issue: 1 ( doiID: 10.13169/jglobfaul.6.issue-1 )
            Pages: 17-38
            Affiliations
            Sophia Hayat Taha is a PhD candidate in Keele University. Contact: s.h.taha@keele.ac.uk
            Article
            Publisher ID: jglobfaul.6.1.0017
            DOI: 10.13169/jglobfaul.6.1.0017
            SO-VID: e77daa76-7ea0-4581-b8ca-9ed39f46b952
            Copyright © This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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            ScienceOpen disciplines: Social & Behavioral Sciences

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