Research Article

Examining Hungary and Poland’s Leaders’ Narratives Regarding Middle Eastern and African Migrants and Ukrainian Migrants

Volume: 24 Number: 2 December 5, 2025
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Examining Hungary and Poland’s Leaders’ Narratives Regarding Middle Eastern and African Migrants and Ukrainian Migrants

Abstract

This study aims to determine whether migrants from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Ukraine have received comparable treatment in Hungary and Poland by analyzing the speeches delivered by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Using critical discourse analysis, it reveals the meaning behind Duda’s and Orbán’s statements about these two immigrant groups. The study indicates that Duda and Orbán securitized MENA immigration groups and represented them as others. Duda and Orbán, on the other hand, place a strong emphasis on solidarity and providing humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian migrants. The critical social constructivist theory, which stresses the concept of identity and meaning in response to difference, has been employed in the study to analyze how migrants from the MENA region are perceived as “other”, whilst migrants from Ukraine are seen as a part of “us”.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

European and Region Studies , European Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

July 16, 2025

Publication Date

December 5, 2025

Submission Date

August 24, 2024

Acceptance Date

January 6, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 24 Number: 2

APA
Avar, Y. (2025). Examining Hungary and Poland’s Leaders’ Narratives Regarding Middle Eastern and African Migrants and Ukrainian Migrants. Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi, 24(2), 241-272. https://doi.org/10.32450/aacd.1537996
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