“When the immigrants faced the Statue of Liberty”: Critical Discourse Analysis of National Narratives in Greek Parliament

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Open Access

|Jun 2024

Figures & Tables

Topos of Advantage/Usefulness	An action should be performed if it is useful from a specific point of view.
Premises	Immigrants/refugees were useful in any country (USA, Australia, Greece).
Premises	The labor supply rose when we had immigrant/refugee inflows.
Conclusion	Immigrants/refugees will also be useful in Greece today as work opportunities will increase.

Topos of History	An action, when it is comparable with a historical example, should be performed or omitted in relation to its consequences.
Premises	In the USA, all were registered and entered the country, both the prosecuted [meaning those requesting asylum] and the immigrants.
	They were not thrown into the sea; they did not prosecute the immigrants.
	They were integrated into American society.
Conclusions	Therefore: • In Greece, all immigrants/refugees should be registered and assimilated. • The practice of expulsion and exclusion of those who do not fulfill the “institutionally defined” characteristics of the refugee is unacceptable.

Topos of Disadvantage/Uselessness	An action should be rejected when it is more likely to lead to undesired results.
Premises	The USA was a country with vast lands.
	The USA was a country which needed immigrants.
	The USA was a multicultural and multiethnic country built by immigrants.
Conclusions	Therefore, since Greece is a small and monocultural country, it does not need immigrants.

Topos of History	An action, when it is comparable with a historical example, should be performed or omitted in relation to its consequences.
Premises	Immigrants who would go to the USA knew that they would be registered and identified by the American authorities.
Premises	American authorities knew who entered the country and who did not.
Conclusions	Therefore: • Today, in Greece, immigrants/refugees should know that they will be checked and identified by the Greek authorities. • Greek authorities should know who enters the country and who does not.

Narrative Analysis Levels	Research Aim
1^st: Narrative World	How do Mitsotakis and Varoufakis construct the immigrants/refugees’ identification on Ellis Island, their selection and admission into the USA?
2^nd: Narrative Interaction Argumentative strategies (Reisigl & Wodak 2001): 1) Topos of history 2) Topos of advantage/usefulness 3) Topos of disadvantage/uselessness	What kind of argumentative strategies do Mitsotakis and Varoufakis use to construct a collective identity with the ND and MeRa25 supporters, respectively?
3^rd: Broader Cultural, Ideological and Social Context	How do Mitsotakis and Varoufakis position themselves toward the national discourse?

Language: English

Page range: 74 - 97

Published on: Jun 30, 2024

Published by: Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 times per year

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© 2024 Nikoletta Panagaki, Vasia Tsami, Kyriakoula Tzortzatou, published by Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.