Mobilising on Migration? Linkages of Migration and European Integration in Four Irish EU Referendums

Abstract

In a Europe where contestation over migration and European integration has become increasingly connected, Ireland seems to be an outlier. Whereas European integration has been a politicised issue in Ireland, not least in the context of four consecutive referendums on EU treaties in the early 2000s, politicisation of immigration has traditionally been low in Ireland. But while previous studies suggest that this has also been the case during EU referendums, the debates on the Treaty of Nice seem to be an exception. Ireland's status as an outlier in Western Europe and the variation across referendums makes the Irish referendums an ideal case for exploring the relationship between politicisation of migration and European integration. This article examines and explains to what extent and how migration has been discursively linked to European integration in the four Irish EU referendums in the period 2001–2009. Based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of political claims in Irish newspapers, I argue that pre‐existing national discourses on migration and European integration, which have been predominantly positive in Ireland, have generally hindered the mobilisation of anti‐immigration sentiments against the EU. The Nice II referendum is an exception, highlighting how not even Ireland is immune to such politicisation. My analysis shows how domestic radical right actors played an important part in mobilising such linkages, but also how the responses of other actors contributed to making migration a more salient issue. The article offers novel empirical insights into the politicisation of migration in Ireland, and also advances our general understanding of the dynamics behind the politicisation of migration in relation to European integration.