Authors

Vladimír Naxera¹;  ¹ University of West Bohemia, Czechia

Discussion

The proposed paper will be focused on the Czech debates on immigrants and refugees. Based on the distinction between what can be labeled as pro-migrant and anti-migrant discourses, the paper should analyze the (in)solidarity of relevant political actors in Czechia (especially political parties) with immigrants and refugees. As previous analysis has shown, there are differences between how the immigrants and refugees from two different areas of origin are perceived by the citizens and politicians. The majority of them refuse incoming immigrants/refugees from the Middle East/North Africa, however. At the same time, however, the majority supports solidarity with refugees from Ukraine. These differences in who the Czechs should be in solidarity with and who should not are influenced by the issues of religion, ethnicity, identity, as well as economic condition. Of course, regarding this view of individual groups of incomers, there are not only similarities but also differences between individual political parties. Although the Czech Republic may be labeled a promised land of populism (due to the strength of many different populist actors), the paper should show that we can not make a strict and simple distinction between populist and non-populist parties regarding their (in) solidarity with refugees/immigrants.