Speaking on Europe's behalf: EU discourses of representation during the refugee crisis

This article aims to understand the lack of consensus at the European Union (EU) level during the refugee crisis based on the discursive polarization of the main governmental and institutional actors involved in decision-making. Drawing on de Wilde's representative claims analysis, the goal is to trace competing claims of representation made on 'Europe's behalf' by multiple actors claiming to defend EU values or the interests of citizens. The analysis covers Politico Europe articles published during 2015-16, capturing the height of the crisis. The findings illustrate the self-understandings of actors on a humanitarian-communitarian axis that became intertwined with concerns for internal EU solidarity and the survival of the Schengen Area. The analysis contributes to the literature on EU politicization and discursive framing during the refugee crisis, showing how the actors involved in EU decision-making had very different conceptions of what was at stake in the episode.