Ethnic Traitors: the Self-Presentation of Political Leaders with Migrant Roots

As conflicts near the European border are seemingly growing rampant, the issue of immigration becomes an even more prevalent topic in political discourse. While the rhetoric surrounding immigration has been studied from many different angles, the unique positionality of the ethnic minority politician has been mostly neglected. More specifically, the perspective of politicians with migrant roots has not been investigated before. Therefore, this thesis examined the self-presentation of ethnic minority politicians, particularly looking at how they positioned themselves in an interview setting during their campaign periods. Narrative analysis was used to process the interviews, examining how the politicians narrated about themselves and relevant political issues, such as immigration. This thesis was specifically interested in immigration policies, border security, national identity, and connections with migrant past, exploring the narratives that minority politicians used to illustrate these subjects. The results indicated that ethnic minority politicians conducted themselves in a similar manner to ethnic majority leaders, in terms of dedication to the nation and an emphasis on improving societal conditions. Interestingly enough, the minority politicians mostly disregarded their migrant roots, and instead stressed their sense of belonging, and their interest to build a brighter future for citizens. While this thesis provided a foundation to examining ethnic minority politicians and their narratives on critical issues such as immigration, there are many questions yet unanswered.