Recent election campaigns increasingly frame diverse issues as security threats. This “securitization” of campaign narratives taps into emotions like anger, fear, and anxiety, potentially influencing public perceptions.
During the past summer, as part of a European research project analyzing election campaigns by political parties in European parliamentary elections, I collected and coded visual campaign materials (posters, commercials, and social media posts) from the main Finnish parties during the Finnish elections to the European Parliament in June.
One initial observation that strikes me is that the material contains a recurring theme of security and threats to security. We could talk about the securitization of campaigns in European elections, where campaign messages are framed as security issues, and threats are identified, sometimes using emotional visual rhetoric intended to evoke fear and anxiety in voters. In accordance with the pivotal study by Buzan et al., Security: A New Framework for Analysis (1998), the types of security issues that arise in the material are not necessarily military threats endangering traditional national security, but instead encompass a broader range of concerns.
The issues that Finnish parties frame as security threats are sometimes internal, occurring within Finnish borders (e.g., immigration issues and far-right movements), and sometimes external, referring to threats outside the borders that endanger national security (such as the climate change crisis, migration, the war in Ukraine, and the rise of the far-right in Europe and the European Parliament).
Borders are present both visually and verbally. The messages sometimes implicitly refer to Finland’s border with Russia, while at other times they specifically address borders related to migration. In the two Facebook screenshots below, the Finns Party (on the left) states: “The idea of a border is that you only cross it with proper papers. The European Union has been completely unable to address the problem of illegal immigration […] Let’s decide for ourselves.” On the right, the Left Alliance Party frames the border issue differently, defending immigrants’ rights with the campaign slogan “A fair Europe for all, not for the few” placed within the border motif.
Sources: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=851839943657075&set=a.250200693821006 and https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=957279632521155&set=pcb.957281239187661
The climate crisis, framed as a threat to security, is particularly emphasized by the Greens, as shown in the screenshot from Facebook below (on the left). The text reads: “The climate crisis is coming, and Europe is not ready. The catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis have been forgotten in the big debates of these elections as well.” On the right, the Social Democrats frame the climate crisis differently, with a visual motif that evokes more positive emotions, alongside the text: “Enough of stalling climate actions. We can do better.”
Sources: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1006758084148231&set=pcb.1006357010855005 and https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=990384175789797&set=a.422856339209253
The Finns Party, in particular, frames immigration as a national security issue, using fearmongering imagery from, apparently, Finland’s western neighbour, Sweden, as seen in the screenshots below from the party’s Facebook account. On the left, the text reads: “A multicultural Europe was ordered and received. Now they wonder what happened. Isn’t it time to draw a border? Let’s decide for ourselves.” On the right: “Once upon a time, there was a Europe that did not control its borders. How did it turn out? Isn’t it time to draw a border? Let’s decide for ourselves.”
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=849411620566574&set=a.250200693821006
These examples of framing issues as security threats in the Finnish campaign may reflect broader trends in European politics, where topics like immigration and climate change are increasingly intertwined with national security narratives. As parties continue to construct and frame campaign messages around security threats, using dramatic visual imagery and appealing to emotions such as fear and anxiety, it becomes crucial to examine how this framing influences public perception.
References
Buzan, B., Wæver, O., & De Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Authored by Tom Carlson
The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.