From peace and freedom to the topos of management: the evolution of migration discourse and the construction of European identity

Abstract

This research traces the evolution of migration-related lexicon in European discourse from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951 to the 2024 Migration Pact. By analysing 10 EU Treaties and 96 secondary law texts using Discursive Semantics and Corpus Linguistics, it shows how a seemingly neutral discourse fosters a self-reinforcing rhetorical loop. This discourse, framed as common sense, employs a homogeneous lexicon and uses statistics as evidence to provide a natural solution, bridging political divides while deflecting contestation. Since the Tampere Council (1999), the EU's migration discourse has shifted to abstract, all-encompassing terminology, emphasising a topos of migration management. This linguistic evolution reveals a transformation: freedom is increasingly constructed as a principle to be organised, regulated, and subordinated to governance imperatives. The discourse not only questions the sincerity of the EU's normative claims but also reframes migration as a technical issue, consolidating a European identity caught between humanitarian ideals and security imperatives.