Waves of refugees and illegal imigrants to Slovenia (How the process of social transformation influences the relationship toward refugees and illegal migrants)

Flujos de refugiados e inmigrantes ilegales hacia Eslovena (Como el proceso de transformación social influye en las relaciones entre refugiados e inmigrantes ilegales)

Slovenia is a peaceful middle-European society. Since the declaration of independence (from Yugoslavia) in 1991, Slovene society is in the process of social transformation. This process of permanent social change clearly reflects the influence of some social, psychological and ideological determinants of "main stream" social discourse. It seems that refugees, illegal migrants and foreigners are a good reflective surface for elements of social discourse. Our intention is to describe the dynamics of Slovene social discourse as it appears in the media, with a clear attempt to point out the main determinants of social intolerance toward refugees and other migrants.

In the last ten years, Slovenia faced four huge waves of refugees and illegal migrants. Three waves of refugees (from Croatia, Bosnia in Herzegovina and Kosovo) and two waves of illegal migrants (from Kosovo and other, Balkan and non-Balkan states) reached Slovenia in different phases of its social development and social transformation. The prevailing political, economical, and cultural situation determined which relationship was actually expressed toward certain waves of refugees and migrants.

Therefore, it seems possible to identify the narratives of refugee identity-transformation in the mirror of the Slovene refugee and immigration politics.