The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018

Objective/Context:As a step towards understanding the nature of power and political action amidst large-scale human mobility, the article analyses how migration from Venezuela emerged in Colombian official discourse between 2015 and 2018. The aim is to trace Colombia’s migration policy’s leading dri...

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Main Author: Mauricio Palma-Gutiérrez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de los Andes 2021-04-01
Series:Colombia Internacional
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/doi/full/10.7440/colombiaint106.2021.02
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author Mauricio Palma-Gutiérrez
author_facet Mauricio Palma-Gutiérrez
author_sort Mauricio Palma-Gutiérrez
collection DOAJ
description Objective/Context:As a step towards understanding the nature of power and political action amidst large-scale human mobility, the article analyses how migration from Venezuela emerged in Colombian official discourse between 2015 and 2018. The aim is to trace Colombia’s migration policy’s leading drivers, widely perceived as a generous response towards an escalating humanitarian crisis. Methodology: A context analysis of over 400-plus pieces of information produced by three high-level entities inside the Colombian government was designed. Units of analysis were defined based on van Dijk´s (1997) approach to political discourse, while coding of information was traced drawing upon selected scholarship on Critical Border Studies. Conclusions:Colombian official discourse between 2015 and 2018 was shaped by pragmatism, focusing on consolidating a schema of specific governmentality by eliciting three interrelated processes: the construction of an imaginary of migration from Venezuela as a process made precarious; the consolidation of a strategy of irregularization; and the centering of ‘generosity’ as the leading premise for legitimizing political action. Originality:The article sheds light on the nature of the power context in which the Colombian government’s response to migration from Venezuela emerged by empirically adapting current critical scholarship.
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spelling doaj.art-8b35fc165abc443e84a282e61ec10dc02022-12-21T22:48:14ZengUniversidad de los AndesColombia Internacional0121-56121900-60042021-04-01106295610.7440/colombiaint106.2021.02The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018Mauricio Palma-Gutiérrez0University of Warwick (UK)Objective/Context:As a step towards understanding the nature of power and political action amidst large-scale human mobility, the article analyses how migration from Venezuela emerged in Colombian official discourse between 2015 and 2018. The aim is to trace Colombia’s migration policy’s leading drivers, widely perceived as a generous response towards an escalating humanitarian crisis. Methodology: A context analysis of over 400-plus pieces of information produced by three high-level entities inside the Colombian government was designed. Units of analysis were defined based on van Dijk´s (1997) approach to political discourse, while coding of information was traced drawing upon selected scholarship on Critical Border Studies. Conclusions:Colombian official discourse between 2015 and 2018 was shaped by pragmatism, focusing on consolidating a schema of specific governmentality by eliciting three interrelated processes: the construction of an imaginary of migration from Venezuela as a process made precarious; the consolidation of a strategy of irregularization; and the centering of ‘generosity’ as the leading premise for legitimizing political action. Originality:The article sheds light on the nature of the power context in which the Colombian government’s response to migration from Venezuela emerged by empirically adapting current critical scholarship.https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/doi/full/10.7440/colombiaint106.2021.02venezuelan migrationcritical border studiesdiscourseirregularizationhumanitarianismgenerositycolombia
spellingShingle Mauricio Palma-Gutiérrez
The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018
Colombia Internacional
venezuelan migration
critical border studies
discourse
irregularization
humanitarianism
generosity
colombia
title The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018
title_full The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018
title_fullStr The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018
title_full_unstemmed The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018
title_short The Politics of Generosity. Colombian Official Discourse towards Migration from Venezuela, 2015-2018
title_sort politics of generosity colombian official discourse towards migration from venezuela 2015 2018
topic venezuelan migration
critical border studies
discourse
irregularization
humanitarianism
generosity
colombia
url https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/doi/full/10.7440/colombiaint106.2021.02
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