ABSTRACT
The chapter explores the broad topic ‘populism and migration’. First, it analyses the process of ‘mainstreaming’ of ‘right-wing populist’ narratives concerning migration and multiculturalism representing a change in the political architecture of the Western democracies towards ‘illiberal democracy’. Second, it describes the failure of the attempt by the Italian Democratic Party to impose a ‘humanistic’ narrative about migration, combined with an idea of efficiency guaranteed by the role of the Navy – ‘military-humanitarian’ – and the shift towards a security-oriented policy and a return to the externalisation of border control, marked by a controversial agreement with Libyan government.
