STSM findings: the rhetoric of electoral programmes on immigration issues

Juan Carlos Martin, Full Professor at the Department of Applied Economic Analysis at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, visited the Department of Theology at the University of Eastern Finland from 1 September until 9 September. This visit was financed by a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) grant of the COST Action COREnet.

During the stay in Joensuu, STSM grantee Prof. Juan Carlos Martin and host Dr. Alessandro Indelicato (University of Eastern Finland) collected data on the main political parties that secured seats in the last EU elections in Spain and Italy. This included their stances on migration, asylum seekers, and refugees. Additionally, they gathered tweets from the key political leaders in both countries.

These data sets were subjected to meticulous text analysis using programs coded in Matlab and Python. The results were then compared with the discourse delivered by Ursula von der Leyen following her re-election as President of the European Commission. Currently, Prof. Juan Carlos Martin, together with Dr. Alessandro Indelicato, are preparing a scientific paper to be submitted to a highly-ranked journal, as this is one of the main goals of these STSMs.

The programs developed will also be employed to analyse other EU countries, with COREnet researchers invited to participate in this expanded scope. If you are interested in contributing to this research, please contact Prof. Juan Carlos Martin jcarlos.martin(eta)ulpgc.es.

What is a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) within COREnet?

A Short-Term Scientific Mission, funded by the COST Action COREnet, consists of a visit to a host organization located in a different country to the country of affiliation of a Researcher in order to carry out specific work as part of a research project. In addition to research purposes, Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are aimed to support researchers’ individual mobility, to strengthen existing networks and to foster collaboration between individuals. The purpose of a STSM is thus to gain new partnerships, to learn new techniques and to gain access to specific data, instruments and/or methods not available in their own institutions/organizations.