Failure of Compassion? European CSOs' Discursive Strategies in Times of Populism

The rise of populism across Europe is not only a challenge for mainstream political parties and elites, but also for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The populist challenge has stirred citizens’ movements and civic organizations, contributing to new mobilization dynamics in Europe. The purpose of this article is to analyze how EU-based CSOs have altered their discourses and activities in reaction/response to the rise of populism in the domain of migration. CSOs activism in this domain is particularly susceptible to be affected by populism, since populism often constitutes a threat to human rights (particularly the rights of migrants). To this purpose, I propose an in-depth qualitative analysis of a variety of EU-level CSOs involved in the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. This article shows that while compassion is often mobilized to support policies in support of migrants, other emotions, such as anger and contempt also play a decisive role in the context of the rise of populism. Data is retrieved from semi-structured interviews, position papers, press releases and speeches from key well-established EU-level CSOs such as Amnesty International (AI), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).