Are We Thinking About the Same Thing? A Comparative Study of Social Representations of Protection Between Migrants and Non-Migrants in 11 Countries

With the advent of globalization, the physical borders between nations and people have faded. The world became more interconnected, and consequently, societies became more plural. However, this movement of integration and approximation seems to be losing momentum due to several societal transformations and crises, such as the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack, 2008 economic crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent economic instability and geopolitical conflicts, which have intensified the general feeling of insecurity. Political actors seek to address this feeling by using insecurity to frame protective policies, which can further accentuate tensions among different social groups, such as migrants and non-migrants, by addressing the needs of some to the detriment of the needs of others. Our argument is that different social representations – that is, shared meanings – of protection and their associated emotional dynamics can explain the different reactions of migrants and non-migrants to protective policies. Moreover, the security social representations held by minorities can point to the representations of their groups held by majorities regarding protection. Policymakers can include the shared meanings of protection in the design of more inclusive protective policies that, in addition to addressing the protective needs of majorities, address the protective needs of minorities, support them, and contribute to their integration into society. Thus, this study compares social representations of security and the associated emotional dynamics between migrants and non-migrants residing in 11 countries. Data will be collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Social representations of protection will be assessed using the free evocation technique, and the data will be analysed using the EVOC and IRAMUTEQ software. Moreover, the emotional valence of the social representation of protection will be analysed, pointing to the emotional dynamics associated with social representations of security, shallowly explored in the literature. We expect to find different social representations and emotional dynamics of protection among migrants and non-migrants.