This article aims to address the role of the refugee crisis in Vienna’s 2015 Mayoral Election campaign on Facebook. The election took place at the peak of the refugee crisis, when many thousands of people fleeing conflict regions, particularly Syria, crossed European borders in search for international protection. The situation transformed Austria into the most important transit country in Western Europe, with its capital Vienna becoming a key focal point. Based on the agenda-building approach and Habermas’ concept of problematization, all posts on the Facebook accounts of the five parties in the Viennese Parliament and their top candidates during the four weeks before election were submitted to a content analysis (n = 935). Outcomes show that the interaction of users determined the role of the refugees issue in the Vienna election campaign on Facebook. This interaction did not follow thematization, but rather the definition of refugees as a problem. Furthermore, the issue was able to dominate the election campaign not by gathering consensus against refugees, but by polarizing the debate between users. © 2016, Sozialwissenschaftliche Studiengesellschaft. All rights reserved.

Election campaign Facebook Refugees Agenda building Problematization

[No Keywords available]