A Discursive Recalibration. Civic Coalition’s Migration Discourse in the Light of Issue Ownership Theory and Discourse-Historical Approach

The paper investigates how Poland’s largest liberal party, Civic Coalition (CC), has framed migration and security since its return to power in December 2023. Drawing on issue ownership theory and the Discourse-Historical Approach, the study investigates how CC claims and redefines migration issues. The material includes parliamentary speeches and interviews in high-profile journals by leading party figures: Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski.The findings indicate that CC leaders reframe migration discourse by presenting border security as inextricably linked to liberal democracy. Consequently, the paper introduces the concept of discursive recalibration: a macrostrategy of adjusting existing discourses to align with own ideology and delegitimize rivals. The paper demonstrates that while an unreflecting adoption of securitizing discourse will certainly be an unsuccessful strategy for liberals, balancing between securitization and traditional democratic values might be a necessity if they intend to claim an issue belonging to political opponents.