Securitising an international humanitarian crisis: news framing of the Syrian refugee crisis in the US

This study examined how the 2016 Syrian refugee crisis was framed in by US news outlets. Upon applying the concept of securitisation to framing theory, the results from a content analysis indicate that the majority of US news coverage framed Syrian refugees as a nonmilitary issue, emphasising the humanitarian nature of the refugee crisis, as well as a threat to the national security and identity of the US by emphasising terrorism. Implications for news coverage of international conflicts are discussed within the context of framing and securitisation theory.