Migration, Islam, and demographic fears: The narrative of replacement in Italian politics

This chapter focuses on how the fear of the religion of people who
are members of different religions or cultures plays out in the political sphere
by analysing the narrative of replacement in Italian politics. First, it introduces
the populist “politics of fear” and the concept of demographic fear. Then, it
presents an analysis of the discourse of an Italian far-right populist party showing how the authority of science is discursively mobilized – three mechanisms
are explored, in particular: the reference to “numbers” (either producing or referring to data); enlisting experts and academics; repurposing scientific theories. The discursive mobilization of science is meant to legitimize and normalize fringe narratives and fears