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