Abstract
This article presents qualitative and empirically oriented analysis of Italian political discourse, which took place in response to the immigration wave after the outbreak of the Arab Spring in the first half of 2011. Using the concept of securitization introduced by the Copenhagen School, the author seeks to deconstruct the discursive strategy of then Silvio Berlusconi's government intended to legitimize extraordinary reactive measures at both national and supranational (EU) levels.
He provides interpretation of how the Italian cabinet presented the mass influx of African migrants while exerting instrumental pressure on the EU to receive an appropriate assistance. The article concludes by showing how the discourse accompanied by administrative and political practices led to an escalation of the crisis within the EU and subsequently opened up the space for a fundamental revision of the rules regarding the Schengen area.