Current Sociology

Sociologist of the Month, July 2025

Please welcome our Sociologists of the Month for July 2025, Madeleine Geibel (independent researcher, Australia), Farida Fozdar (Curtin University, Australia) and Fiona McGaughey (The University of Western Australia, Australia). Their article for Current Sociology ‘No way. You will not make [insert country here] home’: Anti-asylum discursive transfer from Australia to Europe was shortlisted for the Annual SAGE Current Sociology Best Paper Prize’s third edition (Vol. 72), and is Open Access.

Madeleine Geibel

Farida Fozdar

Fiona McGaughey

Could you please tell us about yourself? How did you come to your field of study?

M. Geibel: I am originally from Vienna and have worked in the field of migration and asylum for over a decade, closely following debates on Australian asylum policies in Austria. I hold a degree in Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Sussex as well as a Master’s in Global History from the University of Vienna. My professional experience with the Austrian government and NGO sector has aligned closely with my interests in human rights, migration and border studies. Additionally, my postgraduate studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna have deepened my understanding of international law. After moving to Australia, where my husband is from, I was eager to engage with local experts in migration, nationalism, and international human rights. This led me to pursue a PhD as a mature age student and collaborate on this interdisciplinary paper.

F. Fozdar: I’ve been interested in migration, racism, nationalism and postnationalism/ cosmopolitanism all my academic life, and generally use a discourse analytical approach inspired by the Loughborough school, and CDA. Being a migrant of mixed background, my focus has been on understanding cross cultural relations and the structures that divide and unite. I completed my PhD as a mature age student, once my three children were school age. After academic positions teaching sociology, community development and combined Anthropology/ Sociology degrees, I am currently (as well as teaching into anthropology/ sociology and Globel Engagement degrees) Professor, and Dean, Global Futures, in Humanities at Curtin University in Western Australia. This position seeks to encourage a focus on global issues, and research and teaching that will promote positive global futures.

F. McGaughey: I am originally from Northern Ireland and having grown up during the conflict period there (‘The Troubles’), I developed a keen interest in justice and human rights. I initially studied Law and French at Queen’s University Belfast, then a Masters in Human Rights at Curtin University in Western Australia, and eventually did a PhD in international human rights law at the University of Western Australia where I now teach and research.

What prompted you to research the area of your article, “‘No way. You will not make [insert country here] home’: Anti-asylum discursive transfer from Australia to Europe”?

M. Geibel, F. Fozdar & F. McGaughey: We are each interested in border policies from different perspectives. Fiona has an interest from a legal perspective, Farida from discursive and social inclusion perspectives, and Madeleine from each of these plus an advocacy perspective.

We are all migrants to Australia and have experienced its border regimes in different ways. We have each been troubled by the bipartisan support for its asylum externalisation regime and the broader implications of these policies in undermining international law. To see these logics being exported to other countries is more troubling still. Hence our interest in the socio-legal dynamics and political messaging that enable such policies to develop, persist and proliferate.

Madeleine was the one who first brought to the group’s (Fiona and Farida being her proposed PhD supervisors) attention the fact that Australian asylum policies are frequently discussed in Europe. In Austria, among other countries, they were used to advocate for stricter approaches to asylum —even by those with little knowledge of the details—in both political debates and private discussions. Madeleine had noticed some of the far-right materials promoting these policies in Europe and recognised the similarities in imagery and messaging to the Australian ones. As we started to explore these, we found more materials and more subtle (and not so subtle) parallels and became excited to draw attention to these.

What do you see as the key findings of your article?

M. Geibel, F. Fozdar & F. McGaughey: Australia’s No Way campaign attracted significant attention in Austria upon its release due to its blatant disregard for international law. As a striking visual representation of Australia’s approach to asylum, it was unsurprising that far-right actors quickly adopted its imagery. However, further research revealed just how deeply Australian messaging and symbolism have permeated far-right activism in Europe since.

This raises a pressing question: What does it say about Australia, Australians, and the country’s asylum policies that official government messaging has become a source of inspiration for the far-right in Europe? Using an interdisciplinary approach rooted in Sociology and Law, we analysed the material and historical conditions shaping these developments. This allowed us to identify key socio-legal differences between Australia and Europe that have enabled Australia to emerge as an ideological reference point for far-right movements.

The paper focuses on mapping these similarities and differences, using semiotic and discursive analysis to explore how the imaging and messaging of the Australian public awareness campaign have been adopted and adapted in a European context. White-capped waves become snow-capped mountains, blond saviour figures move from combat fatigues to suits, but the representation of threat and the need for draconian solutions to protect a fearful population remains the same.

What are the wider social implications of your research in the current social climate? How do you think things will change in the future?

M. Geibel, F. Fozdar & F. McGaughey: Since the publication of our research, both far-right parties analysed have won parliamentary elections in the Netherlands and Austria, solidifying their influence in local politics. This aligns with a broader global shift toward right-wing nationalism, driven by exclusionary ideologies —a trend that is particularly evident in anti-asylum and anti-migration rhetoric in Europe.

The UK, Denmark, and Italy have each proposed their own plans to detain asylum seekers abroad. However, these initiatives have faced significant setbacks due to their incompatibility with international and regional human rights obligations, as outlined in our research. Yet, the growing presence of far-right ideologies in mainstream politics threatens to weaken these international and regional human rights frameworks.

The paper illustrates how the normalisation of legally problematic policies is promoted, how policy developed and tested in one region is adapted for another (policy transfer), and the impact of populism on what governments can get away with in their treatment of non-citizens. Awareness of how this is done is the first step to challenging it.

Do you have any links to images, documents or other pieces of research which build on or add to the article? Or a suggested reading list?

M. Geibel, F. Fozdar & F. McGaughey: The deterrence messaging of Australia’s current anti-asylum information campaign under the title “Zero Chance” is in continuity with some key features of the “NO WAY” campaign. For instance, the government’s current flagship video is reminiscent of an action movie which immediately raises questions on audiences as discussed in our paper: https://osb.homeaffairs.gov.au/home.