An exploration of shifting constructions of human trafficking: A study of newspaper discourses between 2000 and 2020

Abstract

Newspaper focus on forced migration has increased over the last two decades, highlighting the significance of human trafficking for policymakers. Prior research on American newspapers and human trafficking concluded data collection in 2006, overlooking power dynamics and promoting a liberal democratic view, obscuring the understanding of how dominant discourses are shaped by power within socioeconomic and presidential agendas. This study expands previous research by examining how five major U.S. newspapers discursively constructed human trafficking across four presidential administrations from 2000 to 2020, exploring the power dynamics behind discourses used in the meaning-making process. Using a political economy approach and a Foucauldian understanding of power, the study bridges the fields of criminology and media theory. The findings are contextualised within a historical discursive archive, tracing the emergence of trafficking discourse from the early 1900s and its resurgence through the 2000 Palermo Protocol. The study begins with a thematic content analysis that maps newspaper engagement patterns and key themes, followed by three chapters of critical discourse analysis that explore the meaning-making surrounding human trafficking. The content analysis revealed that human trafficking remains a relevant topic for newspapers despite fluctuations. Outlets varied in approach but presented consistent views. The thematic analysis noted shifts in presidential agendas shaped by socio-political imperatives, which met with varying support depending on the newspaper's ideologies, suggesting a liberal democratic theory. This thesis argues that this view is reductionist due to minimal divergences from the dominant discourses identified in the CDA chapters, which identified ongoing discourses around the criminalisation of human trafficking, victimhood, and national security, with few counter-discourses on decriminalisation. The study identified an archive of trafficking discourse dating back to the early twentieth century. These discourses gained legitimacy through legal codification and presidential agendas. The thesis examines how the discourses employed in the human trafficking debate evolved to justify geopolitical and socioeconomic agendas.