Citation

Uitermark J, Gielen AJ. Urban Stud. 2010; 47(6): 1325-1342.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Urban Studies Journal Limited, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0042098010362807

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Conflicts over the presence of migrants and Muslims in Western societies have become increasingly ‘mediatised’ in recent years. Interactions between governments and migrants are now subject to constant scrutiny and the media have become a prime battle ground for political struggles. This paper investigates the effects of mediatisation on the relationships between the government and civil society associations in one Amsterdam neighbourhood before and after a Muslim extremist assassinated film maker Theo van Gogh in November 2004. With the help of field theory, it is shown that media representations do not just reflect local realities, but in fact are a part and outcome of struggles between actors unequally invested with discursive power. Mediatisation thus transforms the logic of politics and alters the balance of power between different actors.