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Abstract"The so-called ‘refugee crisis’ marks a crucial juncture in Italian politics. Tapping into the crisis of legitimacy of contemporary European politics, the controversy over migration has triggered discussion of socioeconomic, cultural and security issues. Pressured by public opinion, the EU and Italy have followed the logic of exceptionality, trying to put a halt to the inflow of asylum-seekers rather than pursuing the logic of normalcy that must apply to migration at a global level. Institutional and mainstream actors have mirrored public anxieties and security concerns, endorsing emergency narratives, aggressive policing and militarised border control. Unable to engage with citizens’ concerns, they have helped to conflate migration with insecurity, creating a fertile breeding ground for xenophobic, populist reactions. The paper suggests that the refugee crisis is best understood in relation to other ongoing crises in the EU, and that the way it is handled will have significant consequences for future action, shaping the way European societies cope with forthcoming crises and transforming the relationship between states and citizens. Accordingly, it argues that the permanent state of emergency characterising governmental responses so far does not bode well for the future of liberal democracy in Europe."http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GxzHDAVYbkzR8PaxdJKx/fullPietro Castelli Gattinara is research fellow in political science and sociology at the Centre on Social Movement Studies, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence. His research in comparative politics focuses on the far right and migration in Europe. He obtained his PhD at the European University Institute in Florence, with a dissertation on party competition on migration, and he is currently engaged in a comparative research project on collective action during the refugee crisis, focusing on anti-immigration mobilisation in Italy and France. He recently published The Politics of Migration in Italy (Routledge, 2016). His work has appeared in several international peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. From November 2017, he will join the Centre for Research on Extremism of the University of Oslo.