ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES 3 employed by successive Greek administrations: a narrative of ‘isolated events’ denying the systemic, institutional nature of anti-migrant violence ; the denial of its racialized nature; and the rationalization of both state and non-state anti-migrant violence as a regrettable yet understandable defensive reaction to the threats posed by migration. I analyse these strategies following a discussion of the theoretical framework and methodology. Downloaded by [82.28.181.28] at 02:36 18 February 2016 2. Theorizing violence against migrants in the Greek context Greece was transformed from a country of emigration to a country of settlement and transit since the early 1990s, first for migrants from Eastern European and Balkan countries following the collapse of communist regimes, and later on in the 2000s, for migrants from predominantly Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries fleeing conflict and political instability (Cheliotis 2013; Triandafyllidou and Kouki 2014). At the same time, the expansion of the European Union (EU) migration and asylum regime rendered Greece an entry point to the EU and a first country of asylum to which migrants could be returned on the basis of the Dublin II (now III) regulation (Cabot 2014; Karamanidou and Schuster 2012). Policies prioritized control measures, shortterm status tied to employment over long-term settlement and integration, and inhibited access to asylum procedures and refugee protection (Cheliotis 2013; Triandafyllidou and Kouki 2013). They rendered migrants vulnerable to economic marginalization and destitution – especially given the lack of reception infrastructure and welfare support – and undermined the realization of migrants rights (Cabot 2014; Karamanidou and Schuster 2012; Rozakou 2012). Political and media discourses have been dominated by the twin frames of illegality and securitization. Migrants were labelled lathrometanastes – illegal immigrants – suggesting their exclusion from lawful presence or refugee protection (Karamanidou 2007; Pavlou 2009). Migration was associated with increased criminality, seen as threatening the employment of Greek citizens, and challenging conceptions of Greek national identity (Pavlou 2009; Tsitselikis 2013). Migrants were represented both as culturally different and inferior – economically undeveloped and espousing non-western values that are incompatible with Greek or European culture (Pavlou 2009; Triandafyllidou and Kouki 2013; Troumbetta 2000). Hostile representations intensified during the crisis when media and political rhetoric – both by the mainstream parties and the extreme right – used migrants as scapegoats for social issues such as unemployment, economic and social marginalization, urban unrest (Cheliotis 2013; Triandafyllidou and Kouki 2014). Nevertheless, Greek political actors have refuted the association between discourses and practices towards migrants and racism, whose existence in Greek society has been frequently denied in political discourse. Greek attitudes and behaviours have been represented as open and tolerant, guided