Assessing the production and impact of migration narratives: BRIDGES key findings
Interpretations are what determine responses much more than raw facts. This is true in all societal fields but in migration this is particularly evident. Despite the undisputable relevance of numbers for migratory processes and their consequences, interpretations are more and more related to broader problems such as anxiety about states’ perceived inability to control migration; fears about national identity and core values; or concerns about growing socioeconomic inequalities. Regardless of more evidence-based technocratic accounts, these anxieties often lead to symbolic policy decisions with major political and societal consequences. A paradigmatic example of the importance of narratives on migration is the different response to the European 2015 and 2022 refugee crises. While in 2015 Europe said enough after few months and a little bit more than one million refugees, in 2022 more than 5 million refugees were not even perceived as a crisis and temporary protection was immediately given on a collective basis. The different responses had to do with different interpretations about geographic and cultural proximity but also about whose war (in Syria and Ukraine) was perceived to be.
-
Details
Berta Güell and Blanca Garcés-Mascareñas (coord.), Barcelona, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), 2024, 76 p. -
ISBN/ISSN/DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.10657210
1. An introduction to the BRIDGES project: towards a holistic understanding of the production and impact of migration narratives
2. Crafting narratives of migrants within the limitations of the media system
3. Innovative strategies against exclusionary narratives
4. Breaking down walls: The impact of immigrants’ personal stories on our views about migration
5. Can the EU impact migration narratives? A comparative research of Afghan migrants in Turkey and potential migrants in the Gambia
6. How narratives on migration shape and are deployed in political debate and policymaking
7. Narrative dynamics: Understanding the discourse on migration within EU institutions and its influence on political and policy discussions
8. Migration narratives from an intersectional lens: biased representations and their consequences
9. How to co-produce alternative migration narratives?
10. List of BRIDGES publications
11. The BRIDGES TEAM