This Working Paper compares the production of narratives on migration in the media arena in six different European countries – France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and the UK –, focusing on the ingredients, actors, circumstances, strategies, and infrastructure of narrative success.
Migration narratives in media and social media: the case of the UK
This Working Paper analyses the emergence and dissemination of narratives on migration in the British media and social media, focusing on the coverage of three different events: the Calais ‘migrant crisis’ in the summer of 2015; the ‘Windrush scandal’ in 2018; and the jihadist suicide bombing at Manchester Arena in 2017.
Migration narratives in media and social media: the case of Italy
This Working Paper analyses the main narratives on migration developed in traditional and social media around three events in Italy: the Sea Watch 3 landing to Lampedusa in 2019; the debate on ius soli and the reform of the citizenship law in 2017; and the attempted supremacist massacre in Macerata in 2018.
Migration narratives in media and social media: the case of Hungary
This Working Paper analyses the main narratives on migration developed in Hungarian media around two events: a camerawoman who tripped over refugees as they were running away from the police; and a national consultation on immigration and terrorism promoted by the government.
Migration narrative success
This Working Paper proposes the concept of Migration Narrative Success as a cross-disciplinary tool to facilitate dialogue not only among researchers, but also between researchers and practitioners. Based on existing literature, the authors argue that narratives’ influential capacity depends on their content and framing, as well as the context in which they develop and circulate.
Conceptualising migration narratives
BRIDGES defines narratives as those attempts by actors to develop and convey plausible accounts and interpretations of a phenomenon, event or series of events, person or a group of persons. Narratives are not only simple descriptions. By definition, narratives are characterised by a certain degree of stability and consistency over time and/or across space.
The emergence, uses and impacts of narratives on migration
This Working Paper provides an overview of social science literature on narratives, with a particular focus on narratives on migration (MiNa), tracing the emergence of the concept in a range of social sciences, including sociology, political science, psychology and media studies.
Historical analysis on the evolution of migration and integration narratives
This Working Paper identifies five prominent transnational narratives in France and the UK that aimed to justify restrictions towards immigrants from the Global South, from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, when both countries turned to restrictive policies structurally.
