Migration Narratives in Policy and Politics

This working paper addresses the following questions: What do narratives mean and what is distinct about political and policy narratives? What are the characteristics of migration narratives? Who are the actors constructing the migration narratives? What are the impacts of narratives over migration policies and politics? Answering these questions, the paper provides a possible analytical framework. [...] To unpack these arguments, the paper addresses the following questions: What are narratives about? What are the characteristics of migration narratives? Who are the main actors behind the narratives? What impacts do narratives have on migration policies? Answering these questions, the paper provides a possible analytical framework for understanding the role and power of narratives in migration pol. [...] So, regardless of who constructs or reconstructs the narrative, “the representation of migration experience depends on the genre and form of the narrative as well as the historical and political moment of the production” (Griffin & Griffin, 1995, p. [...] Drawing from the multiple narratives in circulation in the European media during the 2015 ‘refugee crisis, Chouliaraki and Zaborowski illustrate their role: How these stories were told and who spoke for or about the refugees was thus instrumental in highlighting the causes and circumstances of their arrival as well as the implications of their reception. [...] Beyond securitizing refugees, IOs have expanded their role and activities in the field of migration through the substantial growth of certain agencies like the IOM, the establishment of new organizations (e.g., the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, ICMPD, in 1993), and the creation of novel patterns of cooperation between agencies, such as through the Global Migration Group (G.