Migration narrative success. A conceptual tool for trans-disciplinary integration

In this concept note, produced in the framework of BRIDGES’ “Theoretical and Methodological Laboratory” (Work Package 2), we develop the concept of “migration narrative success” (MNS) in view to create an analytical and practical tool that can facilitate and enhance exchange among different disciplinary perspectives within the project. In the first part, we provide a definition of MNS, distinguishing between two dimensions (pervasiveness and transformativity) and identifying the relevant parameters for their operationalisation. In the second part, we single out potential explanatory factors (of both the pervasiveness and transformativity of a given narrative) to be tested and validated throughout the project. Based on existing literature, we argue that narratives’ influential capacity depends on the content (what is said) and the framing of narratives (how it is said) as well as the context in which they develop and circulate (by whom, to whom and what for, where and when). In the final section, by changing the focus from narratives referring to specific migration-related events to broader narratives about (im)migration, we propose the “concept of migration narrative hegemony” (MNH) as a core category for assessing the long-term systemic “success” of narratives about migration as a multi-dimensional and durable (or “structural”) social phenomenon