Abstract
Campaigns to encourage return or deter migration have become a priority for European governments, revealing a new way of managing migration flows to Europe. If scholars from social sciences have investigated these campaigns, no study in the field of discourse analysis addressed the argumentative discursive mechanisms at work in shaping migrants’ perceptions. The present research analyses the use of storytelling in migration information campaigns (MICs) by comparing two online European campaigns: a dissuasive campaign (tellingtherealstory.org) and a persuasive campaign (retourvolontaire.be). First, the discursive features of each website are described, highlighting the central place given to migrant’s stories. Second, a narrative and lexical analysis is conducted on these stories to investigate the way in which they constitute the argumentative dimension of these campaigns’ discourses. The results show that the stories of both dissuasive and persuasive campaigns converge towards the same moral: migratory projects are doomed to fail. These migration information campaigns can be seen as part of what we call the “Don’t come/Go back home” continuum
Highlights
It is the story that is drawn from the morality
There is first a morality [...] and only the story that he imagines as a pictorial demonstration, to illustrate the maxim, precept or thesis that the author seeks by this means to make more striking (Claude Simon, Nobel Lecture, 1985)
In the past few decades, migrants have been increasingly targeted by awareness-raising and migration information campaigns (MICs) led by Western governments and international organisations, in particular the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). These campaigns originated in the 1990s in Australia, the United States and Europe, mainly through the lens of anti-trafficking in migrants’ countries of origin and transit (WILLIAMS, 2020; NIEUWENHUYS; PÉCOUD, 2007; WATKINS, 2017)
Summary
It is the story that is drawn from the morality. For the fabulist, there is first a morality [...] and only the story that he imagines as a pictorial demonstration, to illustrate the maxim, precept or thesis that the author seeks by this means to make more striking (Claude Simon, Nobel Lecture, 1985). Highlighting the dangerous nature of the journey (VAN BEMMEL, 2020), the poor living conditions in destination countries, and the numerous opportunities to succeed “at home” (DIMÉ, 2015), these campaigns try to deter “undesirable” migrants to reach Europe By doing so, they promote a “culture of immobility” (PÉCOUD, 2010) within departure regions by assessing who has the right to free movement and who doesn’t. After drawing an overview of both campaign websites, stories from both RV and TRS are analysed and compared Their specific narrative structure (ADAM, 1987; 1996) and lexical fields are detailed to explain the discursive mechanisms that contribute to their argumentative dimension. This allows to demonstrate how these stories work as self-fulfilling prophecies that show how migratory projects end in failure
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
