It's not about the information, it's about the situation

Understanding the misalignment between EU deterrence messaging and migrants' narratives

Bibliographic Data

ID3645583
AuthorsFlorian Trauner (0000-0001-5044-6818), Jan-Paul Brekke (0000-0001-6218-7331), Silke Adam (0000-0001-8022-9101), И Адам (0000-0001-7245-6339), Omar N Cham (0000-0001-8093-0176), Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud (0000-0001-9431-8893)
Year2024
Volume50
Issue14
Pages3379-3395
Publication date2024-08-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Community (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369183x.2024.2333865
OpenAlexW4393318746
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited33

This article analyses the narratives of young people in the Gambia and of Afghan migrants in Turkey on the themes of migration and Europe as a place of destination. Based on extensive focus group and interview data, we show that these narratives (1) have a high degree of similarities across different contexts and (2) appear incongruent with, and largely unaffected by, the EU's messages of deterrence in information campaigns. We explain this misalignment by referring to a classic sociological distinction between impressions 'given' and those 'given off'. When the EU seeks to give an 'impression' in third countries (such as to be an unattractive place for irregular migrants), their messages compete with positive images of Europe provided through a myriad of other channels and information sources. To a large extent, perceptions of Europe among migrant communities are defined by positive impressions 'given off' through Europe's history as a destination area and social media accounts of individual 'success stories' of diaspora members. The social and material rewards associated with migration further inform migrants' narratives, as do the circumstances of both groups, which often push them towards leaving regardless of the risks this step involves

Criminology · Deterrence (psychology · Deterrence theory · Internet privacy · Narrative · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · European Criminal Justice and Data Protection · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration

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