D2.2 Secondary analysis of studies, projects, and narratives
Creators: name: Bayerl, Petra Saskia
name: Pannocchia, David
name: Hough, Karen
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: perceptions
narratives
migration
literature analysis
social media

description: This deliverable reports the results of the secondary analysis of studies, projects and narratives as part of WP2 – RESEARCH: Literature, studies, projects, stakeholders, solutions, tools and practices. The findings are based on the systematic literature review (SRL) of 221 documents including journals, book chapters, conference papers, working papers and project reports, provided by partners across the consortium. The review is intended to provide conceptual foundations for the further empirical work within PERCEPTIONS and was guided by the following four research questions reflecting the project’s work program: What is known about the narratives (including misperceptions and ‘myths’) circulating about Europe and how these perceptions of Europe may act as an incentive for (potential) migrants to migrate to Europe? What is known about the channels these narratives are transmitted through and how media – and especially social media – facilitate the flow of narratives through social networks or other channels? What is known about potential links between narratives and (potential) security threats, including border issues? What is known about European citizen’s perceptions on external security, social resilience, and attitudes toward relevant technologies and organisational measures? Our review illustrates several important issues in the current understanding of migration narratives. Firstly, collective the literature demonstrated the high complexity of migration narratives. Not only are migrants’ perceptions of Europe highly varied, as were the sources of information on which they tend to be based. Motivations and aspirations to travel to Europe are often multifaceted and may change throughout the migratory process. Critically we also found that there is little consensus on the role of ‘false narratives’ and their impact on migrants within the literature. Additionally, this review identified a wide range of platforms used for the transmission of narratives as well as alternative channels of information. However, it also illustrates that interpersonal networks and communication remain important means for the flow of information within migrant communities and vital sources to shape the perceptions migrants have of Europe. Social media and technologies such as smart phones have become essential tools during the migrants’ journeys; yet, they have also been found to be potential sources of misinformation and disinformation. Analysis of the literature further demonstrated that narratives play a complex role in the perception and experience of threats by both hosts communities and migrants. Narratives featured as a key reason for migrant’s migration decisions, but also identified them as both the most threatened and the most threatening group as perceived by citizens in transit and hosts countries. Similarly, significant links were found between border issues and migration in a wide range of areas such as securitisation, legal issues, physical infrastructure, practices, EU border externalisation as well as symbolically. Beyond concrete themes, this SLR moreover reveals issues in the current conceptualisations and methodologies to understand migration processes. The literature revealed the lack of consolidated definitions and concrete classifications of migrants and migration. This was found to be in large part due to the complexity of the migratory process as well as the high degree of politicisation of terms. In addition, we identified a number of significant gaps in the current literature on migration and narratives. Firstly, there is a lack of knowledge about the effect of narratives on migration throughout the migration journey and for disparate migrant groups. Specific migrant demographics, especially vulnerable groups such as minors, people with disabilities or from LGBTQ+ communities, are severely under-researched. Additionally, literature that looks at the impact of countermeasures on changing perceptions and expectations of migrants is clearly underrepresented in the literature reviewed. Our review unearthed rich insights into the perspectives of migrants. However, there were few studies that explored the challenges faced by first-line practitioners and policymakers. This is a clear gap in the current knowledge about migration movements that PERCEPTIONS explicitly address. Another significant gap in the reviewed data relevant to PERCEPTIONS was a dearth of research examining host attitudes towards the specific issue of border control. This is of particular relevance for partners from border agencies within the consortium. Our review further highlights that there is considerable scope to introduce multidisciplinary and multi-method research. Much of the research found is qualitative, with a particular emphasis on ethnographic approaches. While the review offers important guidance on currently under-addressed issues and questions, which can be filled by PERCEPTIONS research, it also demonstrates that the quantitative empirical approach, specifically in Work Packages (WP) 3 and 4, has considerable potential to produce important innovative insights. The findings from this report will directly feed into the preparation of this quantitative phase by providing conceptual clarification and a better understanding of the role of media in the transmission of narratives.