6. Constructing migration narratives through organised campaigns. A content analysis of migration communication campaigns in Europe

Research on migration narratives has largely concentrated on political rhetoric and news media, leaving institutional communication campaigns produced by governments, international organisations, and civil society comparatively underexamined. This article provides the first systematic cross-national analysis of the narratives conveyed through such campaigns in Europe. Drawing on 255 campaigns from the Migration Communication Campaigns Dataset (2012–2022), and combining computational text analysis with qualitative coding, we identify four recurrent narrative repertoires: migration as vulnerability, resilience, shared values, and collective action. We then analyse their temporal distribution and variation across key political moments. Campaigns preceding and during the 2015 refugee arrivals predominantly portrayed migrants as humanitarian victims, whereas subsequent campaigns increasingly emphasised agency, integration, and societal contribution. By extending narrative analysis to an overlooked domain of strategic public communication, the study demonstrates that institutional actors communicate about migration adapting to changing political and humanitarian contexts. More broadly, the findings highlight the role of organised communication in stabilising public understandings of migration beyond electoral and media arenas.