Fair Narratives

Since the so-called migrant crisis in 2015, migration has become increasingly politicized. The rise of right-wing populist parties instrumentalizing migration to pursue nationalist, anti-pluralist and post-European agendas has led to an unhealthy polarization of migration debates.

This volume introduces a new concept and methodology to move beyond the toxic narratives currently dominating public discourse. The Level Telling Field (LTF), derived from the notion of level playing fields in economics, reflects on the principles of a fair debate, drawing on a wide range of concepts from theories of argumentation, deliberative democracy, and the philosophy of justice.

The Cross-Talks methodology (CTM) is a step-by-step guide toward implementing the LTF approach in practice which supports NGOs working with migrants. Starting with narrative interviews and other forms of storytelling, CTM engages migrants and stakeholders in conversations on an equal footing: by reading migrant stories in front of live audiences, citizens and stakeholders are invited to perform the perspective changes needed to consider the full complexity of migration.