Migration, narrative, and human dignity

Abstract

This article proposes a new perspective on the contemporary migration phenomenon, challenging the dominant narratives that primarily address it from technical approaches. While there is extensive theoretical and normative development surrounding migration, these approaches do not always reflect the concrete experience of migrants, who are frequently situated in vulnerable conditions in the face of discourses and public policies that tend to criminalize or instrumentalize them. Through a dialogue between classic and contemporary contributions –from migration theory to political philosophy and the notion of human security– the article argues that reducing migration to a national security problem renders the inherent dignity of migrants invisible. In this sense, it proposes moving toward an alternative narrative that recognizes migrants as subjects with full rights and not merely as functional categories or social threats.