From Melodrama to Tragedy: Narratives and Metaphors on the Path to Peace

This article focuses on metaphors and narratives that can be used to improve intergroup relations. Building on a narrative approach to conflict, we have developed a special methodology that allowed us to identify narrative genres and to construct types of video narratives, as well as to assess the effects of their impact on the emotions and implicit attitudes of youth in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The results of online and offline experiments with 432 respondents revealed a complex interplay between narrative types, empathy, and intergroup attitudes. By comparing the results of narrative interventions before and after the Second Karabakh War, we concluded that the sociocultural and political context, the timing of the intervention, and the target audience for which the narratives were intended can significantly modulate the effectiveness of narrative intervention. It is critical to create a narrative or metaphor that is tailored to the needs of a specific audience. For example, a narrative of "suffering" may work with individuals who see similarities between their experiences and the experiences of outgroup members (e.g., refugees), but it may not work with youth who see nothing in common with the outgroup. This implies that when planning a narrative intervention, one needs to answer at least three questions, called the "three W's rule": (1) Who is the audience? (2) What is the story about? (3) When is the best time to tell a story? There is little hope of improving intergroup relations without formulating policies that encourage individuals to identify with outgroup members.