# Narratives in Conflict and Practices of Face-to-Face and Online Intergroup Communication

## TL;DR

This paper explores how narratives and communication practices shape interactions between groups in conflict, focusing on Israeli Jews and Palestinians in both face-to-face and online settings.

## Contribution

The paper bridges narrative scholarship in intractable conflicts with intergroup contact research, emphasizing communication practices in both FTF and online contexts.

## Key findings

- Narratives in conflict can remain rigid or evolve through intergroup communication.
- Intergroup communication can lead to mutual challenge and transformation under certain conditions.
- The paper highlights the role of narratives in shaping behaviors in both face-to-face and online interactions.

## Abstract

Intergroup communication (IC) serves as a critical arena in which narratives, worldviews, and group behaviors are expressed, confronted, and translated into concrete communicative practices. Within this unique space of interaction, divergent narratives may remain rigid and unchanging, manifesting as parallel monologues that coexist without genuine engagement. Yet, under certain conditions, such communication can also open the door to dynamic processes of mutual challenge, development, and transformation. This narrative literature review aims to strengthen the growing connection between the scholarship on narratives in societies embroiled in intractable conflict and the well-established research tradition on intergroup contact. Specifically, it seeks to enhance our understanding of the interplay between narratives, behaviors, and communication practices in both face-to-face (FTF) and online contexts of IC. While the discussion includes broader global perspectives, the primary case study centers on the ongoing conflict and communicative interactions between Israeli Jews and Palestinians.