Between Critical Hope and Moral Ambiguity: Picturebooks Mediating Cross-Conflict Youth Dialogue

Research rightfully prioritises youth affected by geopolitical conflicts (Świetlicki & Ulanowicz, 2025). However, voices from another side also need to be heard, as youth from states involved in conflict initiation experience distinct but equally complex processes of identity formation. Based on Arizpe et al.’s (2025) theory of picturebooks as cultural mediators and safe space creation, research confirms that picturebooks can provide safe frameworks for migrant youth’s political expression. This paper further develops the approach and examines whether picturebooks can also facilitate cross-group dialogue between youth from opposing sides of conflicts. The dialogue space involves 5 politically ambiguous war-themed picturebooks(such as Sõda on nagu… [War is like…], 2024; Невидливата куќа [Invisible house], 2021). Using St. Pierre’s (2018) post-qualitative methodology, this qualitative interview study examines 11 second-generation migrant adolescents living in Europe from Russia, Belarus, China, Ukraine, and Taiwan. The study investigates various approaches including individual reading, anonymous intra-group sharing, cross-group text exchange, and guided reflection. Key findings reveal transformations across three levels: (1) linguistically, participants shift from absolute to hedged statements, adopting perspective-taking language like “perhaps they think…”; (2) attitudinally, they develop McAdam et al.’s (2020) “critical hope,” moving from binary conflict thinking toward coexistence possibilities despite acknowledging divisions; (3) regarding textual effectiveness, certain narrative strategies like emotional conflicts and moral ambiguity prove most conducive to cross-group understanding. However, the study reveals challenging outcomes such as position reinforcement and new stereotype formation. It also provides insights into global citizenship and future intercultural dialogues, testing conventional mediation boundaries (Véliz and García-González, 2022).