WuDiD (BMBF)

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Welcome culture and democracy in Germany. Refugee policy initiatives as places of active citizenship, collective conflict negotiation and democratic learning

BMBF joint project of the Universities of Tübingen, Osnabrück and Kassel

The BMBF-funded joint project of the Universities of Tübingen, Kassel and Osnabrück on "Welcome Culture and Democracy in Germany" understands welcome culture as a process that encompasses different areas of social participation. Since the so-called "summer of migration" in 2015, social structures, organizations and civil society have been challenged and social cohesion is once again under discussion. At the three research locations, the joint project is dedicated to the analysis of a.) initiatives and organizations of support work for and with refugees (subproject Kassel), b.) the labor market inclusion of refugees based on company programs (subproject Tübingen) and c.) women's shelters and women's counseling centers (subproject Osnabrück). According to the research hypothesis, spaces of active citizenship, collective conflict negotiation and democratic learning are constituted in these three areas. The joint project focuses in particular on the initiatives, programmes and organizations involved in refugee work and the resulting commitment and asks how social cohesion stabilizes, erodes and reconfigures itself in the context of current crises (including state control, the erosion of the basic democratic consensus, representation via the mode of citizenship).

Project management:
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Tuider

Project team member:
Dr. Olaf Tietje
Tom Fixemer, M.A.

Student assistant:
Marlene Göhl
Eunice Njoki
Ronja Schröder

Funded by:
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Duration: 10/2017-03/2021

The sub-project of the Sociology of Diversity: "Voluntary and professional support work with and for refugees"

The sub-project at the University of Kassel "Voluntary and professional support work with and for refugees" focuses primarily on the social conditions and negotiation processes in relation to refugees or the influx of refugees under the keyword "welcome culture". The focus here is on the discursive-media and political negotiations and negotiations between the various actors of voluntary support work and professional help and the refugees, civil society (collective) actors and organizations. The Kassel sub-project focuses primarily on the initiatives and their work with refugees as well as their struggles with infrastructural difficulties and social changes. Interviews with volunteers and professionals working with refugees focused on the infrastructure of refugee work, its professionalization and the discursive effects of talking about "welcome culture" (including implicit racisms and nationalisms, gendering and heteronormativity), as well as references to democratic learning as a practice of social cohesion. In this way, the selected example of welcome culture was used to trace the processing of social crises.

Results from the sub-project

In the Kassel sub-project "Voluntary and professionalized support work with and for refugees", a discourse analysis (see Keller 2011) was used at the beginning of the research to reconstruct the images of flight and "flight management" of refugees and crises of state control in the area of infrastructure for refugees in the years 01/2015-01/2018.

The reconstructions were based on local newspapers at the respective research sites. For this purpose, at the Kassel site, primarily those newspaper articles were researched, selected and analyzed that dealt with the topics of health, education and accommodation and refugee initiatives or welcome culture at the six research sites (Dresden, Hamburg, Kassel, Munich, Osnabrück & Tübingen) (Nges=435).

    A clear ambivalence became apparent in the area of education: Refugees were said to have a high demand for German courses, which were seen by the media in particular as extremely important for the exchange and arrival in German society. At the same time, however, these German courses were only organized to a very limited extent by municipal or state structures or were even denied. This discrepancy is sometimes criticized in the media and civil society actors are called upon to compensate for this on a practical level. However, the language courses, some of which are self-organized, are often not certified and therefore receive less recognition. At the same time, the achievements of universities in facilitating access for refugees were highlighted in the media.

      With regard to healthcare, it became clear in the discourse analysis that, on the one hand, refugees give rise to great fears among the population, which are also repeatedly mentioned, including the fear that "unknown diseases" could occur to a greater extent as a result of the influx of refugees. On the other hand, the media analysis reveals a structural lack of care for refugees, e.g. when the long waiting times for psychosocial issues are mentioned. Additional medical services, some of which are self-organized by local authorities or civil society organizations, had to provide basic medical care for refugees, especially at the beginning of the "summer of migration", in order to compensate for the lack of state provision.

        The media made particular reference to the poor accommodation conditions for refugees. The poor food supply and hygiene conditions as well as the lack of privacy in the large accommodation facilities were the most pressing issues. The improvised accommodation was initially accepted as an expression of the state's excessive demands, but was increasingly criticized, especially in light of the weather and standard of living, until local authorities also made improvements. At the same time, local authorities were always faced with the problem of where to locate suitable accommodation, as this was not welcomed in many neighborhoods and led to protests and violence against refugees - partly out of fear of refugees, partly due to the densification of already scarce living space, but also due to their own fear of losing privileges.

        The Kassel sub-project also conducted 58 expert interviews (see Meuser/Nagel 1991) at the six research sites. Different actors in voluntary and professionalized support work were selected and interviewed in relation to the focal points of everyday support and housing/accommodation for refugees. The interviews were then coded in MAXQDA and analyzed using the situation analysis (see Clarke 2018; Tietje/Tuider 2019).

        This showed that

        • In the thematization of refugees in public media discourses, queer refugees are made invisible or remain in subordinate positions. Gender is used as a category to differentiate between 'violent young men who have fled' and women who have fled and have been 'victimized' several times with children as mothers or families;
        • The motivations of supporters of work with and for refugees vary across a wide spectrum. In many cases, it is about 'feeling good' and being able to 'experience gratitude' through the support they receive. However, solidarity-based support practices and the need for political co-determination also play a role;
        • The accommodation of refugees functions as a state strategy of isolating refugees, which, combined with an architecture of deterrence and control, is aimed at the departure of people protected by asylum law;
        • Borders and border areas are also created beyond the national demarcation line in the everyday lives of refugees - including through voluntary support work;
        • The participation of refugees in society therefore remains contested between the state and civil society - and support work is negotiated between humanistic ideals and solidarity. Transformative potential lies particularly in the latter, but also in the surpluses of civil society engagement resulting from self-determined activities and commitment.

        Publications from the project

        • Dinkelaker, Samia/Huke, Nikolai/Tietje, Olaf (eds.) (2020): Welcome culture. Refugees between contested participation and civic solidarity. Bielefeld: transcript, forthcoming.
        • Tietje, Olaf (2020): "That's not possible, we have to do something!". Ambivalences of solidarity in active civil society. In: sozialmagazin 45 (special volume), forthcoming.
        • Tietje, Olaf (2020): "... as always in the industrial estate.". Restrictions on the social participation of refugees due to their accommodation. In: Bürger im Staat (3), forthcoming.
        • Tietje, Olaf/Tuider, Elisabeth (2019): Reconstructing the invisible, analysing the non-thematized:. Situation analysis in the post-migration society. In: Nicole Burzan (ed.): Complex dynamics of global and local developments. Proceedings of the 39th Congress of the German Sociological Association in Göttingen 2018, 1-12.
        • Tuider, Elisabeth (2020): Welcome to the post-migration society. In: Citizens in the State (3), forthcoming.

        Documentary films by filmmaker Anne Frisius released

        The participation of refugees in society is jeopardized by the lack of housing. In many refugee shelters, cramped conditions, little privacy and the associated high noise levels are the order of the day. Limited opportunities to prepare their own food, a lack of living space and, as a result, overcrowded rooms and apartments, arbitrary room assignments due to which people who do not know each other live together in a few square meters, contribute to a high level of stress. Queer refugees also suffer from discrimination and violence - also from other refugees.

        In this documentary, filmmaker Anne Frisius talks to refugees, advice centers, (former) employees of refugee shelters and volunteers in Hamburg, Kassel and Tübingen about their work and experiences.

        Finding accommodation in already tight housing markets is particularly difficult in larger cities. The few available apartments are often not allocated to refugees. Landlords prefer people with secure employment or apprenticeships and shy away from expected or assumed communication barriers - even more so when queer refugees are looking for housing. However, discrimination on the housing market can be at least partially offset by advice centres, housing coordinators or self-organized projects that create housing for refugees.

        Anne Frisius portrays the "Neue Nachbarn" housing project in Tübingen, among others. This is an example of successful co-housing, despite structural problems at the administrative level. The housing coordination in Kassel is extremely successful in finding apartments for refugees.

        Language difficulties, a lack of proof of qualifications and restrictive government policies make it difficult for refugees to integrate into the labor market. As a result, refugees are particularly at risk of being exploited in the workplace (e.g. because wages are withheld, vacation entitlements are not compensated or overtime is not paid). Nevertheless, advice centers, volunteers and solidarity networks among refugees make it possible for the process of labor market integration to run relatively smoothly in many cases. In her documentary , Anne Frisius talks to refugees, volunteers and advisors in Stuttgart and Tübingen about their experiences.

        The political activism of refugees has left deep marks in Hamburg in recent years. Lampedusa in Hamburg, the protests against deportations to Afghanistan, but also less publicly visible, self-organized spaces for encounters and empowerment (e.g. women's groups such as the MUT project by DaMigra) have contributed to making the everyday problems of refugees public. In her documentary , Anne Frisius talks to activists about their experiences in recent years. Everyday discrimination, frustration and powerlessness are discussed as well as the successes of the movements. It becomes clear that self-organized refugee protests not only draw attention to the precarious situation of refugees, but also point to fundamental problems of democracy and the limits of social participation (e.g. housing or unemployment).

        PEGIDA and violent neo-Nazi mobilizations (e.g. in Freital or Heidenau) have shaped the public perception of debates about refugees in Dresden and the surrounding areas in recent years. Less visible in the media was the fact that an active civil society culture of welcome for refugees also developed in the region. In her documentary , Anne Frisius talks to refugees and refugee policy initiatives on location about their experiences with racism, right-wing mobilizations and solidarity-based support in everyday life.

        Series of events: "Solidarity and struggles" - Supporting refugees after the 'summer of migration'

        In addition to two documentary films made by Anne Frisius on refugee activism in Hamburg and refugee solidarity in Dresden, Elisabeth Tuider and Olaf Tietje will discuss current developments in support work for refugees with Janina Haupt from Caritas Kassel.

        Tuesdays, 18-20h in the Arnold-Bode-Straße 2 room 0401

        Dr. Tine Haubner from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena will report on her current research on the restructuring of the welfare state with regard to the support work of refugees, and together with her we would like to take a look at the development of voluntary support structures for refugees: How can the unpaid work of volunteer supporters be categorized against the background of an active civil society? Isn't this actually about original state tasks? And what freedoms could be created here?

        with Dimitra Kostimpas and Hella von Unger, both LMU Munich.