Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (BIM)

How do ordinary people and subaltern groups manage their challenging lives in the context of authoritarian polity, neoliberal economies, and international border regimes? This discussion centers on the concept of social "non-movements" as a strategy employed by marginalized people, including the poor, women, and migrants, to endure and enhance their life chances. These non-movements often operate quietly, individually and under the radar but can transform into visible and collective forms of protest. The talk will examine the growing challenges these non-movements are encountering from political and economic opponents and their implications for subaltern lives.

Event calendar page

Poster

This presentation outlines the analytical framework and substantive findings from a study of the austerity decade in Britain, which ran from 2010 to the start of the Covid pandemic. The focus of this work was on the moral economy of welfare and migration, and its main objective was to place policies on domestic welfare and on immigration within the same analytical frame. The framework adopted was that of civic stratification, a concept that refers to a structure of inequality built around the rights that are granted or denied by the state. The policies that underpin this structure are analysed here with reference to a distinctive ‘moral economy’ that characterised the austerity decade, ushered in by an explicitly stated ‘moral mission’ of welfare reform, and as part of a drive for deficit reduction. The defining features of this mission were increased welfare conditionality and an attack on what was termed ‘dependency culture’, but I show how this policy orientation was also extended to the management of migration and asylum, such that domestic welfare and international migration were presented in political parlance as ‘two sides of the same coin’, setting their respective target groups in mutual opposition.

Event calendar page

Poster

Intersectional research promotes the understanding that socially constructed dimensions of difference (e.g. gender, race, class, migration status) intersect in the production of social locations within a specific context of power structures and interdependent forms of privilege and oppression. Intersectionality therefore provides a valuable perspective for the study of social inequality. But its implementation using quantitative methods has proven to be challenging. This panel brings together established and early career scholars to discuss challenges and promising ways forward for quantitative intersectional research. The panel will have an open format and a host will enable the audience to engage with the panelists. So please join us for a well-rounded discussion and send us your questions/comments in advance via the registration form:

Registration

Event calendar page

Poster

Die Fluchtmigrationen nach Europa waren auch in diesem Jahr eines der bestimmenden politischen Themen. Die erbitterten Auseinandersetzungen um die Reform des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystems (GEAS) zeigen, dass Europa gespalten ist. Die Gräben verlaufen nicht nur in den Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union, auch innerhalb der EU gibt es zunehmend Konflikte über den Umgang mit Migration. Die Skandalisierung von Migration ist dabei ein verlässlicher Mobilisierungsfaktor für autoritäre Formationen rechter Parteien und Bewegungen. Die Figur der Migrationskrise und zugleich die historisch falsche, aber permanent wiederholte Behandlung von Migration als Ausnahme bereitet den Boden dafür, Migration in einem Atemzug mit dem Projekt Europa zu skandalisieren. Im daraus resultierenden Diskurs scheint es keine Tabus mehr zu geben. Selbst aus der politischen Mitte werden Phantasien wie eine „Migrationspause“ beschworen, über die Abschaffung der Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention nachgedacht und die Wiedereinführung innereuropäischer Grenzkontrollen gefordert. Klar ist: Es geht längst nicht mehr nur um die Migrationsfrage, sondern um die Zukunft Europas.

Mit unseren Gästen wollen wir diesen Befund aus wissenschaftlicher, gesundheitspolitischer und zivilgesellschaftlicher Perspektive diskutieren und ausloten, was jetzt geschehen muss. Die Diskussionsveranstaltung ist Teil der Reihe 10 Jahre Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung und wird von den Abteilungen Integration, Soziale Netzwerke und kulturelle Lebensformen sowie Migration, Psychische und körperliche Gesundheit und Gesundheitsförderung des Instituts organisiert.

Event calendar page

Poster

Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, more than 8 million Ukrainians have migrated abroad. From them, more than a million received protection in Germany. Even though the arrival and settling of refugees was governed on both state and municipal levels, ground and personal initiatives contributed significantly to accommodating those fleeing the war. The option of private housing, when people in receiving countries willingly offered their homes for refugees, helped to settle the vast majority of those arriving. However, given the temporal context of the ongoing war and unclear perspectives on how long the refugees will stay, or whether they would return to their country, the overall idea of private housing was challenged. Even though the German government has adopted a decree for compensating the costs of hosting Ukrainians, cases were reported when refugees were asked to move out, resulting in some of them making the decision on returning back to Ukraine. Everyday conflicts, misunderstandings, and exposure to potential exploitation resulting from tensions in private households can also further contribute to the well-being of the refugees and their prospects of staying in the receiving country. Such challenges might be a clear manifestation of what is called “compassion fatigue” and represent the overall contestation of the private housing model, which can work as an interim rather than a sustainable solution.towards Ukrainian refugees will be highlighted as well.

Drawing upon the ongoing anthropological research on the personal experiences of Ukrainian refugee women in Berlin, the talk will focus on the impact of private housing contestations on the refugees’ decision-making and return perspectives. The overlapping housing crises in Berlin and the ambiguities of German social policies towards Ukrainian refugees will be highlighted as well.

Event calendar page

Poster