Culture or bureaucracy? Challenges in syrian refugees' initial settlement in Germany

Wendy Pearlman

doi:10.1163/18763375-00903002

Culture or bureaucracy? Challenges in syrian refugees' initial settlement in Germany

Wendy Pearlman^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Political Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

In 2015 and 2016, Germany received more than 1.1 million asylum applications, some 425,000 of them from Syrians. Significant optimism accompanied the peak of this refugee inflow, with many Syrians praising Germany as a haven offering freedom and dignity, and many Germans taking pride in their country's humanitarian stance and welcoming culture. Since then, various sources of anxiety have emerged, particularly those related to locals' concerns about threats to their country's national culture and newcomers' frustrations stemming from their dealings with state bureaucracy. Building on field research in Germany in 2016 and 2017, this article offers a preliminary exploration of these issues, with a focus on refugees' experience of bureaucracy in the realms as legal status, housing, and work. The article concludes with reflections on how juxtaposition of locals and newcomers' respective concerns can highlight unexpected spaces for exchange and mutual understanding.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	313-327
Number of pages	15
Journal	Middle East Law and Governance
Volume	9
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/18763375-00903002
State	Published - 2017

Funding

The author is grateful for a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for it generous support of her field research in Germany and the Forum Transregionale Studien-eume (Europe in the Middle East – the Middle East In Europe) for serving as her institutional host. For their help and insight while in Germany, the author thanks Nora Ateia, André Bank, Jacobia Dahm, Dina El-Sharnouby, Nur Hajjir, Nahed Samour, Luisa Seiler, and the many Syrian newcomers who shared their stories with her. She thanks Agneska Bloch, Coretta Lemaitre, Asha Sawhney, and Sky Swanson for German-language research assistance. All errors are the author’s alone.

Keywords

Asylum
Bureaucracy
Culture
Germany
Integration
Refugee
Syria

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Sociology and Political Science
Law

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1163/18763375-00903002

Cite this

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abstract = "In 2015 and 2016, Germany received more than 1.1 million asylum applications, some 425,000 of them from Syrians. Significant optimism accompanied the peak of this refugee inflow, with many Syrians praising Germany as a haven offering freedom and dignity, and many Germans taking pride in their country's humanitarian stance and welcoming culture. Since then, various sources of anxiety have emerged, particularly those related to locals' concerns about threats to their country's national culture and newcomers' frustrations stemming from their dealings with state bureaucracy. Building on field research in Germany in 2016 and 2017, this article offers a preliminary exploration of these issues, with a focus on refugees' experience of bureaucracy in the realms as legal status, housing, and work. The article concludes with reflections on how juxtaposition of locals and newcomers' respective concerns can highlight unexpected spaces for exchange and mutual understanding.",

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Culture or bureaucracy? Challenges in syrian refugees' initial settlement in Germany

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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