Countering the Asylum Paradox Through Strategic Humanitarianism

Evidence from Safe Passage Activism in Germany

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2370731
AutoresHelge Schwiertz (0000-0001-5614-5362, University of Osnabrück, Germany), E Steinhilper (0000-0003-4821-5724, German Centre for Integration and Migration Research, Berlin, Germany, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen47
Número2
Páginas203-217
Fecha de publicación2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCritical Sociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0896-9205 • E-ISSN: 1569-1632
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0896920520932215
OpenAlexW3035407914
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas27
Referencias citadas21

This paper inquires the moral and political ambivalences of migrant support located between contentious politics and humanitarian aid. Comparing Save Me and Seebrücke, two cases of pro-migrant activism in Germany claiming the safe passage of migrants to Europe, we develop the notion of 'strategic humanitarianism', a hybrid form of migrant support, in which actors combine the strategic employment of predominantly depoliticizing, narrow and humanitarian framing with a contentious repertoire of action. It entails deliberately sacrificing a 'deep' politicization of fundamental critique against contemporary migration regimes in order to achieve a 'wide' politicization and broad consensus for progressive social change. Furthermore, we carve out how distinct political contexts, in this case the issue salience and polarization of migration, influence the dynamics of mobilization and the configuration of humanitarianism and contentious politics. Despite a similar focus, thus, the 'strategic humanitarianism' of Save Me has developed a less contentious and disobedient character than Seebrücke

Collective action · Contentious politics · Immigration · Political economy · Political opportunity · Political science · Politics · Social movement · Sociology · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Policy and Reform Studies