Helge Schwiertz
Biographic Data
| ID | 258111 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Helge Schwiertz |
| GIVEN NAMES | Helge |
| FAMILY NAME | Schwiertz |
| SIGNATURE | SCHWIERTZ H |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universität Hamburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5614-5362 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 44 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 114 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 44 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Pratiques démocratiques d’organisation autonome de jeunes réfugié·es en Allemagne: Relation à la sphère publique hégémonique et à l’État
Cet article étudie les pratiques politiques de Jugendliche ohne Grenzen (JoG), une organisation politique autonome de jeunes réfugié·es installé·es en Allemagne. En visibilisant leur exclusion sociale et institutionnelle et en contribuant à redéfinir la démocratie, JoG souligne une « différence démocratique » : le fossé entre les régimes démocratiques en place et les principes d’égalité et de liberté auxquels ils aspirent. Les théories de la dé…
Horizontale Citizenship
Um das emanzipatorische Potenzial von Citizenship-Ansätzen in Bezug auf urbane soziale Bewegungen zu untersuchen, schlage ich den Begriff der „horizontalen Citizenship“ vor. Hierzu diskutiere ich Ansätze performativer und urbaner Citizenship und stelle den anhaltenden Fokus auf legalistische Konzepte und staatliche Institutionen in den Citizenship Studies infrage. Darüber hinaus re-artikuliere ich den Citizenship-Begriff mit Konzepten, die gegenw…
Enacting tenant citizenship and struggles for the right to home: Linking Activist, Active and Community Citizenship
This paper examines how tenants in Denmark collectively enact their rights and challenge the neoliberal discourse that frames housing as an issue of personal responsibility. We show how these residents create a political subjectivity of tenants as citizens, drawing on and extending concepts of performative citizenship, by emphasizing the importance of homemaking and non-profit housing. Empirically, the analysis focuses on the movement Almen Modst…
Social theory and migration research in dialog
Migration' has received less attention in social theory compared to other topics, and at the same time, migration research is often said to have a 'theory deficit.' Against this background, we argue that it is mutually beneficial to relate and link social theory and migration research more closely. On the one hand, a stronger reference to social theories is important for migration research to break down prevailing views on migration and to furthe…
Foucauldian perspectives on migration and society: The epistemological-political grids of 'people' and 'population
Drawing on Foucault's approach to knowledge and power, this paper aims to strengthen theoretical perspectives on migration and to revise social theories by reflecting on the constitutive role of migration in the formation of society. Differing from studies that use a methodological approach based on Foucault, I draw on his work to develop a constructivist theory of society by examining and problematizing two dominant lenses through which migratio…
Negotiating Borders through a Politics of Scale: Municipalities and Urban Civil Society Initiatives in the Contested Field of Migration
In contrast to the increasingly repressive migration policies at national and supranational scales, new pro-migrant policies, networks, and practices of support have been initiated at the local scale. In numerous European municipalities, political visions and concrete experiences of inclusive approaches in the field of migration have emerged in recent years that combine questions of the right to global freedom of movement and social rights. While…
Figures of Migration in the Classical Sociologies of Marx, Weber, and Du Bois
Migration is a topic of heated debate, yet it is relatively absent from sociological theory discussions. This article analyzes the extent to which structural de-thematization or specific framing of migration shapes sociological perspectives by focusing on approaches that have been canonized as 'classics.' Through a rereading of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and W. E. B. Du Bois, I address absences and show how these authors have nevertheless constructed …
Radical democratic theory and migration: The Refugee Protest March as a democratic practice
In dominant discourses, migrants are mostly perceived as either victims or villains but rarely as political subjects and democratic constituents. Challenging this view, the aim of the article is to rethink democracy with respect to migration struggles. I argue that movements of migration are not only consistent with democracy but also provide a decisive impetus for actualizing democratic principles in the context of debates about the crisis of re…
Konstruktivistische Identitätspolitik: Warum Demokratie partikulare Positionierung erfordert
Identitätspolitik wird heute in der politischen Öffentlichkeit und der politischen Theorie auf ähnliche Weise kritisiert. Ein zentraler Topos dieser Kritik ist, dass Identitätspolitik essentialisierend sei: Sie schreibe Subjekte auf deren soziale Position fest und ergehe sich in einer Politik der Partikularität, die zu Spaltungen der nationalen Bürgerschaft und des demokratischen Diskurses (kommunitaristische und liberale Position) und zu Spaltun…
Countering the Asylum Paradox Through Strategic Humanitarianism: Evidence from Safe Passage Activism in Germany
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 humanit…
Political Subjectivation and the In/Visible Politics of Migrant Youth Organizing in Germany and the United States
In countries of the Global North, migrant youth with a precarious legal status are not commonly seen as political subjects, but as subjects of politics. Against this background, this paper reflects on how migrant youth nevertheless manage to organize themselves and intervene in the dominant society, thereby emerging as unforeseen political subjects. Discussing acts of citizenship and autonomy of migration approaches, I argue for the use of a mult…
Introduction: Inclusive solidarity and citizenship along migratory routes in Europe and the Americas
In this special issue, we link non-essentialist concepts of solidarity and citizenship to migration in different empirical contexts. We analyse how civil society initiatives renegotiate societal structures in solidarity with people on the move, noncitizens and racialized individuals, and in doing so we contribute to current debates about citizenship and solidarity. Focusing on solidarity among members of the so-called ‘majority society’ in Europe…
Mobilizing for safe passages and escape aid: Challenging the 'Asylum Paradox' Between Active and Activist Citizenship, Humanitarianism and Solidarity
The ‘asylum paradox’ is a pivotal feature of refugee politics in the Global North: In order to effectively claim and obtain refugee rights, refugees are forced to cross borders illegally because of the lack of legal entry options. As a result, access to refugee protection has become a controversial issue, and civil society initiatives have begun mobilizing people for safe passage and escape aid. This paper analyses a range of such practices in Ge…
Demokratie Zwischen Institution Und Revolution
Spezifische Räume Und Beziehungen Der Selbstorganisierung
Wissensproduktion Im Feld Der Migration
VIII. Demokratie als Praxis: Sieben Thesen (post-)migrantischer Demokratietheorie
Die Politische Differenz
Interventionsformen Zwischen Kooperation Und Konfrontation
Eine Methodologie Qualitativer Forschung Und Theoretischer Analyse
Konflikt Und Kooperation Im Verhältnis Zu Unterstützenden
Zwischenfazit
Überleitung: "Demokratie" Aus Der Perspektive Migrantischer Jugendlicher
Literatur
Politische Subjektivität Und Repräsentation
Introduction: Inclusive solidarity and citizenship along migratory routes in Europe and the Americas
In this special issue, we link non-essentialist concepts of solidarity and citizenship to migration in different empirical contexts. We analyse how civil society initiatives renegotiate societal structures in solidarity with people on the move, noncitizens and racialized individuals, and in doing so we contribute to current debates about citizenship and solidarity. Focusing on solidarity among members of the so-called ‘majority society’ in Europe…
Transformations of the undocumented youth movement and radical egalitarian citizenship
In the past decade, a movement of undocumented migrant youth has emerged in the United States to struggle against their criminalization and discrimination. Whereas it was first described as a movement of ‘Dreamers,’ portrayed as hardworking students and cultural Americans who deserve rights despite their illegalized status, the direction of undocumented organizing shifted and moved beyond the Dreamer narrative. Based on fieldwork in California, I…
Mobilizing for safe passages and escape aid: Challenging the 'Asylum Paradox' Between Active and Activist Citizenship, Humanitarianism and Solidarity
The ‘asylum paradox’ is a pivotal feature of refugee politics in the Global North: In order to effectively claim and obtain refugee rights, refugees are forced to cross borders illegally because of the lack of legal entry options. As a result, access to refugee protection has become a controversial issue, and civil society initiatives have begun mobilizing people for safe passage and escape aid. This paper analyses a range of such practices in Ge…
Countering the Asylum Paradox Through Strategic Humanitarianism: Evidence from Safe Passage Activism in Germany
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 humanit…
Political Subjectivation and the In/Visible Politics of Migrant Youth Organizing in Germany and the United States
In countries of the Global North, migrant youth with a precarious legal status are not commonly seen as political subjects, but as subjects of politics. Against this background, this paper reflects on how migrant youth nevertheless manage to organize themselves and intervene in the dominant society, thereby emerging as unforeseen political subjects. Discussing acts of citizenship and autonomy of migration approaches, I argue for the use of a mult…
Negotiating Borders through a Politics of Scale: Municipalities and Urban Civil Society Initiatives in the Contested Field of Migration
In contrast to the increasingly repressive migration policies at national and supranational scales, new pro-migrant policies, networks, and practices of support have been initiated at the local scale. In numerous European municipalities, political visions and concrete experiences of inclusive approaches in the field of migration have emerged in recent years that combine questions of the right to global freedom of movement and social rights. While…
Radical democratic theory and migration: The Refugee Protest March as a democratic practice
In dominant discourses, migrants are mostly perceived as either victims or villains but rarely as political subjects and democratic constituents. Challenging this view, the aim of the article is to rethink democracy with respect to migration struggles. I argue that movements of migration are not only consistent with democracy but also provide a decisive impetus for actualizing democratic principles in the context of debates about the crisis of re…
Konstruktivistische Identitätspolitik: Warum Demokratie partikulare Positionierung erfordert
Identitätspolitik wird heute in der politischen Öffentlichkeit und der politischen Theorie auf ähnliche Weise kritisiert. Ein zentraler Topos dieser Kritik ist, dass Identitätspolitik essentialisierend sei: Sie schreibe Subjekte auf deren soziale Position fest und ergehe sich in einer Politik der Partikularität, die zu Spaltungen der nationalen Bürgerschaft und des demokratischen Diskurses (kommunitaristische und liberale Position) und zu Spaltun…
Foucauldian perspectives on migration and society: The epistemological-political grids of 'people' and 'population
Drawing on Foucault's approach to knowledge and power, this paper aims to strengthen theoretical perspectives on migration and to revise social theories by reflecting on the constitutive role of migration in the formation of society. Differing from studies that use a methodological approach based on Foucault, I draw on his work to develop a constructivist theory of society by examining and problematizing two dominant lenses through which migratio…
Figures of Migration in the Classical Sociologies of Marx, Weber, and Du Bois
Migration is a topic of heated debate, yet it is relatively absent from sociological theory discussions. This article analyzes the extent to which structural de-thematization or specific framing of migration shapes sociological perspectives by focusing on approaches that have been canonized as 'classics.' Through a rereading of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and W. E. B. Du Bois, I address absences and show how these authors have nevertheless constructed …
Enacting tenant citizenship and struggles for the right to home: Linking Activist, Active and Community Citizenship
This paper examines how tenants in Denmark collectively enact their rights and challenge the neoliberal discourse that frames housing as an issue of personal responsibility. We show how these residents create a political subjectivity of tenants as citizens, drawing on and extending concepts of performative citizenship, by emphasizing the importance of homemaking and non-profit housing. Empirically, the analysis focuses on the movement Almen Modst…
Transformations of the undocumented youth movement and radical egalitarian citizenship
In the past decade, a movement of undocumented migrant youth has emerged in the United States to struggle against their criminalization and discrimination. Whereas it was first described as a movement of ‘Dreamers,’ portrayed as hardworking students and cultural Americans who deserve rights despite their illegalized status, the direction of undocumented organizing shifted and moved beyond the Dreamer narrative. Based on fieldwork in California, I…
Demokratie Zwischen Institution Und Revolution
Spezifische Räume Und Beziehungen Der Selbstorganisierung
Wissensproduktion Im Feld Der Migration
VIII. Demokratie als Praxis: Sieben Thesen (post-)migrantischer Demokratietheorie
Die Politische Differenz
Interventionsformen Zwischen Kooperation Und Konfrontation
Eine Methodologie Qualitativer Forschung Und Theoretischer Analyse
Konflikt Und Kooperation Im Verhältnis Zu Unterstützenden
Zwischenfazit
Überleitung: "Demokratie" Aus Der Perspektive Migrantischer Jugendlicher
Literatur
Politische Subjektivität Und Repräsentation
Abkürzungsverzeichnis
Entstehung Der Migrantischen Selbstorganisierungen
Positionen, Grenzen Und Kreuzungen Der Betroffenheit
Interviewverzeichnis
Kämpfe Im Und Gegen Das Migrationsregime in Deutschland Und Den Usa
Coming-Out Und Gegenkonferenz Als Typische Interventionsformen
Inhalt
Erkenntnisinteresse Und Fragestellung
Das Deutsch-Europäische Migrationsregime
Aufbau Des Buches
Verortung Im Forschungsstand Zu Migration Und Demokratie
Fallauswahl, Methoden Und Vorgehensweise
Political science (28 works) · Philosophy (13 works) · Law (11 works) · Politics (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · German Literature and Culture Studies (10 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (10 works) · Gender Studies (7 works) · Citizenship (6 works) · Public Administration and Political Analysis (6 works)