Political Subjectivation and the In/Visible Politics of Migrant Youth Organizing in Germany and the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID2236610
AuthorsHelge Schwiertz (0000-0001-5614-5362, Universität Hamburg, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume15
Issue3
Pages397-414
Publication date2021-07-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Political Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-5679 • E-ISSN: 1749-5687
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ips/olab016
OpenAlexW3175773888
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited40

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 multifaceted concept of collective political subjectivation. Doing so sheds light on how migrant struggles exceed categorization as protest, moments of rupture, or imperceptible subversion. While drawing on Jacques Rancière's concept of 'political subjectivation,' I go beyond his rather narrow focus by highlighting aspects of democracy, transgression, and in/visibility, as well as creative modes of identity-making, which could be further developed in the literature on political subjectivities and migrant struggles. This theoretical reflection builds on two qualitative case studies on migrant youth organizing in Germany and the United States that show the relevance of visible as well as relatively invisible politics. In both cases, I analyze two events that provide insight into this complex notion of political subjectivation: 'Coming Out of the Shadows' in the United States and the counter-conferences in Germany

Aesthetics · Autonomy · Citizenship · Identity (music) · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Subversion · Critical Theory and Political Philosophy · Gender Studies · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

Tools

Open DOI