The MIKOWA series publishes working papers from the Institute for Social Work / Research Platform Migration, Conflict and Social Change (MIKOWA).
Dialog-Veranstaltungen als Demokratisierung? Eine Analyse der Bürgerdialoge in Cottbus in Zeiten völkisch-autoritärer Mobilisierung. Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprojektes
Heike Radvan, Michael Raab
Many municipalities in the Lausitz region are faced with the challenge of dealing with ethno-nationalist, authoritarian actors and their strategies. In the city of Cottbus, a coalition of extreme right-wing and ethnic-nationalist groups has been mobilising for demonstrations and campaigns since late summer 2017. Similar to other municipalities, those responsible in Cottbus are resorting to the format of ‘citizen dialogue’ at the beginning of 2018, with corresponding events taking place in six districts. We present the results of our research on the citizen dialogues. Using grounded theory, three events were analysed in depth and categories were formed. The focus is on how the discourses at the events in Cottbus unfold, which topics are addressed in which ways, and which communicative approaches are chosen. We are also interested in success factors in terms of enabling democratic dialogue: Given the specific conditions – participants who consciously and, in some cases, strategically break the rules of what can be said, discriminate and are, in some cases, not interested in exchanging relevant arguments – how can these events be prepared and carried out in order to ensure that they proceed in accordance with democratic standards? This (application-oriented) question has hardly been the subject of empirical research to date..
Müssen wir zuhören? Besorgte Bürger*innen – Resonanzräume zwischen legitimem Protest und Demokratiefeindlichkeit. Eine Forschungsnotiz.
Christian Seipel, Susanne Rippl
‘Concerned citizens’ distance themselves from right-wing extremist views in their self-image. The aim of the following analyses is to examine the actual motives of ‘concerned citizens’ in more detail and to shed light on the role of entrenched right-wing extremist worldviews in comparison to protest motives. To this end, empirical findings from the 2018 Sachsen-Monitor (Saxony Monitor) (the Free State of Saxony is a federal state in Germany), the Mitte studies from 2016 and 2018, and results from participatory observations of Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) demonstrations are used. The empirical analyses show that the ‘concerned citizens’ are by no means ‘normal average citizens’ – their attitude profile differs significantly from that of the rest of the population. The article concludes with considerations as to whether “listening” and ‘talking to right-wingers’ are appropriate means in political debate. Furthermore, the question is discussed to what extent processes of ‘othering’ could influence the results in the context of the research design presented.
Netzwerke als Baustein der Sozialen Arbeit im Kontext von Fluchtmigration. Eine kritische Exploration zu Herausforderungen in Brandenburg
Kathrin Coobs
Refugee social workers who work with people who have been forced to leave their homes are not only faced with the task of fulfilling formal requirements (asylum applications, legal requirements for tolerated stays and/or residence regulations, etc.) within a very short period of time. At the same time, they must integrate the informal aspects (language, traumatic experiences of flight, grief and/or fear for family members left behind, traditions brought with them, etc.). Given this high level of complexity, it is important to be able to operate within a professional network in order to cope with the multifaceted nature of the work. In a country with a large surface area such as Brandenburg (a federal state in Germany), this parallelism of formal and informal tasks poses a particular challenge. In addition to professionally organised networks, we encounter self-organised networks, small private networks and the network of honorary officials (voluntary positions in the public sector) in Brandenburg. As part of a study on networking in Brandenburg, a brief evaluation of existing networks and their effectiveness was carried out, the results of which raised the idea of triangulation for greater effectiveness.
Politik des Zuhörens. Über Ausschluss, Exil und Marginalisierung bei Judith Shklar, Hannah Arendt und Iris Marion Young
Julia Schulze Wessel
In classical theories of democracy, the ‘art of listening’ is hardly given any significant relevance. However, public discussions in recent years have shown that it is indeed meaningful and must be accorded its own democratic quality. In this essay, ‘listening’ is presented as a productive activity. Three political theorists demonstrate the self-reflective power of listening. Marginalised voices take on particular significance here, as tensions and contradictions in democratic societies can be identified from the margins of society.
Das Menschenrechtsmandat in der Sozialen Arbeit: die Ambivalenzen des Fundaments der Profession
Ralf Mahlich
Discussions about human dignity and human rights have been ongoing for many decades in various philosophical, political and religious movements. These discussions are summarised below. Special attention will be paid to postcolonial criticism of the Western body of knowledge on the emergence of human rights. This will be followed by a discussion of the extent to which the ineffectiveness of human rights for refugees, already addressed by Hannah Arendt, is rooted in epistemic dominance and continues in the methodological nationalism of social work. Furthermore, we will examine other historical and current processes of hierarchisation of human rights that are relevant in the context of social work.
„Es wäre gut, wenn Putin hier mal auskehren könnte“ Analysen zu Mobilisierungen (extrem) rechter Akteure in Cottbus in Reaktion auf den russischen Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine 2022
Christian Obermüller, Heike Radvan, Johanna Schiffer
The city of Cottbus (Brandenburg) has been challenged by extreme right-wing and conspiracy-ideological mobilisation for several years. Cottbus has also been the scene of regular demonstrations during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the focus of the so-called Monday walkers has gradually shifted away from the pandemic and towards the war. This research focuses on the protests organised in Cottbus between 28 February and 24 October 2022 in response to Russia's war of aggression and examines selected speeches using grounded theory. It aims to classify the content and presentation of the speakers in terms of their potential dangers and to develop further ideas for application-oriented research in the field of prevention and civil society resistance. The research shows that, similar to other eastern German cities, events in Cottbus are dominated by far-right actors and groups, who are supported by parts of the middle class. It is also apparent that actors from the coronavirus protest milieu have become more radicalised; conspiracy theories and, in particular, far-right 'Reichsbürger' ideologies dominate the events examined and are mixed with pro-Russian positions and the ideology of a ‘Eurasian’ reorganisation of the European-Asian region. The rejection of ‘the West’ is a recurring meta-narrative.