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Communicating the Discrepancy: Operational Outcomes of the Activation Policy in the Field of Local Support Activities for Migrant Residents in Germany
Because of a radical transformation of the political landscape in the last decade in Germany, people with migrant backgrounds are subjected to activation politics in two ways. Since there are twice as many jobless migrants compared to Germans, the migrants are necessarily the addressees in the new job placement measures, which may be well compared to the workfare policies in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, migrants are involved in the activation scheme through the formation of an integration policy in Germany that strongly reflects the concept of activation by requiring total engagement, self-responsibility, and willingness to get involved in the life and norms of the host country.
To assess the practical outcomes of such a political arrangement in the direct surroundings of the involved actors, the author conducted narrative interviews with migrants and local actors who are either in charge of job placement measures in the job centers or are working on educational support programs in elementary schools in migrant-dense city areas in Munich. A wide range of administrative documents were also referred to.
On the basis of these sources, this paper demonstrates the cognitive discrepancies among the actors and discusses that one of the most significant outcomes of these activation measures may be achieved by promoting a reflexive mindset among local institutions and migrant residents. The discussion is concluded by indicating that the operational interest of local welfare organizations is paid increasingly to enhance their communicational sensitivity so that they could deal with the highly complex demands of their individual clients; i.e., the sensitivity that relativizes the predominant distinction between Germans/non-Germans in the traditional welfare community.