The German Migration Integration Regime

Giving voice to the experiences of Syrian refuges who sought asylum in Germany, this ethnography puts a spotlight on how the binary notions of 'good' and 'bad' refugees produced by the regime strained the relationship between refugees and the state, revealing the inconsistencies and failings of a universal approach to integration.

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Syrian refugees who gained asylum in Germany following the so-called refugee crisis in 2015 quickly entered into an ‘integration regime’ which produced a binary notion of ‘well integrated’ migrants versus refugees falling short of the narrow social and political definitions of a ‘good’ refugee.


Etzel’s rich ethnographic study shows how refugees navigated this conditional inclusion. While some asylum seekers gained international protection, others were left with limited agency to demand government accountability for the ever-moving target of integration.


Putting a spotlight on the inconsistencies and failings of a universal approach to integration, this is an important contribution to the wider field of migration and anthropology of the state.