Associate Doctoral Candidate Inga Zimmermann

(Hu)Man Security – Organizational Perspectives on Forced Migration and Masculinity in Shared Accommodations in German Municipalities

During the summer of 2015, approximately 840,000 asylum seekers arrived in Germany (BAMF 2016). Resulting from a global humanitarian crisis, in Germany, this period has often been referred to as the “summer of migration” or the “refugee crisis”. Thereafter, public debates, media reporting and political discourses addressed, on the one hand, a “welcome culture” towards refugees in general and, on the other hand, highlighted the potential of a security risk arising from male refugees in particular, who represent the overwhelming majority of asylum seekers in Germany.
This present research establishes the current situation of this group of men living in shared accommodations in German municipalities. It applies the individual-centered and holistic concept of human security (first adapted by UNDP in 1994), denominated here by myself as (hu)man security. More specifically, this study focuses on the behaviour of non-governmental organizations and takes a organizational sociological approach in analyzing their options in catering to the needs of refugees.
Therefore, I investigate on the role of masculinity construction(s) influencing the behavior of organizations involved in refugee assistance. With this objective, and assuming that the organizational performance impacts on the (hu)man security, two hypotheses are made: Firstly, factual, political and societal changes since 2015 have affected the (organizational) masculinity constructions negatively and have therefore influences the situation for male refugees in Germany, and, secondly, masculinity constructions have equally generated a behavioral change in organizations over the same period.
Likewise, this research combines both semi-structured qualitative interviews and focus groups with organizational personnel and male residents of two chosen municipal refugee accommodations with a structural analysis of housing and protection standards and asylum policies, municipal politics and legal changes in a selected time frame from 2015 until 2018.
In the outcome, I describe existing masculinity constructions within organizations which are involved in refugee assistance and identify their impacts on both legitimating their strategies and organizational performance towards accommodating male refugees.
Furthermore, the results of this study enable the detection of potential organizational insecurities. It recommends a careful, gender-sensitive organizational planning and policy development at municipal level.
Consequently, new findings help to address current challenges and seek persistent solutions for improvement of everyday life not only for male refugees, yet, German society.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ludger Pries

About Inga Zimmermann