"All day waiting": causes of conflict in refugee shelters in Germany.

Autor/inn/en	Christ, Simone; Meininghaus, Esther; Röing, Tim
Institution	Bonn International Center for Conversion
Titel	"All day waiting": causes of conflict in refugee shelters in Germany.
Quelle	Bonn (2019), 49 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	BICC Working Paper. 3/2019
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monographie
ISSN	2521-781X
URN	urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-62796-0
Schlagwörter	Aggressivität; Gewalt; Sozialer Konflikt; Asylpolitik; Asylverfahren; Flüchtlingspolitik; Kriminalität; Migration; Totale Institution; Notunterkunft; Flüchtling; Deutschland; Nordrhein-Westfalen
Abstract	This Working Paper argues that conflicts in refugee shelters in Germany can largely be attributed to structural causes. These include the asylum regime, the interplay between the physical layout and social relationships within refugee shelters, and the specific properties of the refugee accommodation system, which can be regarded as a "total institution". Further, there are other causes of conflict, which can be located at the personal level. On the basis of a qualitative survey, we worked with more than 200 participants in 33 refugee shelters operated at state and municipal level across the federal state (Land) of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Based on the data collected, we analyse five types of conflict: Conflicts at the individual level, group conflicts, aggressive behaviour and criminality, domestic and sexual violence and conflicts between residents and staff as well as conflict between institutions. The hypothesis that reported cases of conflict represent more than a mere collection of isolated cases was confirmed. Instead, conflict can usually be ascribed to certain interrelated root causes. Participants themselves were often unaware of the processes at work here. We therefore recommend a comprehensive approach to conflict prevention that takes both structural and personal causes of conflict into account. In this manner, the shelter situation could be improved significantly for refugees and staff.
Erfasst von	GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Mannheim
Update	2020/1