Suchergebnisse

Anfang der 90er Jahre gibt es im Feld der Migrationsforschung erst wenige Arbeiten, die sich ihrem Gegenstand mit Konzepten der Soziologie Pierre Bourdieus nähern. Der vorliegende Text gehört zu den frühen Versuchen der Erarbeitung des Ansatzes einer praxeologischen Migrationsforschung mit dem Ziel, Zusammenhängen zwischen Klassengeschmack, Prozessen ethnischer Grenzziehung sowie Prozessen der kulturellen Reproduktion sozialer Strukturen auf die Spur zu kommen. Thematisiert werden dabei Interdependenzen zwischen symbolischer Gewalt, kultureller Dominanz und (körperlicher) Fremdheit (z.B. im Sport). Abschließend vorgeschlagen wird eine verstärkte reflexive Bezugnahme auf das Feld der Wissenschaftsproduktion und auf die relational definierten Stellungen der ProduzentInnen von (Migrations-)Forschung, so dass Verstrickungen mit dem Gegenstand der eigenen Forschung im Sinne eines sozio-analytischen Vorgehens der Analyse zugänglich gemacht werden und zu deren Erhellung beitragen können.

Theorization in the sociology of migration and the field of refugee studies has been retarded by a path-dependent division that we argue should be broken down by greater mutual engagement. Excavating the construction of the refugee category reveals how unwarranted assumptions shape contemporary disputes about the scale of refugee crises, appropriate policy responses, and suitable research tools. Empirical studies of how violence interacts with economic and other factors shaping mobility offer lessons for both fields. Adapting existing theories that may not appear immediately applicable, such as household economy approaches, helps explain refugees' decision-making processes. At a macro level, world systems theory sheds light on the interactive policies around refugees across states of origin, mass hosting, asylum, transit, and resettlement. Finally, focusing on the integration of refugees in the Global South reveals a pattern that poses major challenges to theories of assimilation and citizenship developed in settler states of the Global North.

Forced migration - including refugee flows, asylum seekers, internal displacement and development-induced displacement - has increased considerably in volume and political significance since the end of the Cold War. It has become an integral part of North-South relationships and is closely linked to current processes of global social transformation. This makes it as important for sociologists to develop empirical research and analysis on forced migration as it is to include it in their theoretical understandings of contemporary society. The study of forced migration is linked to research on economic migration, but has its own specific research topics, methodological problems and conceptual issues. Forced migration needs to be analysed as a social process in which human agency and social networks play a major part. It gives rise to fears of loss of state control, especially in the context of recent concerns about migration and security. In this context, it is essential to question earlier sociological approaches, which have been based on the principle of relatively autonomous national societies. The sociology of forced migration must be a transnational and interdisciplinary undertaking.