Metropolitics

Multiplied Displacement Under Racial Capitalism: The “Migrant Crisis” in Berlin and New York City

René Kreichauf — 2025-01-31T10:17:52Z

Berlin and New York City, both self-proclaimed “migrant-friendly cities,” have long been destinations for internationally displaced migrants. Yet, as René Kreichauf explains, the façade of “migrant-friendly” belies racialized policies and practices that multiply displacement and dispossession. In New York, the inauguration of Donald Trump, and the mayor's fealty to him in the hopes of a pardon, portends an intensification of the violence that multiple displacement produces.
The 21st century

- Essays / migration, criminalization of migration, migration crisis, migrant workers, migrants, Berlin, New York, United States, Germany, asylum, displacement

A “Migration Crisis”? The Myths and Realities of France's Immigration Figures

Camille Gourdeau & translated by Oliver Waine — 2022-03-11T06:00:00Z

Is France experiencing a “migration crisis”? Based on a statistical analysis of immigration figures, Camille Gourdeau shows the extent to which immigration in France is stable in terms of numbers, nationalities of origin, and justifications for successful applications.
The expression “refugee crisis” or “migrant crisis,” which has rapidly gained ground in political and media discourse since 2015, has been widely called into question by researchers specialized in the subject: some decry the

- From the Field / immigration policy, immigration, integration, migration crisis, migrants, migration, asylum

The Asylum Story: Narrative Capital and International Protection

Emily Reid — 2021-02-02T06:00:00Z

Obtaining international protection relies upon an ability to successfully navigate the host country's asylum regime. In France, the récit de vie, or asylum story, is critical to this process. An asylum seeker must craft their story with the cultural expectations of the assessor in mind. The shaping of the asylum story can be seen as an act of political protest.
Names and identifying details have been altered to protect the privacy of individuals' stories.
The role of the asylum story within

- From the Field / asylum, migrants, migration, borders, France, immigration, immigration control, Europe

Migrants' Occupation of Lycée Jean Quarré: The Refugee Cause and the Cause of a Neighborhood

Isabelle Coutant & translated by Oliver Waine — 2018-11-16T06:00:00Z

The flows of migrants seeking refuge in Europe since the summer of 2015 have led to temporary settlements—legal or otherwise—in various urban locations. What is the impact of their presence on individual neighborhoods and relations with local communities? A study by Isabelle Coutant on the occupation of a disused high school in northeastern Paris sheds light on these impacts and the associated expressions of solidarity, engagement and tension that emerge.
In the summer of 2015, the

- Essays / France, immigration, refugees, public space, working-class neighborhoods, collective action, Paris, proximity, neighborhood, migration, sociabilities, RESF, hospitality, politics, school, migrants, engagement, occupation, local action, asylum

Dwelling—Living—Waiting: Transformations of a Refugee Reception Camp in Germany

Nina Riewe — 2017-11-21T06:00:00Z

In wealthy German cities, which have received tens of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Northern Africa in recent years, officials have scrambled to provide adequate physical accommodation. In this paper, Nina Riewe explores refugees' negotiation of space in an initial reception camp in Hamburg. Considered under law to be “dwelling” but not actually “living” there, they continually struggle to maintain privacy, sociability, and physical and psychological comfort in a place

- From the Field / camps, refugees, Germany, migration, space, migrants, refugee camps, state of exception, zones of exception, Agamben, Hamburg, asylum