Participation despite tolerated stay („Duldung“ )?!

Supported by

Epistemic interest and research question:

The situation of young persons with an exceptional leave to remain has been largely unknown in the Federal Republic of Germany up to now, is hardly discussed in socio-political terms and has been little researched scientifically. Of those young people between the ages of 16 and 30, more than 81,000 had a tolerated stay in 2021. This is where the study project comes in: It empirically analyzes participation of young persons with currently tolerated residence in Germany in education and the labor market, as well as the framework conditions for consolidation of their stay in the host society.

Municipal studies are being conducted in two municipalities each in Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia as part of a nationwide project in cooperation with the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Susanne Spindler, Dr. Sara Madjlessi-Roudi) and the Fulda University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Ilker Ataç, Gesa Langhoop).

The guiding thesis for the project is: Participation opportunities are not only related to inclusive or exclusive legal regulations, but to the municipal practices of their interpretation, which are influenced by local conditions, cooperation among stakeholders, and also by state-specific conditions, decrees, and programs.
Participation happens "on site". Appropriate framework conditions in cities and municipalities can contribute to the success of participation processes. The project is particularly interested in both the municipal cooperative relationships between relevant training and labor market actors, support systems (committed civil society, social work) and the areas of conflict. In addition, the subjective perspective of the persons with exceptional leave to remain status is recorded empirically. Criteria for good practice that promise success for participation processes of young people of that status will be worked out during the project period.

The guiding thesis for the project is: Participation opportunities are not only related to inclusive or exclusive legal regulations, but to the municipal practices of their interpretation, which are influenced by local conditions, cooperation among stakeholders, and also by state-specific conditions, decrees, and programs.
Participation happens "on site". Appropriate framework conditions in cities and municipalities can contribute to the success of participation processes. The project is particularly interested in both the municipal cooperative relationships between relevant training and labor market actors, support systems (committed civil society, social work) and the areas of conflict. In addition, the subjective perspective of the persons with exceptional leave to remain status is recorded empirically. Criteria for good practice that promise success for participation processes of young people of that status will be worked out during the project period.
 

Procedure:

The subproject at the KU examines two municipalities in Bavaria. With the help of a document analysis and guideline-based expert interviews, local service structures and cooperative relationships will be surveyed, as well as tension fields in the municipalities in the action area of persons with exceptional leave to remain status. It also covers key framework conditions that shape the scope for action and discretion on the ground, such as legal regulations, decrees or support programs. The perspective of persons with that status is collected by means of narrative interviews.

Publications (in German):

Perspektiven für Geduldete: Eine halbe Chance. https://taz.de/Perspektiven-fuer-Geduldete/!5914087/

Aufenthaltsverfestigung für Geduldete darf keine Lotterie sein – Stellungnahme zum Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht. https://rat-fuer-migration.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Stellungnahme-zum-Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht.pdf


Project duration:

07/2021 until 04/2024

Research collaboration:

Hochschule Düsseldorf: Prof. Dr. Susanne Spindler, Sara Madjlessi-Roudi
Hochschule Fulda: Prof. Dr. Ilker Ataç, Gesa Langhoop