The present political majority in Poland (which supports the right-wing government) is characterized by nationalism and anti-refugee sentiments. The genesis of a thus-shaped majority should be traced back to post-1989 deregulation of social rights and dismantling of the working and peasant class. Following the disintegration of the previous class order, the only political subject capable of exerting influence on the government turned out to be a nationalistic community. This community treats nationalism as the basis of its political contract with the authorities and regards xenophobia as an instrument of its own agency.

“The refugee should be considered for what he is, that is, nothing less than a border concept that radically calls into question principles of the nation-state and, at the same time, helps clear the field for a no-longer-delayable renewal of categories” – states Agamben in his essay «We refugees», claiming that a refugee is no […]

Lorsque 200 000 personnes ont fui leur pays après le soulèvement hongrois d’octobre 1956, la Suisse a fait preuve d’une solidarité sans précédent. Elle a accueilli quelque 13 000 personnes sans condition. Tiphaine Robert examine les effets de la crise de 1956 et son impact sur la politique d’asile en Suisse.

Drei Jahre lang war der Berliner Oranienplatz von Geflüchteten und ihren Unterstützer*innen besetzt. Im April 2014 wurde der Platz geräumt und damit auch der Protest gegen die Residenzpflicht und Abschiebepraxis mit Polizeigewalt beendet. Das Schwabinggrad Ballett und die aus der Refugee-Gruppe «Lampedusa in Hamburg» hervorgegangenen Arrivati haben Besetzer*innen interviewt und die Konflikte in die «Chöre […]

Among Western journalists and political analysts there is noticeable trend to analyze the war in Ukraine in terms of “spheres of influence”. This imperial thinking frames the land conquest ordered by Vladimir Putin as a reaction to “Western expansion”. In a desperate bid to say something original, talking heads and Twitter intellectuals from both the left and the right talk about “NATO’s overexpansion in the East” and thereby reinforce Putin’s claims that Russia is threatened.