Organizational Implementation of German Refugee Legislation – Communal Case Studies from a Human Security Perspective

This research analyses the impact of factual, political and legal changes in Germany’s refugee regime since 2015 upon the organizational field of public administrations and non-governmental organizations. It closely examines in how far the pressure on Germany’s refugee regime affects the multilayered human security situation in refugee accommodations. Through empirical fieldwork in two municipalities including six organizational case studies, the research sheds light upon organizational perceptions and solutions for security aspects along the human security dimensions economy, environment, food, health, personal, community and political rights. It argues that a thorough analysis of organizational implementation of refugee legislation on the “bureaucracy street level” provides important insights on the attention given to specific needs of women, men, girls and boys as well as their intersection with other indicators creating vulnerability (such as health, age, sexual orientation, religion, and socio-economic status). The qualitative research project combines current debates in refugee studies with theoretical concepts from organizational sociology, gender studies and policy research. It applies a neo-institutional research framework to explain organizational behavior at the level of two municipalities and four NGOs with a focus on the developments between 2014-2107.