Bridging Divides in Political Representation: Migration, Trust, and Postmigrant Political Actors in Berlin

Political trust is defined as citizens' confidence in political institutions, which fosters support for democracy. However, when trust is broken or absent, particularly among marginalized groups like migrants and non-citizens, it can lead to a decline in political participation and legitimacy. Drawing on data collected through interviews and participant observation between 2022 and 2024 with organizations focusing on migration in Berlin, we show how trust is earned and lost – and the growing role of political actors who, regardless of their citizenship status, shape the political discourse and make their voice heard in Germany. Our findings show the urgency to rethink the promise of representative politics through an intersectional lens that take into account different access and opportunities due to citizenship status, gender, sexuality, race, and other variables. Instead of focusing on integration measures that put the burden on migrants as one-dimensional subjects, we offer a perspective through “trust” as mutually formed ground to foster a more accountable political culture. Ultimately, with the growing role of postmigrant political actors, we argue for a shift from the integrationist paradigm of “democratizing the migrants" to a co-constitutive and pluralist "migrants' democracy."