Citizenship by work? Arbeitsmarktpolitik im Flüchtlingsschutz zwischen Öffnung und Selektion

Kurzfassung/Abstract

The paper discusses current changes of the German labor market for certain groups of refugees. On the one hand, we can observe a partial opening of the labor market. Especially the economy welcomes the idea of opening the labor market for refugees. On the other hand, this policy establishes a perspective that puts a strong emphasis on economical benefits, even in the field of refugee protection. This policy is inconsistent with the idea of human rights, which state a right to work. Some researchers argue that the access to the labor market will be a chance to get citizenship rights. In contrast to this view, I argue that the focus on labor market participation leads to a classification of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ refugees. At the same time, the partial opening is a gateway for ‘activation policies’ with different sanctions intervening into the refugee protection system.