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Buddy Schemes between Refugees and Volunteers in Germany: Transformative Potential in an Unequal Relationship?

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  • Inka Stock

    (Department of Sociology, Bielefeld University, Germany)

Abstract

Since 2016, many German citizens have participated in so-called ‘buddy schemes’ in which volunteers provide personalised support to refugees to help them build their new lives in Germany. These relationships are characterised by ethnic, gender, and age differences between the two parties. This article looks at buddy schemes from the perspective of both volunteers and refugees and investigates whether their relationships open up spaces for transformative citizenship practices, or rather reinforce exclusionary discourses. Drawing on feminist theories of care, the article describes how volunteers and refugees attach meaning to their activities and roles in the relationship. On the one hand, values attached to caring relationships, such as emotional closeness, trust, and respect, contribute to migrants’ heightened sense of self-esteem and autonomy and foster volunteers’ sense of responsibility for fighting against inequality. On the other hand, both parties enter into particular logics of care that potentially reinforce power hierarchies between them. These ambiguous dynamics influence the possibility of transformative citizenship practices on both sides. While some volunteers and refugees develop and take a critical stance on restrictive migration policies in their relationships with others, others reinforce their exclusionist viewpoints on who deserves to be helped and by whom.

Suggested Citation

  • Inka Stock, 2019. "Buddy Schemes between Refugees and Volunteers in Germany: Transformative Potential in an Unequal Relationship?," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 128-138.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v7:y:2019:i:2:p:128-138
    DOI: 10.17645/si.v7i2.2041
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sabine Hess & Bernd Kasparek, 2017. "Under Control? Or Border (as) Conflict: Reflections on the European Border Regime," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 58-68.
    2. Sabine Hess & Bernd Kasparek, 2017. "Under Control? Or Border (as) Conflict: Reflections on the European Border Regime," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 58-68.
    3. Katherine Braun, 2017. "Decolonial Perspectives on Charitable Spaces of “Welcome Culture” in Germany," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 38-48.
    4. Katherine Braun, 2017. "Decolonial Perspectives on Charitable Spaces of “Welcome Culture” in Germany," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 38-48.
    5. Larissa Fleischmann & Elias Steinhilper, 2017. "The Myth of Apolitical Volunteering for Refugees: German Welcome Culture and a New Dispositif of Helping," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 17-27.
    6. Larissa Fleischmann & Elias Steinhilper, 2017. "The Myth of Apolitical Volunteering for Refugees: German Welcome Culture and a New Dispositif of Helping," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 17-27.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lara‐Désirée Brinker, 2021. "Security Net and Ambassadors for Social Inclusion? The Role of Intermediaries in Host–Refugee Relationships in Homestay Programs," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(4), pages 232-242.

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