Changing labour migration politics in Germany: an organizational perspective
| Published date | 01 December 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12379 |
| Date | 01 December 2017 |
| Author | Martina Maletzky |
Changing labour migration politics in
Germany: an organizational perspective
Martina Maletzky*
ABSTRACT
Migration research has mainly focused on micro and macro level actors. Less research has
focused on the meso-level of organizations as actors influencing migration related processes.
However, since modern societies are organizational societies and organizations are omnipresent
in all spheres of daily life, their importance for migration issues should not be underestimated.
Addressing this gap within migration research, the purpose of the following article is to apply
a perspective of organization sociology to changes in migration politics. Referring to the Ger-
man case with recent fundamental changes in migration politics, this article traces which roles
organizations played in that process. It is assumed that they do institutional work (Lawrence &
Suddaby, 2006), which means that they disrupt and change existing (migration related) institu-
tions and politics. First, it gives insights into how existing institutions and thought patterns
have been disrupted and reconstructed by (economic) organizations. Several strategies are
observable. These include creating coalitions, advocacy, and social persuasion by introducing
narratives which are alarming, morally compelling and convincing.
INTRODUCTION
Existing migration research has focused either on macro-level or micro-level aspects. Research into
the macro-level aspects of migration has included patterns of labour migration (Zaiceva & Zimmer-
mann, 2008), political strategies for managing migration (e.g. Kolb, 2014; Laubenthal, 2014; Pas-
tore, 2014) and the effects of labour migration on the development of the home country (De Haas,
2012) or on host labour markets (e.g. Angrist & Kugler, 2003; Borjas et al., 1997; Pischke & Vel-
ling, 1997) and labour standards (Dølvik & Visser, 2009; Maletzky & Pries, 2014) as well as on
the host country’s society (e.g. Cattaneo et al., 2015; Salt et al., 2004). Research into micro-level
aspects has focused on the migrant and the motivations to migrate: their family issues (Battistella
& Conaco, 1998), push and pull factors (Zimmermann, 1996) as well as their experiences in the
host country (e.g. Ciupijus, 2011; Pearson et al., 2012; Raghuram, 2004; Vertovec, 2002). The
meso-level of organizations remains under-researched (e.g. Pries, 2010). This is surprising, since
organizations are very important actors of modern societies, which are organization societies. This
means that cohabitation is strongly influenced and organized by organizations (Schimank, 2004).
Only a few studies focus on organizations and migration. They analyse, for example, migrant orga-
nizations and their (political) roles (e.g. Odmalm, 2004) (Bl€
atte 2014, Musch 2011) and their
transnational nature and outreach (Pries, 2010; Rosenow, 2014; Sezgin & Dijkzeul, 2014). The
extent to which organizations are able to stimulate changes in migration politics is a rather
neglected topic. However, within the research field of political economy, for example, the relation
* University of Passau
doi: 10.1111/imig.12379
©2017 The Author
International Migration ©2017 IOM
International Migration Vol. 55 (S1) 2017
ISS N 00 20- 7985 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
between economy, politics and society has been analysed from different angles. Menz (2010)
shows the extent to which variations in capitalist systems lead to different political claims. Chis-
wick and Hatton (2003) mention the importance of economic needs and employer organizations to
policy changes over history. Freeman and Kessler (Freeman & Kessler, 2008) highlight the role of
economic interests and interest groups on policy making. Laubenthal (2009) describes the important
role of economic non-state actors on shaping labour migration policies, emphasizing the role of
trade unions and employer associations on labour migration policies in Germany. Whereas these
authors list organizational actors involved in policy making and highlight their importance or
embeddedness in the social systems, their strategies and influence on political action in Germany
has thus far not been analysed in detail. This, then, is the purpose of the present article: on the
basis of an organization sociological approach I focus on the strategies used by organizations
involved in policy change. This article argues –from a new institutionalist perspective –that orga-
nizations are not only influenced by social institutions but also shape their environment more or
less strategically and do “institutional work”, which means that they are able to disrupt or transform
institutions. Thus, political institutions and policymaking may also be influenced. This article
describes to what extent (economic) organizations have been involved in the process of change
from one of the most restrictive to one of the least restrictive labour migration regimes, referring to
the German context as its example.
The remainder of the ar ticle is as follows . First it gives a brief o verview of the recen t changes
in German migration politics. The following section gives some basic information about what
organizations are and how they could function as agents of change in societies. The final section
presents the institutional work approach, which focuses on organizations’capacities for changing
their institutional environment. Using this approach, the present study traces the role of organiza-
tions in changes to German migration politics. The institutional work approach refers to certain
strategies, which organizations may use by doing institutional work. Some of these are also
observable in the German context and will be presented in this chapter. The article ends with a
conclusion.
GERMANY’S CHANGING MIGRATION POLITICS
Even though, statistically, Germany has long been an immigration country (Heckmann, 1995), it
followed a highly restrictive course in migration politics, denying it was an immigration country
until 2000 (Constant & Bienvenue, 2011). With the social-democratic/green government led by
Chancellor Gerhard Schr€
oder in the early 2000s, Germany eventually admitted to being an immi-
gration country with the passage of a new immigration law.
In 2000, a new citizenship act was established, adding the jus soli to the formerly applied jus
sanguinis. Furthermore, in August 2000 a temporary “green card”(ITArGV) regulation was
implemented to attract more highly skilled migrants from the IT sector to Germany. Access to
green cards was at first restricted to 10,000 and later to 20,000 persons (§5 IT-ArGV). Some
of the restrictions were eventually relaxed by §6 IT-ArGV. Finally, the extension of existing
work contracts became possible without a priority review. At the same time the conditions for
getting a residence permit for foreign Information Technology graduates who studied in Ger-
many were eased and graduates with a job in this sector were able to get a work permit. Previ-
ously, residence permits finished six months after graduation and reentry for job purposes was
only possible after one year. Figure 1 shows the green card work permits issued in the years
2000 –2005.
The ITArGV was initially limited to three years and eventually extended until 2005, where it
was subsumed under the new residence act. The privileges for IT experts were subsequently
Changing labour migration politics in Germany 53
©2017 The Author. International Migration ©2017 IOM
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