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Books by Stephanie Schneider

Der Ruf nach einer koordinierten Asylpolitik wird angesichts der ungleichen Bedingungen, die Gefl... more Der Ruf nach einer koordinierten Asylpolitik wird angesichts der ungleichen Bedingungen, die Geflüchtete vor und in Europa vorfinden, immer lauter. In diesem Sinne arbeitet die Europäische Union seit Jahren an einem »Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystem«, das gerade auch das Verwaltungshandeln vor Ort verändern soll. Dieser Band stellt die Ergebnisse einer Forschungsstudie vor, die das praktische Arbeiten in deutschen und schwedischen Asylbehörden vergleichend untersucht. Im Fokus stehen der behördliche Umgang mit den Vorgaben der europäischen Asylpolitik, das Ausmaß einer Europäisierung des lokalen Verwaltungshandelns und die Schwierigkeiten einer grenzüberschreitenden Verwaltungskooperation. /// English translation of abstract: The call for a coordinated asylum policy is becoming louder in view of the unequal conditions that refugees find before and in Europe. With this in mind, the European Union has been working for years on a "Common European Asylum System" that is intended to change administrative action on the ground in particular. This volume presents the results of a research study comparing the practical work in German and Swedish asylum authorities. The focus is on how the authorities deal with the requirements of European asylum policy, the extent of Europeanization of local administrative action and the difficulties of cross-border administrative cooperation.

How do administrative government agencies deal with the often complex and difficult histories of ... more How do administrative government agencies deal with the often complex and difficult histories of flight and asylum, how does a 'case' emerge from this, and how does a decision arise? In the context of European attempts at coordination, such questions are not merely of academic relevance, but are also socially and politically relevant. This volume contributes to an improved understanding of the structures and shifts in local administrative practices in a highly explosive and important sphere of action. It gathers together essays that deal with the action of government agencies in various European locations, from perspectives informed by sociology, political science and administrative studies.

Papers by Stephanie Schneider

Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 2018

With the establishment of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in 2010, a new collective act... more With the establishment of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in 2010, a new collective actor entered the European asylum policy arena. Although the agency commands limited financial and personnel resources, and has no formal powers to directly interfere in the decision-making practices of asylum authorities across Europe, its mandate and reach of influence are a subject of recurrent dispute. We consider the struggles surrounding the EASO's role and position as manifestations of enduring conflicts of recognition, valuation and distribution in a Europeanised asylum administrative field. By analysing civil servants' position-takings vis-à-vis the EASO, we demonstrate that officials from a variety of member states are united by a shared belief in disinterested, apolitical bureaucratic rules of procedure, based on a notion of 'expertise' that transcends national boundaries and supersedes national concerns. At the same time, the discursive boundary work invested by the interviewees draws on spatial, temporal and procedural categories of differentiation, highlighting complex processes of ongoing relational positionings and practices of distinction. The corresponding hierarchies and inequalities are further indications of a transnational administrative field with its own principles of valuation.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2017

The role of public officials in asylum procedures is generally a critical concern in scholarly an... more The role of public officials in asylum procedures is generally a critical
concern in scholarly and political debates. Focusing on the asylum
system in Germany, this paper seeks to understand asylum
procedures with regard to officially claimed standards and the still
varying practices of decision-making. It draws on the findings of a
qualitative study based on a multi-method design and carried out
in the asylum administration. Based on a sociology of knowledge
approach, the paper shows that administrative practices are
largely a matter of how decision-makers on the ground interpret
legal and political regulations. We demonstrate that decisionmakers
utilise shifting strategies to handle official claims and cope
with local settings in their daily work, from defining the applicant
to reaching decisions about asylum requests. The administration
of asylum applications is discussed as a field that uses and (re-
)produces both authorised and informal knowledge. Caseworkers
develop a pragmatic knowledge of how to deal with the
discrepancies between official standards and local working
conditions. However, it is the asylum institution that provides the
context in which they navigate the pitfalls and challenges of the
asylum procedure.

Chapters by Stephanie Schneider

Gewissheit. Beiträge und Debatten zum 3. Sektionskongress der Wissenssoziologie, 2021

Asylum Determination in Europe. Ethnographic Perspectives, 2019

Based on a qualitative study in the German asylum authority, this chapter focuses on how casework... more Based on a qualitative study in the German asylum authority, this chapter focuses on how caseworkers are taught to deal with the uncertainties and quandaries of asylum administrative decision-making. The asylum administration is conceptualised as a relatively autonomous field in which ongoing processes of boundary work take place. Amongst others, these revolve around caseworkers’ emotional involvement and their creativity in handling the ‘stuff’ of casework. Focusing on references to emotions and materialities during a training course for decision-makers, the analysis demonstrates how they may be used both to counteract the unintended consequences of rationalisation and to delegate responsibility for dealing with conflicting demands onto the individual caseworker. Even seemingly mundane aspects of casework may thus become an object of struggles around bureaucratic autonomy and accountability.

Asyl verwalten. Zur bürokratischen Bearbeitung eines gesellschaftlichen Problems, Feb 2017

D]ie Hauptarbeit oder die mit dem mit dem meisten wo wir die meiste Kompetenz reinstecken müssen ... more D]ie Hauptarbeit oder die mit dem mit dem meisten wo wir die meiste Kompetenz reinstecken müssen aus meiner Sicht ist die Anhörung (.) weil sie ist (.) für mich das Herzstück was ich dann dann nachher entscheide ist wichtig keine Frage (.) aber ohne ne ordentliche Anhörung (2) kann ich keine ordentliche Entscheidung machen (.) ja das eine bedingt das andere« (TRAINER*IN PIETSCH, Z. 818-824)

Der Ruf nach einer koordinierten Asylpolitik wird angesichts der ungleichen Bedingungen, die Gefl... more Der Ruf nach einer koordinierten Asylpolitik wird angesichts der ungleichen Bedingungen, die Geflüchtete vor und in Europa vorfinden, immer lauter. In diesem Sinne arbeitet die Europäische Union seit Jahren an einem »Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystem«, das gerade auch das Verwaltungshandeln vor Ort verändern soll. Dieser Band stellt die Ergebnisse einer Forschungsstudie vor, die das praktische Arbeiten in deutschen und schwedischen Asylbehörden vergleichend untersucht. Im Fokus stehen der behördliche Umgang mit den Vorgaben der europäischen Asylpolitik, das Ausmaß einer Europäisierung des lokalen Verwaltungshandelns und die Schwierigkeiten einer grenzüberschreitenden Verwaltungskooperation. /// English translation of abstract: The call for a coordinated asylum policy is becoming louder in view of the unequal conditions that refugees find before and in Europe. With this in mind, the European Union has been working for years on a "Common European Asylum System" that is intended to change administrative action on the ground in particular. This volume presents the results of a research study comparing the practical work in German and Swedish asylum authorities. The focus is on how the authorities deal with the requirements of European asylum policy, the extent of Europeanization of local administrative action and the difficulties of cross-border administrative cooperation.

How do administrative government agencies deal with the often complex and difficult histories of ... more How do administrative government agencies deal with the often complex and difficult histories of flight and asylum, how does a 'case' emerge from this, and how does a decision arise? In the context of European attempts at coordination, such questions are not merely of academic relevance, but are also socially and politically relevant. This volume contributes to an improved understanding of the structures and shifts in local administrative practices in a highly explosive and important sphere of action. It gathers together essays that deal with the action of government agencies in various European locations, from perspectives informed by sociology, political science and administrative studies.

Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 2018

With the establishment of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in 2010, a new collective act... more With the establishment of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in 2010, a new collective actor entered the European asylum policy arena. Although the agency commands limited financial and personnel resources, and has no formal powers to directly interfere in the decision-making practices of asylum authorities across Europe, its mandate and reach of influence are a subject of recurrent dispute. We consider the struggles surrounding the EASO's role and position as manifestations of enduring conflicts of recognition, valuation and distribution in a Europeanised asylum administrative field. By analysing civil servants' position-takings vis-à-vis the EASO, we demonstrate that officials from a variety of member states are united by a shared belief in disinterested, apolitical bureaucratic rules of procedure, based on a notion of 'expertise' that transcends national boundaries and supersedes national concerns. At the same time, the discursive boundary work invested by the interviewees draws on spatial, temporal and procedural categories of differentiation, highlighting complex processes of ongoing relational positionings and practices of distinction. The corresponding hierarchies and inequalities are further indications of a transnational administrative field with its own principles of valuation.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2017

The role of public officials in asylum procedures is generally a critical concern in scholarly an... more The role of public officials in asylum procedures is generally a critical
concern in scholarly and political debates. Focusing on the asylum
system in Germany, this paper seeks to understand asylum
procedures with regard to officially claimed standards and the still
varying practices of decision-making. It draws on the findings of a
qualitative study based on a multi-method design and carried out
in the asylum administration. Based on a sociology of knowledge
approach, the paper shows that administrative practices are
largely a matter of how decision-makers on the ground interpret
legal and political regulations. We demonstrate that decisionmakers
utilise shifting strategies to handle official claims and cope
with local settings in their daily work, from defining the applicant
to reaching decisions about asylum requests. The administration
of asylum applications is discussed as a field that uses and (re-
)produces both authorised and informal knowledge. Caseworkers
develop a pragmatic knowledge of how to deal with the
discrepancies between official standards and local working
conditions. However, it is the asylum institution that provides the
context in which they navigate the pitfalls and challenges of the
asylum procedure.

Gewissheit. Beiträge und Debatten zum 3. Sektionskongress der Wissenssoziologie, 2021

Asylum Determination in Europe. Ethnographic Perspectives, 2019

Based on a qualitative study in the German asylum authority, this chapter focuses on how casework... more Based on a qualitative study in the German asylum authority, this chapter focuses on how caseworkers are taught to deal with the uncertainties and quandaries of asylum administrative decision-making. The asylum administration is conceptualised as a relatively autonomous field in which ongoing processes of boundary work take place. Amongst others, these revolve around caseworkers’ emotional involvement and their creativity in handling the ‘stuff’ of casework. Focusing on references to emotions and materialities during a training course for decision-makers, the analysis demonstrates how they may be used both to counteract the unintended consequences of rationalisation and to delegate responsibility for dealing with conflicting demands onto the individual caseworker. Even seemingly mundane aspects of casework may thus become an object of struggles around bureaucratic autonomy and accountability.

Asyl verwalten. Zur bürokratischen Bearbeitung eines gesellschaftlichen Problems, Feb 2017

D]ie Hauptarbeit oder die mit dem mit dem meisten wo wir die meiste Kompetenz reinstecken müssen ... more D]ie Hauptarbeit oder die mit dem mit dem meisten wo wir die meiste Kompetenz reinstecken müssen aus meiner Sicht ist die Anhörung (.) weil sie ist (.) für mich das Herzstück was ich dann dann nachher entscheide ist wichtig keine Frage (.) aber ohne ne ordentliche Anhörung (2) kann ich keine ordentliche Entscheidung machen (.) ja das eine bedingt das andere« (TRAINER*IN PIETSCH, Z. 818-824)