References
- Acknowledgments: I will start with my sincere gratitude to the employees of BAMF, whose contributions were invaluable to our research. Special thanks go to my dear colleagues, Larissa Vetters, Olaf Zenker, and Thomas Götzelmann, whose dedication to the project made this research possible and whose insightful discussions and unwavering support were instrumental in shaping this project, especially during a period when I was unwell. This research is part of the DFG-funded CRC 1171 Affective Societies at Free University Berlin who, together with the Seminar für Ethnologie at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, and the Department Law & Anthropology at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology fostered a research environment that was invaluable. Further thanks go to Rebekka Schuster, Nora Nolle, and Libert Bucher, who provided crucial assistance with organization and data collection. I am deeply appreciative of the feedback, corrections, and meticulous editing provided by Brian Donahoe, Raja-Léon Lange, and the entire PLAN team. Finally, my heartfelt thanks to editors Thomas Rohringer and Peter Collin and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful insights. My deepest gratitude goes to my partner, Christina Turzer, and my family and friends, whose unswerving support proved essential during a challenging time.
- Angela Merkel: Sommerpressekonferenz von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel, Pressekonferenz, Berlin 2015.
- I consider it necessary to strike out the term crisis in ›refugee
crisis‹ (›Flüchtlingskrise‹) because the ›refugee‹ crisis presupposes calling the Dublin III regulations anormality. »Inaccurate yet necessary« is how Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak describes the technique of deleting problematic terms while retaining them (Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: Translator’s Preface, in: Derrida, Jacques, Of Grammatology, Baltimore 1995, pp. ix–lxxxvii, at p. xiv.). Jacques Derrida, with reference to Martin Heidegger (Zur Seinsfrage, 1977), used this technique to point to the discursive and categorising origins of concepts, to remind readers to question underlying assumptions, and to disagree fundamentally with such assumptions. I will try to do so here: The word crisis implies a deviation from the previous normality and its norms and values. Only when the situation is no longer normal can it be a crisis. The word crisis also presupposes the ethics, norms and values that form the foundation of the previous normality. The word crisis thus obscures and legitimises – or perhaps I should say, legitimises by obscuring – the previous normality and takes its ethical foundations for granted (see also Janet L. Roitman: Anti-crisis, Durham 2014, p. 5.). This is precisely what I want to avoid in the present case. Unlike Derrida, however, I am not deleting the word crisis as a matter of principle because I do not want to evaluate here whether every use of the word crisis should, in principle, invite us not only to question previous normalities and their assumptions (one should always be able to question them) but also to regard their ethical foundations themselves as objectionable constructs. - Angela Merkel: Sommerpressekonferenz von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel, Pressekonferenz, Berlin 2015.
- We received funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the CRC 1171 Affective Societies (2019–2023). As stipulated in our cooperation agreement for fieldwork access, we submit our articles to BAMF to receive clearance. In seven periods of six to eight weeks from 2020 to 2022, Thomas Götzelmann and I conducted research focusing on software development. Software development is a collective effort that requires many planning meetings involving the project management office of BAMF, programmers, testers, project team leaders, data quality and data protection managers, group leaders from different sections, software architects, business administrators, etc. Such concerted, complex and usually long planning procedures allowed us researchers to observe the programming process. As a collective process, collective bureaucratic sentiments have a relevant impact on software development. We also interviewed numerous employees in person and via videoconferencing. To protect confidentiality, I refer to all interviews conducted at BAMF simply by interview and year. We also conducted research at a few conferences and fairs on digitalising the state, often organised by companies for companies and bureaucrats, where some politicians presented their views on the digitalisation of the state. I subsequently coded the data using the qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA.
- Victor W. Turner: The ritual process. Structure and anti-structure, Symbol, myth, and ritual series, Ithaca, N.Y 1977; Turner draws on Arnold van Gennep: Les rites de passage. Etude systématique des rites… [et al.], Paris 1909.
- Hans Blumenberg: Schriften zur Technik, ed. by Bernd Stiegler and Alexander Schmitz, Berlin 2015, p. 178.
- Bruce Kapferer: Situations, Crisis, and the Anthropology of the Concrete. The Contribution of Max Gluckman, in: Social Analysis 49 (2005), pp. 85–122, at p. 89.
- Janet L. Roitman: Anti-crisis, Durham 2014, p. 96.
- Michael Moss / David Thomas: The Motives for and Consequences of the Introduction of Typewriters and Word Processing in the British Civil Service, in: Administory 6/1 (2021), pp. 219–232.
- Jon Agar: The government machine. A revolutionary history of the computer, History of computing, Cambridge, Mass 2003, p. 162–163.
- Barbara L. Craig: Machines, Methods, and Modernity in the British Civil Service, c. 1870–c. 1950, in: Journal of the Society of Archivists 32/1 (2011), pp. 63–78, at p. 70.
- Johannes Löhr: McKinsey auf der Hardthöhe. Unternehmensberater im Bundesministerium der Verteidigung 1981/82, in: Administory 6/1 (2021), pp. 151–171.
- Christina Boswell: The political uses of expert knowledge. Immigration policy and social research, Cambridge; New York 2009; Christina Boswell: The political functions of expert knowledge: knowledge and legitimation in European Union immigration policy, in: Journal of European Public Policy 15/4 (2008), pp. 471–488.
- Löhr: McKinsey auf der Hardthöhe, p. 153.
- Löhr: McKinsey auf der Hardthöhe, p. 166.
- Jürgen Friedrichs: Gesellschaftliche Krisen - Eine soziologische Analyse, in: Helga Scholten (ed.): Die Wahrnehmung von Krisenphänomenen: Fallbeispiele von der Antike bis in die Neuzeit, Köln 2007, pp. 13–26, at p. 25.
- Jonas Bens / Olaf Zenker: Sentiment, in: Jan Slaby / Christian von Scheve (eds.): Affective Societies: Key Concepts, 2019, pp. 96–106, at p. 96.
- Olaf Zenker / Timm Sureau / Thomas Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring as Institutional Affect(Ing) in German Migration Management, in: Millicent Churcher et al. (eds.): Affect, Power, and Institutions, Routledge Studies in Affective Societies, London 2022, pp. 105–124, at p. 118; Millicent Churcher et al.: The Many Lives of Institutions. A Framework for Studying Institutional Affect, in: Millicent Churcher et al. (eds.): Affect, Power, and Institutions, London 2023, pp. 1–32.
- Turner: The ritual process.
- Max Weber: Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre, Tübingen 1922, p. 148; Georg Jellinek: Allgemeine Staatslehre, ed. by Walter Jellinek, Berlin 1914, p. 36.
- Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring, p. 116.
- See Timm Sureau / Thomas Götzelmann: Digital Administrative Publics. Affective and Corporate Entanglements in Germany’s New Federal Portal, in: Margreth Lünenborg / Birgitt Röttger-Rössler (eds.): Affective Formation of Publics, London 2023, pp. 67–86.
- Blumenberg: Schriften zur Technik, p. 190.
- Blumenberg: Schriften zur Technik, p. 165 (my translation).
- Larkin: The Politics and Poetics of Infrastructure.
- David Brunetti: »Permanent Temporality«. Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut, Lebanon, 2014, in: Insecurities, Medium, online: https://medium.com/insecurities/permanent-temporality-shatila-refugee-camp-beirut-lebanon-2014-489a846c73eb (9. 12. 2024).
- Venetia Rainey: Lebanon. No formal refugee camps for Syrians, in: Aljazeera, online: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/3/11/lebanon-no-formal-refugee-camps-for-syrians (09. 12. 2024).
- Flüchtlinge in Nahost müssen hungern, in: Süddeutsche.de, online: https://sz.de/1.2172709 (09. 12. 2024); Christian Böhme: Kein Geld für syrische Flüchtlinge. UN streichen Nahrungsmittelhilfe, in: Der Tagesspiegel Online. online: https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/panorama/un-streichen-nahrungsmittelhilfe-6913249.html (9. 12. 2024).
- UNICEF (ed.): Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon 2015, online: https://www.unicef.org/lebanon/media/671/file/Lebanon-report-4-2015.pdf (9. 12. 2024).
- Soldaten arbeiten zwei Millionen Stunden für Flüchtlinge, in: Zeit Online, online: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-06/bundeswehr-fluechtlinge-einsatz-inland (2. 8. 2023).
- Johann Hahlen / Hannes Kühn: Die Flüchtlingskrise als Verwaltungskrise – Beobachtungen zur Agilität des deutschen Verwaltungssystems, in: Verwaltung & Management 22/3 (2016), pp. 157–167, at p. 158.
- Anna Reimann: Failed Stadt Berlin, in: Der Spiegel, Online: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/berlin-ist-eine-failed-stadt-kommentar-a-1067053.html (9. 12. 2024).
- Miriam Schader: Externalization or imitation. The 2015–16 asylum-seeker immigration as a catalyst for local structural change, in: Ethnic and Racial Studies 43/11 (2020), pp. 1–19, at p. 5; see also Maja Apelt/Konstanze Senge: Organisation und Unsicherheit – eine Einführung, in: Maja Apelt / Konstanze Senge (eds.): Organisation und Unsicherheit, Wiesbaden 2015, pp. 1–13.
- And elsewhere, for example in Schader, Externalization or imitation; also see Jörg Bogumil / Jonas Hafner / Sabine Kuhlmann: Verwaltungshandeln in der Flüchtlingskrise, in: Verwaltung & Management 22/3 (2016), pp. 126–136.
- Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring, p. 105.
- Bens / Zenker: Sentiment, p. 96.
- Turner: The ritual process, p. 95.
- Turner: The ritual process, p. vii.
- Turner: The ritual process, p. vii.
- Turner: The ritual process, p. 95.
- Turner: The ritual process, p. 171.
- Victor Witter Turner: The Forest of Symbols. Aspects of Ndembu Ritual, 1967, pp. 99–100.
- Weise wird nicht Präsident – und Geld bekommt er auch nicht, in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, online: https://www.faz.net/-gpg-887hs (13. 12. 2024).
- Turner, The ritual process, p. vii.
- As early as November 2015, the General Staff Council criticised the accelerated working methods of the decision-makers, and thus – contrary to what I am implying with the sentiment of crisis – did not tolerate the accelerated procedures and the short training of new decision-makers and warned of poorly reviewed decisions that could later become problematic for the administrative courts. In February 2016, the General Staff Council sued BAMF for employing decision-makers without the Employees Council’s consent and without following the appropriate procedures, and in March 2016 accused BAMF head Weise of disregarding quality standards in the employment of decision-makers. This was all outside of the IT department on which I am publishing here. For the open letter see: Scheinost / Hüter: Offener Brief an den Leiter des BAMF Herrn Dr. h.c. Weise, online: https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/brandbrief-bamf-105~_origin-f6ce9f91-72e7-44f4-8685-ac9f20fbdf5e.pdf (13. 12. 2024).
- see also Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Administrative Publics; Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring.
- Daniel Angermeier / Christian Bartelt: V Modell XT Bund, Version: 2.3, in: Informationstechnikzentrum Bund, online: https://www.itzbund.de/static/download/Produkte/VMXT/V-Modell-XT-Bund-2.3.pdf (13. 12. 2024).
- Claudia C. Michalik: Innovatives Engagement, Wiesbaden 2003.
- Bundesregierung: Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten Ulla Jelpke, Dr. André Hahn, Gökay Akbulut, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Fraktion DIE LINKE. Drucksache 19/5697, in: kleineanfragen, online: https://kleineanfragen.de/bundestag/19/6647-einsatz-von-it-assistenzsystemen-im-bundesamt-fuer-migration-und-fluechtlinge.txt (13. 12. 2024).
- Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the council on Public Procurement rules in connection with the current asylum crisis (COM(2015) 454 final).
- Niklas Dummer: Beratung beim BAMF. »McKinsey verkauft parteiische Vorschläge als objektives Wissen«, in: WirtschaftsWoche, online: https://www.wiwo.de/21243690.html (13. 12. 2024).
- Arne Semsrott: Klage gewonnen gegen BAMF. Hier ist der McKinsey-Report zu Abschiebungen, in: FragDenStaat, online: https://fragdenstaat.de/blog/2019/07/22/klage-gewonnen-gegen-bamf-hier-ist-der-mckinsey-report-zu-abschiebungen (13. 12. 2024); Ulla Jelpke: Chronologie zum »BAMF-Skandal«, in: Fraktion DIE LINKE. im Bundestag, online: https://www.linksfraktion.de/themen/nachrichten/detail/chronologie-zum-bamf-skandal (13. 12. 2024); Anna Biselli: Bloß nicht verzetteln. Das BAMF und seine IT-Projekte, in: netzpolitik.org, online: https://netzpolitik.org/2019/bloss-nicht-verzetteln-das-bamf-und-seine-it-projekte (13. 12. 2024).
- He also pointed to the role of an important driver of development, BAMF employee Markus Richter, who at the time of writing has climbed the ladder to State Secretary and Chief Information Officer.
- For example, by using the »sovereignty clause« (Article 17(1)) of the Dublin III Regulation.
- Based on Council Directive 2001/55/EC, 2001.
- Provided internal BAMF document
- The term was used in English, meaning ›work group‹.
- The federal yearly budgets are available via https://www.bundeshaushalt.de/DE/Download-Portal/download-portal.html (31. 03. 2023) and ordered via codes that change over the years. For IT expenditures, I used the codes: 532 01, 812 02, 511 01, 511 55, 518 55, 525 55, 532 55.
- Rückkehr – Prozesse und Optimierungspotenziale, Düsseldorf 2016, p. 55, in: FragDenStaat, online: https://fragdenstaat.de/dokumente/76/ (13. 12. 2024).
- The data provided is the allocated budget and not the actual expenditures.
- See also Biselli: Bloß nicht verzetteln.
- Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring, p. 105.
- Löhr: McKinsey auf der Hardthöhe, p. 166.
- Turner: The ritual process, p. vii.
- See also Christopher R. Henke / Benjamin Sims: Repairing Infrastructures. The Maintenance of Materiality and Power, Cambridge, MA 2020.
- Elisabeth Berger / Thomas Rohringer: Bürokratie, Wandel und Innovation – verwaltungshistorische Perspektiven, in: Administory 6/1 (2021), pp. 3–17.
- Blumenberg: Schriften zur Technik, p. 165 (my translation).
- Blumenberg: Schriften zur Technik, p. 178; referring to Husserl Edmund: Die Krisis der europäischen Wissenschaften und die transzendentale Phänomenologie. Haag 1954, p. 183.
- Roitman: Anti-crisis, p. 5.
- Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring, p. 107.
- Brian Larkin: The Politics and Poetics of Infrastructure, in: Annual Review of Anthropology 42/1 (2013), pp. 327–343.
- Susan Leigh Star: The Ethnography of Infrastructure, in: American Behavioral Scientist 43/3 (1999), pp. 377–391, at p. 380.
- Stephen Graham / Nigel Thrift: Out of Order. Understanding Repair and Maintenance, in: Theory, Culture & Society 24/3 (2007), pp. 1–25, at p. 4.
- Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring.
- Arjun Appadurai (ed.): The Social life of things. Commodities in cultural perspective, in: Ethnohistory Workshop, Cambridge 1986.
- Alf Hornborg argues against the agency of things but acknowledges that the presence of some things can have a power ›as if‹ they have agency. See Alf Hornborg: Objects Don’t Have Desires. Toward an Anthropology of Technology beyond Anthropomorphism, in: American Anthropologist 123/4 (2021), pp. 753–766, at p. 760.
- Zenker / Sureau / Götzelmann: Digital Infrastructuring, p. 105.