ILPC 2026

Precariousness is not solely linked to a work contract and working conditions. It is also (and mainly) linked to a general living situation. Precariousness has become a major sign of neoliberal societies’ subjectivation and is linked to a specific way of governementality - a governementality which produces uncertainty in a systematic way.

Therefore migrants in Germany are touched by precariousness in multiple ways: through their legal situation concerning their residence permit, their social rights and their working conditions. These interlinked mechanisms are presented in three groups of migrants that face precariousness in diverging ways. Illegalized migrants, refugees with a valid asylum status and migrants from within Europe experience neoliberal mechanisms within Germany differently. We will show that the ways of governing migration in Germany is recurrently producing different legal arrangements with similar effects: The multiplication of precarity towards migrants. 

We suggest conceptualizing the expansion of precarity in Germany by analyzing the situation of these three migrants groups. By reflecting their legal, political and social situation we will show how the architecture of migration politics can be defined (1). We will then address the question if the “existential” situation of precariousness is – seen from the perspective of collective political action and compared to traditional forms of socials struggles – only an obstacle or also a force to develop new political forms. How do these experiences shape their struggles and forms of organization (2)? Labor unions and social movements are confronted with the fragmentation of interests and struggles of precarious groups. What are the answers and relations of these actors towards migrant struggles (3)?