Migrant Organizations and Social Protection

This book examines how migrant organizations provide social protection and solidarity for migrants in Germany, working with, and sometimes challenging, the welfare state. Based on research in the Ruhr area, it shows how these organizations help migrants deal with everyday hardships such as loneliness, discrimination, and barriers to employment and health care. The chapters argue that, in doing so, migrant organizations are central actors in producing, providing, and contesting social protection. It shows how personal commitment, trust, and activism turn a willingness to help into organized solidarity and, by extension, into distinct forms of social protection, while arguing that migrant organizations not only fill gaps in public services but also question and shape how welfare is provided. This book will be of interest to students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on migration, social policy, integration, and community support. Based on research in Germany, it is relevant to any country where migration and changing welfare systems raise similar questions.