Tracing Anti-deportation Protests: A Longitudinal Comparison of Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Abstract

To identify long-term patterns of anti-deportation mobilization this chapter uses a social movement-inspired, systematic analysis of news reports of anti-deportation protest events in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (1993–2013). Articles were manually coded, and changes over time and differences across countries were examined using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. The chapter examines differences and similarities in the frequency of protest, main actors, protest forms, and claims made. The frequency of protest activities has increased in Austria and Germany, but not so in Switzerland. In the vast majority of events, actors protest in solidarity and on behalf of designated deportees. Grass-root organizations without personal ties to the person affected and social movements that seek social or political change appear most often as main actors. The specific protest events in the three countries are strongly influenced by local and national particularities, but there are similarities in the protests against deportations across countries and over time that suggest a certain kind of transnational protest movement. The chapter identifies anti-deportation protests as solidarity protests that are organized mostly on a local level and focuses on individual, case-specific solutions rather than demands for social or legal change of the deportation regime.