Asylum seekers as Austria's other: the re-emergence of Austria's colonial past in a state-of-exception

‘Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others’: The Hierarchy of Citizenship in Austria

“…As a consequence, various stripes of racial minorities such as the Turkish and the blacks are perceived as the 'Other'. In this connection, 'race' is differentiated fundamentally between indigenous Austrians and the rest who, historically, through migration became citizens of Austria (Hipfl and Gronold 2011). In part, whiteness has been synonymous with Austrian citizenship (at least according to certain populist claims) (Refaie 2001;Hipfl and Gronold 2011).…”

“…In this connection, 'race' is differentiated fundamentally between indigenous Austrians and the rest who, historically, through migration became citizens of Austria (Hipfl and Gronold 2011). In part, whiteness has been synonymous with Austrian citizenship (at least according to certain populist claims) (Refaie 2001;Hipfl and Gronold 2011). Whilst whiteness has historically been formed in opposition to non-whites (Hazard 2011;Burt et al 2012;Graber 2019), citizenship has historically been created to differentiate between citizens and non-citizens (Shutes 2016;Glenn 2009).…”

“…Similar to Anglophone Western nations (Burt et al 2012;Ghafournia and Easteal 2018;Graber 2019;Hipp and Kubrin 2017;Pepper 2017;Polanco 2015), and non-Anglophone Western nations such as Italy (Colombo et al 2009;Policek et al 2019), Germany (Kranz 2017;Moffitt et al 2018), 'immigrant-citizens' have inherited the negativisation bestowed historically upon those who are culturally 'Other' in Austria (Zaslove 2004;Refaie 2001;Horvath 2014;Cochrane and Nevitte 2014). As a consequence, there is widespread vilification of immigrants in the media and in political discourse that is well documented (Hipfl and Gronold 2011;Messinger 2013;Rheindorf and Ruth 2019). As Messinger (2013, p. 391) noted for example, 'xenophobic reflexes dominate the Austrian political/media discourse'.…”

“…As Messinger (2013, p. 391) noted for example, 'xenophobic reflexes dominate the Austrian political/media discourse'. The widespread vilification of immigrants is frequently used to uncritically attack immigrants in public discourse, while operating as a 'shield' to defend racialized practices (Hipfl and Gronold 2011;Refaie 2001;Rheindorf and Ruth 2019). Therefore, the experience and narratives of the general body of 'immigrants' is indeed well articulated in the concomitant literature about Austria (Wodak and Matouschek 1993;Perchinig and Troger 1990;Supik 2014;Messinger 2013;Simon et al 2015;Rheindorf and Ruth 2019).…”

“…The article, therefore, asks: "what are the narratives of racial minorities in Austria (blacks, Turkish, Germans) concerning their citizenship entitlements?" The present study aims to highlight that, as regards the entitlement to civic rights and social citizenship, certain minority Austrian citizens (or Austrians from 'immigrant backgrounds' e.g., Hipfl and Gronold 2011) are better off than others and are hierarchically graded based on 'race'. Equally, whilst this article will draw on hereditary (e.g., skin colour) rather than cultural (e.g., dress codes) axes of ethnic and racial differences, as a consequence, both 'ethnic' and 'racial' differences will be used interchangeably.…”