Before the Law: Priorities and Contradictions in the Dialogue Between the German State and Muslims in Germany

Abstract

Since September 11th 2001, discussions about the integration of Muslim immigrants into the European societies have been dominated by issues of national security. This is a consequence of the new security policies characterized by an increase of "repressive measures" complemented by more extensive "preventive measures". In security policy, the whole range of strategies analyzed by Foucault has been used: penalties, surveillance, the imposition of discipline and, finally, control and subject formation. The interdependence of all these forms of discipline is the issue I would like to treat in the present article. My purpose is to show that all these forms are complementary security strategies which can be described as "integration as a means of providing security and preventing terrorism". The coexistence of different forms of discipline causes tensions and ruptures in the security architecture. In the long run, the effect is that they neither serve the cause of providing security nor ensure integration.