Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung

States use citizenship and borders as tools to control and manipulate belonging, i.e., who belongs in a state and who does not. These manipulations affect population health. Public Health researchers have studied borders as exclusionary instruments, but so far mostly as protecting population health through stopping transmission of infectious diseases (“health security”). In the workshop States’ Manipulations of Belonging and Territoriality. Health Consequences and Activists’ Intervention Strategies researchers from different fields will now discuss possible negative health effects of states' manipulations of belonging. The workshop is convened by Oliver Razum (Bielefeld), Iryna Hubeladze (Kyiv), Yudit Namer (Twente), Diego S. Silva (Sydney) and takes place at ZiF, 9 - 11 September. We asked Oliver Razum from the School of Public Health about the goals of the workshop.

Professor Razum, where do you see a connection between abandonment and public health?

Being abandoned is an “ur-angst” we all experience as children, and possibly later in life. This fear is expressed in fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel or The Ugly Duckling, deserted by their parents. And, of course, Harry Potter who lost his parents. Abandoned literary heroes go on a quest, find surrogate parents, ultimately prevail, and “live happily ever after”. But along the way they suffer mentally and often also physically. In our workshop we examine examples of abandonment not by parents, but by states. Usually, whole groups of people are affected by a withdrawal of belonging, either particular groups of citizens, or else people expecting protection by the state. In many such cases, there is no fairy tale outcome. Conversely, mental and physical suffering are common.

Why did you choose this as a topic for a workshop (now)?

There are so many examples of abandonment by states, or even more extreme forms such as expulsion. Think of Australian citizens not being allowed to return home from India during the Covid pandemic; Turkish academics losing their passports because of political statements; or, in the past, political opponents being expulsed by Nazi Germany or former GDR. We bring together people originating from, or based in, Australia, Germany, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria, Palestine, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the US. Unfortunately, there seem to be many examples of abandonment by states throughout the world.

What are you expecting from the workshop?

Abandonment is a term cutting transversally across different fields of knowledge. Firstly, we want to learn from each other, comparing how abandonment is conceptualized in fields such as law, history, literature, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and health. Secondly, we have invited activists, not only scientists. Civil society has developed various counterstrategies to states’ abandonment, ranging from legal action to civil disobedience. Together, we will analyze successful civil society responses. We will try to identify similarities in responses that can, in turn, help civil society activists optimize their responses; and help current and future Public Health workers to improve the health of affected population groups.

Group photo from the workshop (Universität Bielefeld)