Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the methodological nuances and reflections drawn from a study that explored Germany’s refugee integration policies and municipal level government practices through a transregional lens and within the framework of reciprocal research.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses the methodological nuances and reflections drawn from a study that explored Germany’s refugee integration policies and municipal level government practices through a transregional lens and within the framework of reciprocal research. The study was conducted between 2021 and 2022 in Freiburg and looked at the perspectives of the municipal government level policy makers/implementers as well as the individual refugees who are the intended beneficiaries of the integration policies. Reciprocal research as conceived within the study is underpinned by the need to create more avenues for researchers from the global south to conceive and do research in the global north contexts. In this regard, reciprocal research forms an emergent frontier in the global debate on the decolonisation and decentring of knowledge production, both geographically and intellectually. The paper engages the author’s reflections on the use of a reciprocal research framework, particularly the nuances that were elicited from engaging refugees from Gambia, Syria, and Afghanistan as well as German citizens, academic researchers and NGOs on questions related to refugee integration in Freiburg. The paper emphasizes the importance of engaging in transregional research which enriches the understanding of different yet connected contexts. In this regard, the author draws from an African subjectivity to understand the Germany context on issues of migrant and refugee integration which affect populations worldwide.