Combining in-depth anthropological studies with more long-term analyses, this volume examines the responses to and implications of the arrival in 2015 and 2016 of over one million asylum seekers and refugees in Germany - widely seen as the most major and contested social change in the country since reunification.

The arrival in 2015 and 2016 of over one million asylum seekers and refugees in Germany had major social consequences and gave rise to extensive debates about the nature of cultural diversity and collective life. This volume examines the responses and implications of what was widely seen as the most significant and contested social change since German reunification in 1990. It combines in-depth studies based on anthropological fieldwork with analyses of the longer trajectories of migration and social change. Its original conclusions have significance not only for Germany but also for the understanding of diversity and difference more widely.

"The achievement of the book and what makes it different to many other works tackling the 'refugee crisis' is its focus on the ambivalence of direction? It thereby moves the discussion away from the reductionist representations of the 'refugee crisis' commonly promoted in public discourse, toward acknowledgement of the complexity of the topic. This deconstruction effort also allows for an informed and qualified exploration of current and future avenues for change." ? Anthropology Matters

"The volume achieves its coherence through numerous cross-references of the articles, comparison of competing interpretations, as well as the outstanding introduction and conclusion?The volume impresses through its topicality, its throughout intense discussion of current scholarship, its interdisciplinary approach, and the breadth of the targeted readership. It offers an excellent introduction to this topic for the English-language readers." ? German Studies Review