[ Insa Breyer ] Text specially written for Global Alien


What or who is alien?


Abstract:

'Aliens' (or strangers) are different. This simple tautological assertion (they are aliens because they are different, and they are different because there are aliens) seems to cause a lot of problems. And it is not only a problem if you are talking about the 'boat being full' because ideas of integration and multiculturalism also deal with the "problem alien".

Even if the alien might be a fascinating subject, there is always the possibility of a construction of ‘the other’, which you may fine already in the concept of 'the alien'. If the difference is not clear between 'the alien' the 'the other' or what is one's own, then how can we define what an 'alien' is. Aliens generally fall into the category of people you would not usually be associated with such as punks, artists or people with a lower status than yourself. The preferred term for 'alien' is foreigner. They could be a tourist, an undocumented migrant, or a migrant worker. In these cases the use of the term 'alien' is quite often extreme. The 'alien' is sometimes viewed as awkward, dangerous (in cases of terrorists) or simply exotic.
At first glance it seems to be a conglomerate of 'aliens' and 'foreigners', but it is often more complicated than it appears to be. Not all 'aliens' and foreigners' behave the same way. In Germany, Americans are not seen as people with the same problems with integration as Africans.
A German citizen with a migrant background is often still considered an 'alien', even though theoretically the 'alien' status is abandoned when they have a German passport.
So the main question is how does such a large, general term 'alien' have such an impact on reality. This notion says a lot more about the idea of 'ones own' than about the 'others'. To answer this question there are three important levels to consider.
The first level is a legal one, it's about the aliens in the context of the nation-state – outlining that not only the alien but also the citizen has to be constructed. The second level concerns citizens who still remain strangers because of real or supposed ethnic cultural differences. It outlines the problematic connotations of defining the 'alien' by way of culture. The third level is about searching for a solution in handling and integrating 'aliens', or in the construction of multicultural environments. In the beginning of this article we discussed the legal side of this issue. We will also discuss the cultures and reactions of both sides. The term 'alien' should not be analysed but rather used as a guide. This article concludes with looking at the possibilities of finding ways to define "aliens" in another way, and how we can do this. The intention is to outline that the notion 'alien' is less useful to understand 'aliens' but rather shows how a group of persons is (bureaucratically and ideologically) defined.

The part about 'aliens' via possession of another passport is pointing out the importance of citizenship for the definition of the "alien". Over the past few years (In recent times) the importance of citizenship for 'aliens' has been questioned due to trans-national organisations and the extension of rights to foreigners. Citizenship still represents full membership in a nation. The importance of this membership becomes clear when we see that not only does it include the possibility of political participation but it is also linked to the association that civil rights should be universal and are the background for human rights.
Questioning the conditions of this membership, the history, the definition of 'ones own' and the 'other' as well as nationals and the foreigner, shows that not only did the 'alien' have to be defined but also the citizen had to be created. This is linked to the definition and exclusion of the 'alien'.

Even if an 'alien' becomes a citizen of the country where he or she is living, there is still a big difference between the 'alien' and the 'other' who originates from the country. Especially in Germany someone has a good chance of staying an "alien" via possession of another culture. The tendency towards violence is seen actually less in the exclusion of resources, but more and more for example in religion. This problematic viewpoint is identifying a group of person who are becoming on their own a problem.

With this logic we can find a solution to this problem. The automatic questions that follow are: What and how can we deal with the 'aliens'? We can only answer this question when the term 'alien' is clearly defined. I would like to outline two important concepts – integration and multicultural co-existence which remain problematic in the idea of an 'alien'. Both terms are very generalised. Integration can be a very conservative concept of national homogeneity but it does outline the importance of social integration. Multiculturalism is also a conservative concept in defining cultural groups as closed entities but could also be a critical question in defining the character of cultural or ethnic classifications. However, with the ambiguity of integration and multiculturalism, both concepts need the definition of the other to legitimise themselves.

What can the term 'Global Alien' mean with all the problematic connotations outlined in this article. There are numerous examples of different or softer conceptions of an 'alien', or even attempts to change or dissolve the term. These elements can be found in hybrid conceptions of cultures and nations or in the concept that we are all strangers to ourselves (Kristeva). Or you can look at the term not by talking about the alien, but by looking to "what makes the alien an alien", which this article has tried to show. However also the term global alien is overcoming identifying concepts of the alien – because in this viewpoint everyone is a "Global Alien".


Here: The origin text in german for download (Breyer.pdf - XXkB)