Social cohesion in times of crisis

The Corona Pandemic and Anti-Asian Racism in Germany

Data-Method-Monitoring Cluster

Project head: Prof. Dr. Sabrina J. Mayer

Project coordination: Dr. Susanne Veit ,  Prof. Dr. Ralf Wölfer

Project team members: Laura Juds ,  Jonas Köhler

Initial studies show that racism against Asian-read people increased worldwide during the Corona pandemic. This is related to media coverage, which in many cases is cliché-laden and stereotypically linked to colonial racist discourses, arouses emotions and assigns blame. Almost one million people in Germany come from Asian countries or are descendants of people who immigrated from these countries. In previous research, however, anti-Asian racism has hardly been considered because the group concerned is considered to be economically well integrated, is very heterogeneous and seems to experience a - compared to other groups - lower level of overt racism.

The aim of the project was to investigate how the Corona pandemic influenced racism towards Asian-read people in Germany. A mixed-method design was used, combining a quantitative survey with experimental elements and a qualitative diary study.

Results: An online survey and pretest were prepared, and a survey was conducted. In order to capture the perspective of those affected, an approach via migrant organisations was chosen and another online survey and a diary study were prepared. In a third step, the results were evaluated and compiled and a short report was prepared and presented; further publications will follow.

Funding: Berlin University Alliance (Third-party funding)

Cooperation partner:

Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research (BIM) / Humboldt University of Berlin: Prof. Dr Naika Foroutan (project leader), Dr Kimiko Suda (principal investigator); Free University of Berlin: Dr Christoph Nguyen (principal investigator)