Cuts to Integration, Political Education, and Fake News Initiatives: Threats to Democracy and Social Cohesion

The AfD is strong, and the traffic light wants to save – of all places where cohesion in democracy is at stake. Three examples.

Some MPs were certainly also at one of the Unteilbar demos, here in Berlin in June 2020 Photo: Sebastian Wells/Ostkreuz

Integration

Whether it’s support in the asylum procedure, when arriving in Germany, on the way to the job market and to the university or in caring for traumatized war refugees: the federal government wants to drastically cut projects for immigrants or refugees.

This involves cuts that could mean the end of many projects and make successful integration more difficult for years to come. The migration advice service for adult immigrants (MBE), for example, provides advice on questions about language acquisition, finding accommodation or the recognition of qualifications. Because the need is so high, the MBE 2023 received a record sum of 81.5 million euros. Now this increase is not only to be reversed, the sum is to be significantly lower: there should only be 57.5 million euros in 2024, a minus of 30 percent.

The 47 psychosocial centers, a contact point for refugees traumatized by war, are threatened with a similar situation. According to the coalition agreement, the traffic light wanted to stabilize their funds. Now they are to be reduced: from 17 to 7 million euros. According to their own statements, the centers can already only help around 4 percent of those potentially in need of treatment, and the waiting lists are long: Refugees have been waiting more than seven months for a place in therapy. “The reduction would mean the discontinuation of many therapies for torture survivors,” warns Sabrina Hackmann from the Medical refugee aid Bochum.

The list goes on. For the initial orientation courses, for example, which play a fundamental role in the arrival of refugees, there should be almost 40 percent less money. The “educational advice guarantee fund for universities” is to be completely abolished (GFH), which accompanies young migrants on their way to academic education. Refugees have not been accepted into the funding since August, and the program is scheduled to be discontinued at the end of the year.

The list is not final. The Leading organizations of non-statutory welfare practice sharp criticism: Due to the cuts, one sees the “supply and participation of refugees and other immigrants massively disrupted and thus also social cohesion in danger”.

Political education

The federal government had actually promised to strengthen projects against extremism and for tolerance. But instead of passing the Democracy Promotion Act before the summer, as announced, and thus long-term financing of corresponding programs, the traffic light has been reduced in political education.

Among other things, the Federal Agency for Civic Education, free youth welfare and voluntary services are affected, each of which should forego around a fifth of their budget. Other items have been completely eliminated from the draft budget. These include the “Respect Coaches” program, which has been running at around 600 schools nationwide since 2018 and which the Ministry of Family Affairs is funding with 30 million euros this year.

Respect coaches organize workshops on topics such as discrimination or diversity and advise students and teachers in conflicts. The Family Ministry itself gives them a good report card. “The positive evaluations and the observed effects speak for a continuation of the prevention program,” it says in an appraisal. After the New Year’s Eve riots, Family Minister Lisa Paus referred to the respect coaches in the Bundestag as a “success story”. The program should actually run until at least the end of 2024 – now the federal government is to stop funding completely in January. The State Secretary responsible, Margit Gottstein, refers to the possibility of incorporating the “expertise” gained into the planned “Starting Opportunities Program” for schools in troubled areas.

The President of the International Federation (IB), Petra Merkel, speaks of a “serious wrong decision”. The federal government is “negligently” losing an essential instrument for democracy building. The Diakonie director for Berlin and Brandenburg, Ursula Schoen, warns of a “breach of trust” in students and teachers. Several petitions are calling on the government to preserve the respect coaches.

The coalition is also likely to hear criticism in the Bundestag next week when its draft budget is being discussed. Many parliamentarians also consider it a dangerous signal to save on democracy education in times of AfD poll highs and increased right-wing extremist incidents in schools.

Fake News

They have been booming since the beginning of the pandemic: false news about vaccine damage, disinformation campaigns by people who understand Putin, made-up stories about politicians allegedly pulling the strings. The whole thing was peppered with a good dose of hate on social media.

The federal government has actually recognized the danger from the digital space. In her national security strategy presented in June, she named fake news as a potential threat and described the fight against disinformation and hate speech as important instruments for promoting democracy. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has repeatedly confirmed this course – especially in connection with the Ukraine war. Since the beginning of the war, disinformation campaigns by the Russian side have increased.

Nevertheless, relevant initiatives that provide information and preventive work should receive less money in the future or be canceled altogether. One example is the Amadeu Antonio Foundation’s “Firewall” project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Justice. Above all, experts from social work were coached and trained to acquire knowledge about how not to fall for fake news, how to counter hate online, how disinformation can be countered. Your target group: Young people up to their mid-twenties. In other words, exactly the group of people who, according to surveys, spend the most time in the digital space. According to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, well over half say they regularly come across false information. “Firewall” will no longer be funded by the Ministry in the coming year.

The organization Hate Aid must also reckon with significant financial losses. She advises and supports people who are affected by digital violence. As early as 2023, the initiative had to worry about its funding from the Federal Ministry of Justice and the financial support was questioned. Only thanks to a decision by the Budget Committee of the Bundestag could the cut be averted. For 2024 and 2025, however, things are looking bad. According to Hate Aid, there are losses of around 600,000 euros. Without state funding, both projects can only be continued to a very limited extent or not at all.