The paradoxes of social work in a securitised setting: the example of prevention and radicalisation in German prisons

Abstract

Due to their structural logic, pedagogical activities are characterised by paradoxical tensions that cannot be resolved on a professional level but instead must be handled reflexively. Based on observations and interview data collected in the field of prevention and deradicalisation work, this article reconstructs how the fundamental paradoxes underlying social pedagogical activities are further intensified in an era of securitisation. To carry out this reconstruction, the influence of securitisation on the paradoxical tensions that exist between pedagogical and social work principles, on the one hand, and the logic of prevention and prison, on the other, are examined – as are the tension between closeness and distance in the organisation of social pedagogical relationships. It becomes clear that pedagogical professionalism in this field likewise depends on handling one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of clients, in a self-reflexive manner.