Ideological Conflict and Refugee Aid Policy Development in Munich

In an era when managing the impact of unregulated migration is of growing worldwide concern, I ask why the city of Munich expanded social aid to enhance refugee living conditions and integration opportunities despite broader trends to do the opposite. I find that city policymakers were driven by a locally dominant humanitarian paradigm, which was opposed by a security paradigm favoured by the Bavarian government. Research on ideas and policy often focuses on how taken-for-granted ideas limit policy development. An analysis of city-level refugee policy suggests that ideological conflict strengthens the clarity and salience of ideas, which can increase their impact on policymaking. Ideological conflict between paradigms made it harder for city policymakers to support policies that were not consistent with the humanitarian paradigm.