„Wir verstehen bislang höchstens zehn Prozent des Phänomens Rassismus“ (external)
Conversation conducted by Varol with Emre Arslan about Arslan’s book Pax-Rassismus (Campus 2024).
Writing
Essays, trial reports, reviews and interviews for magazines, linked to the original publications.
Most works are in German; titles are given in the original.
17 texts in 7 outlets, 2016–2025
2025
2024
Labore der Ausgrenzung (external)
Denmark’s anti-migration policy as a model for German politicians, and its roots in earlier West German strategies.
Die Steinmeier-Show (external)
Critique of the 2024 Birlikte event marking 20 years since the NSU nail-bomb attack in Cologne; politicians staged solidarity while survivors were sidelined.
»Du musst nichts gemacht haben, um als Gefahr zu gelten« (external)
The trial of five Dortmund police officers over the killing of 16-year-old Mouhamed Dramé in August 2022, with statements from the Justice4Mouhamed solidarity group.
Wer hat Angst vor der Polizei? (external)
Review of Raul Zelik’s novel Friss und stirb trotzdem, set among antifascists and migrant self-defence groups in 1990s Berlin-Kreuzberg.
2023
Unschuldig in Haft – aber schuld am eigenen Tod? (external)
The death of Amed Ahmad after a cell fire at JVA Kleve in 2018, a critique of the NRW inquiry committee’s findings, and institutional racism.
50 años de la huelga de la Ford de Alemania: Tener bajo control a la clase trabajadora inmigrante (external)
Spanish translation (by Jaume Raventós) of the ak article on the 1973 Ford strike.
Die Gastarbeiter*innen unter Kontrolle kriegen (external)
50 years after the 1973 Ford wildcat strike in Cologne: how the West German state responded with repression and migration controls, including the 1973 recruitment stop.
2022
Der ewige Kampf (external)
Review of the German translation of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, linking Baldwin’s analysis to racism in Germany today.
Konservative Leitkultur (external)
The trial of Hans-Josef Bähner (Cologne-Porz shooting): institutional racism and the latent violence of a conservative middle-class milieu, including shooting clubs.
Tatort Porz: Rassismus unbekannt – Der Prozess gegen Hans Josef Bähner (external)
Guest article on the trial over the shooting in Cologne-Porz; argues that police and courts pushed the racist motive aside.
Postmigrantische Paradoxien (external)
Critical review of Aladin El-Mafaalani’s Wozu Rassismus? (2021), arguing that the book plays down state violence and the link to neoliberal capitalism.
2021
Bürgerliche Kaltblütigkeit (external)
Trial report from the Cologne trial over the Porz shooting, linking the act to conservative middle-class milieus, shooting-club culture and anti-migrant racism.
Der Geschmack der urbanen Mittelschicht (external)
Uses Keupstraße to show how upgrading so-called problem areas through displacement shapes urban planning, described as socio-spatial racism.
2020
Bio-Macht, Staatsrassismus und unterworfenes Wissen in Zeiten von COVID-19 (external)
Uses Foucault’s concepts of biopower and state racism to discuss the Hanau attack, the killing of George Floyd and the effects of COVID-19 measures on racialised groups and spaces.
Keinen Dank, sondern Respekt! (external)
Review of Kutlu Yurtseven and Rossi Pennino’s history of the Cologne hip-hop group Microphone Mafia, including their anti-fascist work and response to the NSU attacks.
2016
Zum mangelnden Interesse am NSU-Komplex: Deutschland 2016: Kultureller Rassismus ist jetzt Mainstream (external)
Reprint of his 2016 PapyRossa chapter on cultural racism and the lack of interest in the NSU complex.