Ulrike Bialas

Ulrike Bialas is a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, specializing in socio-cultural dimensions of migration and categorization processes within German asylum systems. Her work critically examines how legal classifications like age determine state responsibilities and life trajectories for young asylum seekers.

Academic background:

• PhD in Sociology, Princeton University (focus: International Migration, Urban Sociology, Science and Technology Studies)
• BA and MA in Social Sciences, Humboldt University Berlin

Her research centers on Migration Studies and Asylum Policy through ethnographic analysis of bureaucratic categorization. The book 'Forever 17: Coming of Age in the German Asylum System' (University of Chicago Press, 2023) documents how age determinations—often based on forensic estimates when documents are lacking—create divergent realities for unaccompanied minors. Current work investigates Syrian migrants' navigation of legal status pathways. Key themes include the tension between administrative age categories and lived experiences, where 60% of youth lack verifiable identification.

Fieldwork involved three years of immersive observation in Berlin, including forensic age assessment institutes and collaborations with guardianship organizations for unaccompanied minors, revealing how categorization mechanisms shape social membership and migration outcomes.