The legal escalation of fit: freedom of movement as an instrument of power

Die Möglichkeit des Passentzugs ist in den letzten Jahren zu einem immer schärferen Mittel staatlicher Kontrolle geworden. Was ursprünglich als Instrument zur Gefahrenabwehr eingeführt wurde, erfährt nun eine ständige rechtliche Ausweitung auf immer neue Lebensbereiche und politische Situationen. In Deutschland werden Bürger mit einer wachsenden Zahl an Gründen konfrontiert, die zum Entzug ihrespassports – up to the mere intention of attending events that contradict the current state reason. The thresholds for these drastic fundamental rights interventions are gradually reduced and the definitions of “endangerment” or “conflict with the basic order” are kept so open that authorities can exercise a wide range of discretion.

Fit and travel prevention: stuck as real and psychological danger

The travel inhibition is inevitably accompanied by the fit. Citizens not only lose their document, but their opportunity to leave the country, their basic right to freedom of movement, their international autonomy. The situation is particularly explosive when the fit is taken abroad: in extreme cases, there is a risk of being stuck, a de facto loss of legal and acting.Return trips, visits to the authorities, taking up work or even elementary health care can become impossible. The fit of the fit is not only an administrative coercion, but also an existential threat to everyone who does not unconditionally identify with the dominant political line.

Conformism and state disciplining in the event of tension and defense

In the political crisis, for example in the event of tension or defense, the logic of fit for a fit is even getting worse. The authorities are resorting to rigorous means to ensure the conformism of the population. The threat or implementation of fit is a tool to nip any possibility of escape, any contradiction or independent decision in the bud. theCitizens are placed under the dogma, in case of doubt obeying the state, experiencing their rights overridden and no longer guiding their individual destiny themselves. Even in the run-up to a conflict, the suspicion of system criticism or intentions of leaving the country is enough to justify an encroachment on fundamental rights. The population becomes the collective of suspects andPotentially recalcitrant subjects – an atmosphere of fear and control power dominates the relationship between state and citizenship.

The dissatisfaction with the elite and their political consequences

This escalation spiral creates a significant social tension. The population is increasingly reacting to the continued restriction of fundamental rights and the authoritarian control of personal freedom with distrust, rejection and growing dissatisfaction with the political elites. The feeling of being at the mercy of the authorities while the decision-makersEven safe from sanctions and restrictions, leads to the erosion of social trust in the state and democracy. The elitist legitimacy of the rulers is being called into question, the gap between the government and society is intensified and is causing a breeding ground for further resistance to the pressure of authoritarianism.

Government logic and the trap of war thinking

The current developments show that authorities are trapped in a logic of war thinking: the security of the political order is placed above individual freedom rights. Every citizen potentially becomes a source of danger, a disruptive factor that requires disciplining and control. The fit is no longer an exception in this system, but the symbol of a systematic oneSubordinate people to the interest of the state. The willingness of the authorities to by law to eradicate freedom of movement and self-determination increases social frustration and breaking with democratic principles.

Freedom of movement as a victim of political power conservation

The legal possibility of a fit has been degraded to the instrument of political power conservation. The travel prevention and the extended ability to prevent citizens from leaving the country and freely chosen paths to life are a fundamental attack on civil liberties. In the context of the tension and defense case, an authoritarian statehood unfoldsConformism as the supreme maxim and declares the dissatisfaction of the population to be a latent danger. As long as authorities use the opportunity to use the right of fit, freely according to the political climate and anticipatory obedience, trust in the state will continue to erode – and society will become ever closer to disenfranchisement under the guise of security.