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אוניברסיטת תל אביב
הפקולטה למדעי החברה
החוג למדעי המדינה
!Milestones in the evolution of the current German
Citizenship Law and its Effects on the Integration of
Turkish Immigrants
*
A research for the Master degree
Supervisor: Prof. Yossi hain
*
!May 2009
!Tal Harris, ID 021805478
! !1
!Contents
1. Introduction 1.1 The problem………………………………………………………………………………………….3 1.2 The research question………………………………………………………………………………...4 1.3 The research structure………………………………………………………………………………..5 1.4 The goals of the research and its premises …......................................................................................6 1.5 Methodology and structural notes……………………………………………………………………7
2. Typology and Boundaries of Citizenship 2.1 Basic typology and legal terms……………………………………………………………………....9 2.2 Inside the state, outside the people (Dual Citizenship and Multiculturalism)…...............................12 2.3 The origins of jus sanguinis in Germany…………………………………………………………..23
3. National Identity: its origins and function 3.1 What identity constitutes: time and change…………………………………………….…………..28 3.2 The function of a German homogenized national identity………………………………………....31 3.3 The origin and evolvement of "German blood"…………………………………………………….36 3.4 Beyond the borders of blood are "the others"…………………………………………………...….43
4. Politics and Legislation 4.1 Concise History of immigration of the "others"……………………………………………….…...50 4.2 Typology of immigration policies ……………………………………………...………………….55 4.3 Milestones in the history of Germany's immigration policies (international and national law)...….60 4.4 Overview of the political party system….………………………………………………………....78
5. The Story of Others 5.1 From immigrants to hyphenated Germans…………………………………………………….……87 5.2 The paradoxical profile of the Turkish immigrant……………………………………………….…90 5.3 Patterns of organization and roadblocks on way to integration……………………………..…….91 5.4 Prevalence and effects of Muslim terror in Germany……………………………………………105
6. Naturalization & Integration: Empirical Effects 6.1 Details of the survey………………………………………………………………………………110 6.2 The questions…………………………………………………………………………………...…112 6.3 Analysis of possible results……………………………………………………………………..…114 6.4 The results………………………………………………………………………………...……….116
7. Conclusion and Recommendations………………………………………………………122
8. Bibliography 8.1 Books and articles……………………………………………………………………………...….126 8.2 Internet sites…………………………………………………………………………………….…130 8.3 Other resources.........................................................................................................................…...131
Appendix: Abbreviations and key terms; Full questionnaire (English, German, Turkish)……….132
!2
!1. Introduction
1.1 The problem
Compared with other member states of the EU, Germany holds a large immigrant
population. Citizenship in Germany, on the other hand, has traditionally been much
less permissive than in most of its neighboring countries. While immigrants with a
permanent residence permit enjoy social services almost identical to those enjoyed by
citizens, and even posts in civil service, military, and police force are open to
denizens , inclusion in the nation and its political system has hardly been accessible 1
for anyone not of "German blood".
In the year 2000 the SPD and Grün Party coalition government succeeded in
reforming Germany's 87 years old citizenship law. The reform presented for the first
time in the country's history the possibility to get citizenship by being born on
German soil, without having to be of German descent. The reform also made it easier
to naturalize for almost ten percent of the country's residents, who immigrated
themselves or were born to immigrants – and thus were classified as "foreigners"
from birth by the state.
The reform raised a great public debate, and it is hard to hail the results of the reform
as a success. While the reform was meant to reduce the size of the alienated group of
immigrants in the country by liberalizing the conditions for citizenship, statistics
show a decline in applicants' numbers for German citizenship since 2000 . 2
!3
Soysal (1994) pg. 121-71
The initial and most significant drop in numbers is because Aussiedler since 2000 no longer apply for 2
citizenship and receive it automatically. This is why they are no longer recorded but receive citizenship automatically. See Ludvig (2004) pg. 503
This is a surprising case of policy failure: not only were the official goals of the
reform not reached. It was the opposite that was actually achieved.
!While the state is moving toward a more inclusive model of naturalization and
immigration, social and political developments point in another direction. There is an
ongoing public debate that seeks to "reconfigure the cultural boundaries of the
nation". The reform aggravated the debate about Germany's character: should it
promote a monoculture or rather a multitude of cultures? This debate on the nature of 3
any German identity makes integration of immigrants ever more complex.
It is sometimes suggested that the decline in naturalization rates is because the law
actually imposes "new conditions on individuals seeking naturalization". Such newly
introduced conditions include adequate knowledge of the German language, a
declaration of "loyalty to democratic principles", and the government's rejection of
the possibility of dual citizenship . Furthermore, it is also argued that German 4
citizenship gives only little practical benefits at the cost of the old citizenship . 5
It seems that the cluster of reasons that is suggested by the literature is important, but
is rarely to the point. The reasons given above explain why German citizenship may
generally not be as desirable for immigrants as expected. Eventually they do not
explain the actual decline in naturalizations following the reform.
This work will try to account for the specific failure of the 2000 liberalization of
Germany's citizenship law.
!4
Levy and Weiss (2002) pg. 2723
Nathans (2004) pg. 2504
Thrändhardt (1999) pg. 335
!!1.2 The research question
What are the historical and political causes of the reform in Germany's
citizenship law and its socio-political effects on its Turkish immigrant
population?
Complementary questions:
* How can citizenship and the nation-state be defined, and how are they related?
* Who is included and excluded in the nation-state and why?
* How can naturalization play a role in the process of integration?
!1.3 The research structure
1. Chapter Two provides the conceptual framework for discussing citizenship,
examining the most relevant typologies and boundaries of the concept.
2. An investigation of "citizenship" is incomplete without addressing the "nation-
state". Sometimes the two terms are even used interchangeably . Chapter Three 6
deconstructs the concept of national identity and the case of Germany.
3. Chapter Four analyzes the political processes and legislative history regarding
citizenship, naturalization and immigration in the case of Germany.
4. Chapter Five reviews what has been discussed in the literature on Turkish
immigration to Germany, their communities and their political tendencies.
To be able to assess the effects of the current citizenship law and the attitudes of
Turkish immigrants towards them, examining the history and socio-political
!5
Ludvig (2004) pg. 4996
behavioral patterns of the Turks is important. The examination will be broad, detailing
the Turks' involvement in various aspects of public life and in German native (non-
Turkish) society and culture. This will contribute to the assessment of their general
degree of integration and inclination to naturalize.
5. Chapter Six presents a questionnaire which is based on the previous chapters. The
questions measure the correlation between integration and the perceived desirability
of German citizenship. The questionnaire was completed by twenty one residents of
the city Konstanz who are originally from Turkey.
6. Chapter Seven discusses the preliminary results from the survey, suggests
directions for future research, and concludes the work.
!1.4. The goals of the research and its premise
This research has two major goals: to understand the shift in citizenship policy in
Germany, and to explain the failure of the 2000 reform to encourage more immigrants
to naturalize. This will be done by making the Turkish community in Germany a case
study, as it is: the largest, and perhaps most alienated, migrant group.
!The research assumes the following:
1. Policy changes and integration are connected: this work aims only at assessing the
extent and properties of that connection, but doesn't challenge the premise that there is
a mutually perpetuating process of legislation and social processes in the FRG.
2. The choice to focus on the Turkish community of immigrants concerns a
community that is only partially unique. It is assumed that the effects of federal
!6
policies on the Turkish community can be at least partially projected onto other
migrant groups in the FRG.
3. Although there are large gaps between the different Länder in their implementation
of federal policies , it is assumed that there are enough similarities to formulate a 7
general assessment of immigration, naturalization and citizenship laws for the whole
of Germany.
4. The case of working immigrants and their families can be distinguished from that
of asylum seekers not only legally, but also politically and socially. It is thus assumed
that the legal distinction constitutes also politically and socially distinct reality.
5. The survey measures the most relevant factors affecting integration and the
perceived desirability of German citizenship.
!1.5.1 Methodology
A review of the literature reveals two trends, which this research is based upon. The
first trend assesses Germany's citizenship and naturalization policies, through contents
analysis of its political and legislative history. The second trend qualitatively
examines the views of the immigrants on the policies they are subjected to, through
field-researches in immigrants' communities in Germany. The two trends are rarely
integrated. This work addresses the failure of the 2000 reform in integrating its
immigrant population by a contents analysis of political and legal aspects of
Germany's politics, as well as a direct survey of this population.
The survey is based upon theories from both these trends in the literature. The survey
was constructed so in the future it could be used to sample larger groups of
!7
Ludvig (2004) pg. 5087
immigrants in Germany, and provide quantitative data. Due to the limited scope of
this work, only preliminary results will be provided, based on a small yet
heterogeneous sample.
Finally, this research is based also on an interview conducted with Prof. Hailbronner
from the University of Konstanz, an expert of international and European law, who
has participated in the parliamentary discussions prior to the 2000 reform.
!
1.5.2 Structural and methodical notes
"A migration system" means "examining both ends of the flow [of immigration]": the
immigrant and the political environment which absorbs him/her . By examining the 8
debate around the German citizenship law from both the local political environment
(parties' constitutions and opinions of members) and the immigrants' positions, the
conclusions could encompass successfully the Turkish-German migration system. If
"macro-structures refer to large-scale institutional factors" like legislation, structures
and practices established by the state of receiving immigrants, and "micro-structures
are the informal social networks developed by the migrants themselves to cope with
migration" like xenophobia, racism, family, friendship and community ties, then this
work combines both
!The reader of this work should expect to be able to understand the concepts of
national identity and citizenship in Germany's context, and acquire a critical overview
of the reform of the citizenship law and its effect on the Turkish migrant community.
!8
Castles (2000) pg. 248
The work should thus contribute to the understanding of the broad issue of interaction
between immigration, citizenship, and the nation-state.
!!!!!!!!2. Typology and Boundaries of Citizenship
2.1 Basic typology and legal terms
The literature suggests several important typologies and boundaries for the issue of
citizenship. These derive from historical investigations focused on real needs such as
border control or economic growth, or alternately about the different manifestations of
democracy, communism, fascism and other (and more specific) political ideologies.
Leaving aside the discussion on the driving forces of politics and history in general,
the following suggested framework of the concept of citizenship takes both forces
into account. The chapter continues with an account of the central legal terms, jus
sanguinis and jus soli, which complement the theoretical typology suggested before.
The boundaries of citizenship are explored with regards to dual citizenship and
multiculturalism. While dual citizenship is examined for its high relevance to
Germany's case, multiculturalism has general significance in the discussion of
citizenship, but is found to play a very minor role in the case of Germany. The chapter
!9
ends with some introductory notes about citizenship in Germany, and its contested
boundaries.
A citizen is first and foremost an entity recognized by international law as a part of a
specific state, without regards to his/her social status, civic rights or feeling of
belonging. A more specific notion, but still purely formal, implies a unique set of
rights and duties to the citizen. Citizenship becomes more endowed with "meaning"
when the actions of citizens are justified and even morally judged through the law,
which is no longer the mere result of a casual legislator's will, but an embodiment of
what may be called "the spirit of the nation". This spirit will be expanded upon at a
later stage, but it is sufficient for the typology of citizenship to realize that when
endowed with moral affinities, it is no longer formal but essential as well.
This endowment can sometimes even transcend the incidental action of a legislator,
especially in times of political turbulence or when the leadership is highly contested.
Such was the legislation during the time of the Weimar Republic (along with other
political acts and features of that republic), judged by a growing part of the population
as a betrayal of the nation. A final meaning of citizenship, less intuitive but essential
to a broad understanding, is the idea of the nation that no longer requires the residence
or even the existence of the state . It is a purely informal category of collective 9
identity, which serves social and political functions of a nation or a people, even when
the first no longer constitutes a state. Exiles, refugees and even working immigrants
may be outside the state but remain within their own people or nation. Even when
!10
Caldwell (2008) pg. 41-439
their state is occupied, they may nevertheless continue to share and uphold the same
notion of citizenship.
!Citizenship has two faces. The first originates from the early established liberal
democracies, where citizenship is just one of the rights granted by the welfare state.
The latter is a concept arising from a politicized awareness of ethnic differences
within the state . Citizenship is instrumental - a vessel for some general democratic 10
rights, and also essential – an expression of the demography within the state.
!The legally classification of citizenship is mainly by birth (jus soli), by descent (jus
sanguinis), and by naturalization (including marriage) . To name a few examples, jus 11
soli is common in the USA, Latin American states and France. It simply means that
those who were born in the state are also citizens of the state. Jus Sanguinis is
common in countries including Germany, India, Israel, Japan and Russia. It means
that
a. Those who belong to the national "organic 'ethno-cultural' entity marked by a
common language and culture" are also citizens of the state.
b. "Every person born to non-citizen parents will remain a foreigner unless he or
she naturalizes" . 12
If the first condition of jus sanguinis seems rather opaque and confusing, it is because
it uses terms that are hardly self-explanatory, although decision makers may be
!11
Heater (1999) pg. 210
Blatter (2009) pg. 311
Ludvig (2004) pg. 50212
tempted to use connotative thought and intuition to understand it. Chapter 3 of this
work will analyze and further elaborate on jus sanguinis, being Germany's main
principle of citizenship.
Although theoretically distinct, jus soli and jus sanguinis are combined in most
existing citizenship laws . Birth within borders of the state, as well as being a 13
descendant of a prominent/dominant group, are both addressed at some level by the
legislator and government of the nation state.
!Critics of the jus sanguinis principle claim that it is not based on objective biological
or genealogical relations, but that it is rather an ideology "used to legitimate
identification". It is a narrative strategy for designating a degree of likeness, of
similarity" . Furthermore, it is claimed that being of the national ethnicity does not 14
necessarily correlate with the language skills, religion and ethics of the national
majority. Therefore, the principle of jus sanguinis is not just ideological, but also
defies its own goals of maintaining homogeneity in the state by accepting repatriates
who do not share the national culture . 15
Both jus sanguinis and jus soli are politicizing and legalizing a fundamental similarity,
genealogical and geographical respectively, or an invention of it.
The case of Germany's shift from a jus sanguinis-based citizenship law to one with
elements of jus soli is the subject of further analysis and criticism in the next chapters.
!12
Ibid13
Senders (1999) pg. 17814
Mandel (2008) pg. 214 15
But to approach it with an appropriate understanding of citizenship, I shall further
pause momentarily on the boundaries of the typologies described above.
2.2 Inside the state, outside the people
If a nation is the political mode of existence of a people, then a pure nation state
grants citizenship to all those who reside in it and allows residence only to members
of that particular people and to their offspring. History, however, never experienced
such an ideal-type state, and attempts at achieving such a state have always failed.
Even the Third Reich had to employ foreign workers from Italy, Poland, and
Czechoslovakia to build-up its military industry . Consequently, the nation state (and 16
any other state for that matter) needs to define its border control according to
agreeable criteria.
International law presents such general criteria. It grants everyone the right to exit any
country, and to return to their own country, but it is completely up to the state to
determine the criteria for entrance . However, what international law allows is not 17
always practical. Since no country has the military strength or the moral imperative to
deport all new and old immigrants, there is a fixed "lack of correspondence between
the population of a state and those accorded the rights of citizenship" . This leads to 18
the activation of two parallel and mutually strengthening processes: an imagined
community and a reassessment and phrasing of the citizenship law and policies. The
!13
Kurthen (1997) pg. 6716
See Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. 17
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): www.unhcr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm.
Sammartino (2008) pg. 6218
imagined community (imagined, due to the aforementioned lack of correspondence)
shapes the citizenship law and policies, and the latter in turn shapes the first.
While the two principles determine the "natural citizens", most nation states also
phrase regulations and conditions for "natural foreigners" to become citizens, known
as "to naturalize".
Naturalization is usually conditioned by "objective biographical circumstances". The
necessary circumstances, such as "birth in the territory, present or prior residence,
having a citizen parent, or being married to a citizen", are the gateway for an
individual becoming "recognized as a stakeholder" in the nation state. In western
democracies such as Germany, citizenship also grants the individual a claim to
participate in the collective decision-making process . 19
The case of those outside the nation but inside the state marks the boundaries of
citizenship. It is contested in two main frontiers: the debate over the legitimacy of
dual citizenship and multiculturalism/differential citizenship. Both will be addressed
mainly through their relevance to Germany's case.
!2.2.1 Dual Citizenship
Dual citizenship, or the formal belonging to two nations, bestows many additional
rights and duties upon those who are granted it (instrumental citizenship), chiefly the
possibility to freely move between two societies. It also allows a more complex
national identity, arguably richer or self-contradictory (essential citizenship). This
formal overlap of rights, duties and identity does not generally imply a full and
!14
Blatter (2009) pg. 719
simultaneous participation in the legal order and political life of two states, and it is
usually left to the individual to determine to what extent he/she exercises this overlap.
Citizenship for permanent settlers and their children is crucial from both instrumental
and essential aspects. Where immigrants do not want to go give up their previous
nationality, dual citizenship is a possible answer. Over half the world’s states now
recognize some form of dual citizenship or dual nationality , but the issue is still at 20
the heart of the debate on citizenship law in many countries. Most countries which do
allow it, condition it with bilateral agreements, security restrictions, and others. In 21
Germany it played a crucial role in the debate over the suggested reform by the Red-
Green government of 1998 and in its final version adopted a year later . 22
!The 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of
Nationality Laws stated in its preamble that “…it is in the general interest of the
international community to secure that all its members should recognize that every
person should have a nationality and should have one nationality only.” This
conviction was reaffirmed and strengthened in the European Council's 1963
Convention on the Reduction of Cases of Multiple Nationality and Military
Obligations in Cases of Multiple Nationality . 23
Nevertheless, the taboo regarding dual citizenship has admittedly been increasingly
contested in the last years. Understanding the debate around dual citizenship is crucial
not only to mapping out of citizenship and its boundaries, but to the case of Germany
!15
Fritz quoted in Blatter (2009) pg. 1720
Ludvig (2004) pg. 51021
Heater (1999) pg. 10822
Especially Article 1: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Word/043.doc23
specifically. To do so, it shall be examined according to various political schools.
Naturally, the following survey is not complete, but is rather meant to present the
main arguments for and against dual citizenship with their theoretical sources.
!According to liberalism, the government and the state are merely instruments
managed by the citizens to better their lives. We can deduce from it an argument in
favor of dual citizenship. In order to "fulfill the congruence principle which states that
all those who are subject to authoritative rule should have a right of participating in
making these rules…"states should not only tolerate but embrace dual citizenship" . 24
Another liberal argument deduces that dual citizenship is necessary from the general
trend of globalized other human rights. Allowing dual citizenship strengthens the
connection between legal and political rights. It is assumed that since dual citizens
have a stake in two countries, they will also want a say in both. However, the liberal
discourse also disagrees with dual citizenship, as it contradicts the principle of equal
opportunities. If some enjoy the rights and duties of two nations, while others don't,
then they are either superior or underprivileged from the start.
!From a republican point of view, "intensive participation of citizens in the self-
government of political communities is… at least as much a duty as it is a right" . 25
With this duty oriented viewpoint, the republicans actually emphasize the problematic
possibilities inherent in dual nationality:
!16
Blatter (2009) pg. 30, 724
Ibid, pg. 1125
• Dual citizens may use their second passport to escape civic duties. A
republican cannot accept that citizens have the option to avoid conscription in
a time of need, simply by using their second passport;
• Dual nationals may be less politically minded, as their second passport
provides a legal instrument for the all-too-easy option to exit the state ; 26
• In other cases, the exit option may become a way of expressing political
preferences, if to use Hirschman's terminology ; 27
• Finally, the laws of the nation state are not merely procedural, but also
normative. They project and (partly) constitute the essence of the citizen. Dual
nationals are not expected to embrace this property of the law, as they juggle
between two systems of law . 28
!The communitarians, a more radical version of republicans, hold firmly that a nation
provides the individual an identity, but demands in exchange absolute loyalty on his/
her behalf. This political viewpoint stresses out the danger of dual loyalty, defying the
interest of the state. But it also defies the interests of the individual, as it may raise
psychological problems of identity, and hamper the development of a consistent
personal identity of those holding two passports . 29
!
!17
Ibid, pg. 926
Hirschman (1970) 27
Blatter (2009) pg. 1028
Ibid, pg. 14-1529
According to deliberative democracy, the enrichment and improvement of the general
political discourse is a key principle of good democracy. It is thus likely to support
dual citizenship, based on reasons similar to those stated with regards to liberals . 30
!Multiculturalists may be aware of the aforementioned disadvantages of dual
citizenship, but regard them to be a fair "affirmative action which compensate for
their specific disadvantages and dangers", mainly xenophobia . This argument is 31
only relevant, if at all, to persecuted and unrecognized minorities. This viewpoint is
thus brought up only for the theoretical framework of addressing dual citizenship, but
is hardly relevant to Germany's case where most immigrants are entitled since 1965 to
a status of denizens. This is indeed the general case of multiculturalism in Germany,
as will be explained in the next part of this chapter.
Table I presents the arguments in favour of and against dual citizenship:
!Table I
Pro Contra
Fulfills the congruence principle which
states that all those who are subject to
authoritative rule should have the right
of participating in making these rules
(liberalism)
Contradicts the principle of equal
opportunities (liberalism)
!18
Ibid, pg. 2430
Ibid, pg. 2031
!A particularly interesting opposition regarding dual citizenship comes from the
Turkish scholar, Yasemin Soysal. Her opposition stems from the observation that
nowadays "the transnational order defines the rules and organization of the nation
state system". This means that more and more realms which were once under the
exclusive authority of the nation-state are now 'trans-nationalized', and that global-
level norms replace national level norms . 32
Soysal's thesis can rely upon the data from 1996-7, for instance, when only 15 percent
of all foreigners in Germany enjoyed less than the full rights given to a full member
citizen, apart from the right to political participation. This minority was made up of
foreigners residing in Germany only for a limited time, or waiting for a decision on
their asylum applications. Only 3 percent were required to leave the country but had
Strengthens the connection between
legal and political rights (liberalism)
Dual citizens may use their second
passport to escape civic duties
(republicanism)
Enriches and improves the general
political discourse (deliberative
democracy)
Dual nationals may be less politically
minded (republicanism)
Compensates for specific
disadvantages and dangers of
minorities (multiculturalism)
Allows the exit option to become a way of
expressing political preferences
(republicanism)
Dual citizenship defies the interest of the
state, as well as those of the individual
(communitarians)
!19
Soysal (1994) pg. 14532
not yet done so . It may be also that case in the USA, where "many immigrants see 33
little point in becoming citizens because successive laws have steadily reduced the
distinction between citizens and non-citizens in terms of rights" . 34
In 4th century BC Athens "equality involved not only the obvious rights of voting and
holding public office" (also typical of the modern nation-state citizenship), but also 35
meant exclusive civic liberties. These rights are now usually granted nowadays to all
residents of the state, regardless of citizenship. They are protected by international
treaties and national democratic constitutions and laws. Soysal claims that this trend
marks the gradual process of national citizenship becoming obsolete, and presents a
possibly more sustainable transnational citizenship which encompasses human rights.
One may criticize this theory for overlooking the change which occurred from the
eighteenth century, whereby many nations put forth an added value to the concept of
citizenship and made it republican. Doing so, they yielded it to a common origin,
culture, and values. As explained above, for more than two hundred years citizenship
provides an identity no less than it provides rights and duties.
In Germany, it is usually citizenship which mark "the desperate attempt to answer the
question 'Who is a German?'”. It encompasses anything from a republican common
good in the form of democracy, to the opinion that Germany must remain a Christian
country . However, Soysal's model of post national citizenship assumes the gradual 36
formation of an alternative global identity.
!20
Münz (2002) pg. 26-2733
Heater (1999) pg. 8534
Ibid, pg. 8335
Fücks (2002) pg. 7936
But as all typologies, the classical division of citizenship to the instrumental and
essential is obviously not sufficient to address all which is entailed by citizenship. To
state just a two examples, Soysal's model "does not sufficiently account for the
existential anguish caused by persistent legal and bureaucratic hurdles and
procedures" brought upon non-citizens and spared from citizens . 37
Citizenship also grants the hope (at least) to form an allegiance with the higher social
statues, otherwise impossible 38
Of course one should remember that national parties and nation states are still the
most common form of collective political identity, which makes Soysal's model
prophetic or visionary at best.
Finally the multicultural concept of citizenship is to be considered. Global migration
creates a world of intricate identities influenced by both the country of origin and the
country of residence, but also by the constitutive experiences of emigrating and
immigrating. Such developments undermine the nation-state principle of singular and
exclusive membership . Following this observation, one may support Soysal's 39
argument that citizenship is simply no longer important for those coming from so
many different cultures. One may, on the other hand, claim for a differentiated
citizenship as explained in the next part of this chapter.
Soysal's post-national theory received much criticism and seems to fit best outside the
above table I. Her model identifies a transnational process which undermines national
citizenship, and will resurface in the later examination of the effects of the reform in
!21
Mandel (2008) pg. 1537
Diehl and Blohm (2003) pg. 134-13538
Castles (2000) pg. 1239
Germany's citizenship law on the integration and interest in naturalization of its
Turkish community.
!2.2.2 Multiculturalism
Certain scholars are promoting a differentiated model of citizenship , which would 40
meet the different needs of an ethnically, religiously and culturally diverse nation. In
the classic model, citizenship entitles all members of the state with the same set of
rights. This means that if, for instance, dual citizenship is not allowed for one group
of citizens, it must be generally forbidden for all citizens. In the differentiated model,
citizenship grants different rights to meet different needs, and thus dual citizenship
may be forbidden for the majority, but for some it would be allowed. This relatively
new approach, a part of the more general multiculturalism, assumes an ethnicity
"identified through time and space" – that of the majority and the minority groups. 41
Only when assuming that both groups' ethnicities are somewhat fixed, can the
demand for laws tailored for their specific needs be justified. Differential citizenship
recognizes that formal equality of rights does not necessarily lead to equality. It
demands the establishment of mechanisms for group representation and participation,
differential treatment for people with different characteristics, needs and wants . 42
Ethnic minorities are offered "cultural tolerance… rights and institutions, in exchange
for acceptance of basic principles and the rule of law; they are imagined as culturally-
laden social groups, who need to be integrated and individualized by a public sphere
!22
Mandel (2008) pg. 22740
Kymlicka (1995) pg. 85 and Mandel (2008) pg. 22841
Castles (2000) pg. 14442
which offers voice and participation, transforming them from ‘immigrants’, into full
and free citizens".
As multiculturalism does away with "expectations of assimilation and acculturation" 43
of the nation-state's naturalization policies, its challenge becomes clear.
The growing numbers of foreigners in post-war Europe brought with it the expansion
of the discourse of multiculturalism as well. The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, a
report headed by Lord Parekh, promotes a "a new national narrative and set of
policies conveying an understanding that Britain is both a ‘community of citizens’ & a
‘community of communities", as "People have competing attachments to nation,
group, subculture, region, city, town, neighborhood and the wider world. They belong
to a range of different but overlapping communities, real and symbolic, divided on
cultural issues of the day.... Identities, in consequence, are more situational" . 44
Multiculturalism is now a global discourse, as immigrants' unique national identities
are invigorated through the improving technologies of communications, and are
casting a doubt on the classical concept of citizenship.
This doubt is probably quite irrelevant to case of the FRG. The German government
fights xenophobia, guided by its constitution and authoritarian past. While it is true
that the country does have a long history of denying that it became "the world's most
important destination for migrants" with the official government's position that
"Germany is not a country of immigration" , the immigrant population in Germany is 45
!23
Favell quoted in Vertovec (2001) pg. 543
The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, quoted, ibid, pg. 6-744
Eley & Palmowski (2008) pg. 4; Koopmans & Statham (2000) pg. 1; Katzenstein (1987) pg. 218-3945
facing a rather clear road into formal political inclusion since the early nineties and
social inclusion since the mid-sixties.
Kymlicka criticises Germany for refusing to naturalize those who have already
integrated and "live as Germans" . Kymlicka's accusation is thus simply irrelevant to 46
Germany's case and better fits other European countries. France's La Pen, Italy's Lega
Nord, Austria's Freedom Party, and the Netherlands' Pim Fortuyn are all incomparably
more popular than Germany's NDP, whose activists are responsible for more than 100
immigrants' deaths over the last two decades but repeatedly fail at the federal
elections. These extremists are contrasted with the wider demonstrations of 300,000
Germans in 1992 in the capital Berlin, and one million Germans in 1993 in the more
conservative Baden-Württemberg. They demonstrated for solidarity with the
immigrant population and helped to frame the phenomena of xenophobia in Germany
within the realms of the small (but vocal) extreme right wing.
The simple fact that such claims are hardly raised within Germany to begin with puts
a final seal on the alternative of multiculturalism in Germany. There are almost "no
claims by immigrants, using a racial identity in Germany", due to the problematic
usage of race and ethnos as an explicit "policy and discursive category" since its
usage by the National Socialists . When such claims do happen to appear in the 47
literature with regard to Germany, they cannot even be reconciled with the basic claim
of multiculturalism for cultural autonomy, as this too is perceived as a form of misuse
of power by the hegemonic culture . While multiculturalists in Germany still try to 48
!24
Kymlicka (1995) pg. 2346
Koopmans & Statham (2000) pg. 5 and 2547
Kaya (2000), pg. 99-107, quoted in Karakus (2007), pg. 22 48
phrase a cohesive demand, integration is the most likely policy against right wing
extremism, as it is supported not only by government policies, but by the general
public too. Changes in German citizenship are introduced gradually, rather than in the
revolutionary manner called for by multiculturalists. Throughout the last two decades
"a form of jus soli acquisition of the children of migrants born in the country" was
introduced by both CDU/CSU-FDP and SPD-Grün governments.
!The classic notion of citizenship assumes an egalitarian society through equal
citizenship to all members of the nation. This is based upon Rousseau's notion that all
citizens "pledge themselves under the same conditions and must all enjoy the same
rights" . Differentiated citizenship is based upon a realization that equality can 49
actually bring about inequality. Granting minorities the same rights as the majority
may be insufficient, and affirmative action is suggested also in citizenship law.
Ultimately and common to both concepts, is that the principle of equality is a
powerful character of citizenship. They differ in the way this equality should be
attained, and the acceptance of the assumption that there are some who more
"naturally" belong to the state than others.
Germany proves to be quite irrelevant to discourse of multiculturalism, which is
presented here as a part of the general discussion of citizenship. Minorities' needs in
Germany are still addressed by a more traditional notion of citizenship, which sets the
boundaries for the discussion of its case.
!2.3 The origins of jus sanguinis in Germany
!25
Heater (1999) pg. 8349
The principle of citizenship by blood found its expression already in 1842 in a
meeting of the Prussian Staatsrat, or state council: "Who is bound to the King and to
the State with his entire person? Who belongs to the brotherhood of the Prussian
nation?" The answer was "only those whose bodies and property, Blut und Gut,
belong to the state" . The law gradually became more ethno-focal by the end of the 50
19th century, when large quotas of foreigners of German ethnicity requested
repatriation. The King declared in 1896 that Germany has a "responsibility of binding
the larger German empire firmly to the homeland", and making it a "polity of all
Germans, a Civis Germanus Sum" . 51
This is the evolution of a policy that was previously advocated in Prussia, based on
very different grounds. The Prussian bureaucrats wished to allow "all subjects of
German states the right to migrate to any German state that was prepared to accept
them, without payment of a fee (provided only that military service obligations had
been fulfilled)" . The bureaucrats were motivated by macro-economic 52
considerations, to allow the flow of workers in and out of German states, Länder,
according to the market's needs and to precipitate growth.
Prussia's bureaucrats were drawing on policies developed during the Napoleonic
occupation of Prussia in the early 19th century. The French citizenship law of the time
inspired legislation in Germany, only to be changed in France to jus soli on 1889 and
remaining intact in Germany . 53
!26
Nathans (2004) pg. 6050
Ibid, pg. 16951
Ibid, pg. 17052
Gosewinkel (2008) pg. 32-3353
At the time, not only moral commitment of the king or macro-economic interests of
the Prussian bureaucracy made blood a criterion for inclusion in the nation. Prejudices
concerning gender roles played a significant role as well. The Interior Ministry
"insisted that wives share the citizenship of their husbands on the ground [of] the
holiness of the marriage bond". Another prejudice was that those of certain religions
or "races" could not be included in the nation. Even "the most enlightened"
philosophers and civil servants, "generally opposed increasing the number of foreign
Jews permitted to settle in the state" . 54
In conclusion, it seems that although the German citizenship law is described
nowadays by a single headline, namely that it is a manifestation of jus sanguinis, it
stems from a whole cluster of ideas . Some of these ideas were conservative and 55
protectionist, and others plainly discriminatory and racist. Finally, it would appear, the
notion that "one is born a German" does not have to be objectively flawless. Its 56
secure epistemological status is what makes it important in the discourse and debate
over German citizenship.
!With regards to the boundaries of citizenship in Germany, I shall address only the
issue of dual citizenship, as the relevance of multiculturalism had already been
discredited. The liberal viewpoint is inconclusive about dual citizenship and raises
arguments for and against it. In Germany, the liberal political discourse is almost
limited to that of the FDP. Another advocate of dual-citizenship is the more socialist
!27
Nathans (2004) pg. 64, 6854
Fücks (2002) pg. 7755
Mandel (2008) pg. 21556
Green Party. These are a steady political force in Germany, but not a central one. The
republican viewpoint, on the other hand, is shared by both the conservative and social
democratic parties, and presents understandable concerns regarding dual citizenship.
It upholds political participation a very important right, almost a civic duty. Because
of its reluctance to grant dual citizenship, the central parties ensure immigrants the
status of denizens relatively early in the post-war era. From the point of view of the
advocates of dual citizenship, the immigrants' reluctance to give up their original
citizenship should actually indicate that it is based on a developed political standpoint.
This may suggest that the naturalized immigrants may turn out to be politically
involved and active citizens, which could sooth the republican-driven concerns. This
optimistic understanding of the immigrants' status was never confirmed by surveys
conducted in their respective communities. Rather the opposite revealed to be true, as
most of the immigrants interviewed in other works expressed desperation and non-
belief in the political system . The rather prevalent Permanent Residence status is 57
obtained without having to renounce one's original nationality, and thus served as a
substitute for the much less available option of naturalizations. This status also has
been frequently mentioned as a main reason for low naturalization rates in Germany,
as long as it categorically necessitated the renouncement of one’s original
citizenship . 58
Naturalization means the total acceptance of the immigrant into society, into the
nation. Until the reform in the German citizenship law, the only naturalization
possible was that which served the interests of the nation, and not of its members.
!28
For example: Mandel (2008), Karakus (2007), Østergaard-Nielsen (2003) and Soysal (2002) 57
Ludvig (2004) pg. 51158
The potentially harmful symptoms of immigration, such as the polluting the German
race or the desecration of the holy bond of marriage, were to be prevented by this
policy. It strived to save the country from these symptoms becoming everlasting. This
is why the German citizenship law of 1913, which was left almost untouched until the
2000 reform, consciously ignored private interests and made the national concern the
only one to be considered when a foreigner applied for citizenship. As an illustration
serves the case from 1922 of a rejected application of a Jewish doctor married to a
war widow and father in effect to her orphaned children in Thuringia . The private 59
interests of him and his wife were presented to the council of states, and since the
national interest was paramount to such individual's needs, the application was
rejected. Only once he applied again after several years, stressing out his talents as a
doctor and contribution to the general community, did the conservative states
approved his application.
In 2000 the SPD and Grün party managed to reform the old citizenship law with the
consent of the conservative parties. The necessary consent made the changes in the
citizenship law far less bold than what was initially planned, at least by the Grün
Party. Nevertheless, the reform certainly eased the severity of the jus sanguinis
citizenship law, and made naturalization less tied to some almost arbitrarily ruled
"national/social interest".
The analysis of its historical and political causes and its empirical socio-political
effects on the integration and naturalization rates of Turkish immigrants in Germany
is the topic of the next parts of this work.
!29
Sammartino (2008) pg. 5859
3. National Identity: its origins and function
3.1 What identity constitutes: time and change
Citizenship based on jus sanguinis is conditioned on being part of the national
"organic 'ethno-cultural' entity marked by a common language and culture". it must be
further clarified, since operational laws and policies stem from this condition, and
affect millions of permanent and temporary residents.
This is the background for this chapter's theme, a deconstruction and analysis of the
murky Gordian knot which connects the operational "citizenship" with the abstract
"organic 'ethno-cultural' entity" or the more general "spirit of the nation". As chapter 2
was devoted to citizenship, this chapter is devoted to national identity. It attempts to
define national identity, explain its relevance to citizenship, and its meaning in the
context of Germany's case.
!Applicable to the German national and ethnic identity is the conceptual framework of
Stuart Hall, which presupposes an identification of citizenship with national identity.
The common sense understanding of identity is that it is "constructed on the back of
recognition of some common origin, or shared characteristics with another person or
group, or with an ideal, and with the natural closure of solidarity and allegiance
established on this foundation" . 60
The specific modern nation-state compares its identity with that of an entity. This
entity has its existence daily reaffirmed either by the people's will (in democratic
societies) or by some ruling elite. With that identity, it completely overlooks the
aforementioned intricacy of any identity, surely a collective one.
!31
Hall (1996) pg. 1-260
The modern state has a spirit; it is born, goes through infancy, maturity and
sometimes also ages and dies. It has a will and interests.
The nation-state is first and foremost particularistic. It embodies a particular nation or
people, joined together by common biographies: either birth in the same place (jus
soli) or to a common descent (jus sanguinis). It is the particular unit in international
affairs, an exclusive condition to allow citizens to "participate in broader humanity" . 61
The nation-state is also the bearer of universal and particularistic principles
simultaneously. It is a bearer of particular and universal values, and provides the
"framework for the realization of these values" . 62
In conclusion, whether historical or meta-historical, whether based on an ideology or
on an ethnos, a national identity is marked by a consistent existence over time. It is
the anthropomorphized bearer of particular and universal values, unchanged by time.
It is therefore only natural that its citizenship law will embody this identity.
!Problems begin with the revaluation of this common sense understanding of identity.
Identity in general, and particularly a collective national one, may not be as fixed and
untimely as suggested above. Identity is in a constant state of reconstruction, coming
into being, and is never complete. Its total merging into an unchanging monolith is a
fantasy and idealization of its more allusive nature. It is never fully embodying that
fantasy - there is always too much or too little of it - "never a perfect fit" in practice.
These words may come out as blasphemy to the nationalist, who holds dear this
idealization and is sometimes even ready to die for it. However, identity can never be
!32
Walker (1993) pg. 15161
Bach (1999) pg. 5862
static, especially that of a collective. It must be constantly dynamic - unless it is dead.
Contrary to the monolithic and untimely identity that the nation state adopts, Freud
already stated in 1921 that "identification is… ambivalent from the very start" . 63
Accordingly, the widespread approach in the literature is supportive of a constructivist
origin of national identities . Nations are constructed, either socially or through the 64
influence of elites and are not originating from some eternally fixed ideology or
ethnos. Cultural identity (as well as any living identity) is not static or frozen in time,
but in a perpetual condition of change . Identities are about using the resources of 65
history, language and culture in the process of becoming rather than being, and reflect
not a return to the roots but a narrativization of these roots. The notion of those who
address the nation anthropomorphically (as if it has interests of its own and goes
through processes as maturing and dying) is that there is a continuity of a national
identity over time. . In the political, social and cultural context, this artificial identity 66
necessitates using the state power to conduct the exclusion of peoples in a constant
fluctuation over the boundaries of the nation-state, by its occupation of others'
territories and the occupation of its territories by foreign nations.
!If the world and its cultures are 'plural', then the 'nation-state' is rarely an appropriate
term, for "few states have ethnically homogeneous populations" . 67
!33
Hall (1996), pg. 3 63
Risse and Engelmann-Martin (2002) pg. 28964
Tomlinson (1991), pg. 7065
Fulbrook (1999) pg. 9-18 66
Anthony Smith quoted in Tomlinson (1991) pg. 73 67
This doesn't necessarily mean that national identities are illusionary or useless. It
does, however, necessitate a more flexible reading of national citizenship laws and
policies, as they reflect (indeed like all other man-made laws) the spirit of its times. If
the nation/nation-state is not untimely or unchanging, and if citizenship laws are the
operational definition of belonging to the nation/nation-state, the citizenship laws
cannot aspire to be time- and change-proof.
Nevertheless, political leaders rarely acknowledge this revision of the national
identity. They rather utilize the common image of that identity, to endow citizenship
laws and naturalization policies with common justifications. When legislators adhere
to naturalistic and organic justifications of these policies about the "spirit of the
nation", they necessitate further investigation. If these are indeed the reasons for
legislation, they must be clarified, so that the compatibility between the motive for
legislation and the act of legislation may be examined.
!3.2 The function of a German homogenized national identity
The German national identity has traditionally been based on the notion of a common
descent and a common ethnicity. Conditions for naturalization consisted mostly of a
demand for assimilation – if one was not ethnically German, one was expected to
become similar to a German.
Therefore, the German national identity encompasses not only an ethnic community,
but one that shares a "historic territory, common myths and historical memoirs, a
mass public culture, a common economy, and common legal rights and duties for all
members" . Although in one sense all of the above ingredients and symbols of the 68
!34
Smith (1971) pg.13-1468
ethnic national identity are subjective, their long term patterning produces a structure
of relations. This structure may provide a framework for the socialization of
successive generations of the residents of historical Germany. Furthermore, it
regulates their interests through myths of ethnic descent and symbols of territory and
community . This structure attempts to homogenize culture, which allows the ruling 69
elites to more easily set (or follow) a "national agenda". We might argue that
"richness, variety and difference are goods in themselves", but under such a veil of
homogeneity, so are "order, uniformity and universality" . 70
!Following from that sense of order is the sense of belonging to a nation. This
represents an attenuated form of "primordial sentiments". It is most evident in
German national identity which was presumably seized most authentically and
passionately by the Volk (people) movement of the 19th century. The movement
provided a pre-modern cultural context, which was based on what Giddens calls 'high
presence availability', that is to say contexts in which relations are based on direct
face-to-face contact with others . It may be considered an imagined contact, because 71
"members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members,
meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their
communion" . Taking the argument even a step further, these are contexts and a 72
concept of common descent, invented through a set of practices normally governed by
overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of rituals of symbolic nature. This invention seeks
!35
Smith (1991) pg. 14.69
Tomlinson (1991) pg. 84.70
In Tomlinson (1991) pg. 84 71
Anderson explain in Tomlinson (1991) pg. 80.72
to demonstrate continuity with the past, based on values and norms of behavior. Such
values and norms are deduced from sheer repetition (which automatically implies
continuity) of an invented common past . The common past allows transcending the 73
inequalities of the present, and helps presenting the nation as an eternally "deep and
horizontal comradeship". Germany's history shows that this fraternity was imagined
or invented in order to unite Germany against foreign threats as the French (early 19th
century), and then for a relatively late nation-building by Bismarck (1870s).
!The political home of nationalism is the right. Historically, liberals and radicals have
been internationalists. Marx's statement 'the workers have no fatherland' epitomizes
that view. Liberal intellectuals have perceived nationalism from the right as
ethnocentric and narrow minded . As both extreme left and right in Germany's recent 74
history mark tabooed political ideologies, it is no wonder therefore that Germany is in
disagreement about its past and not about its future like other countries . While the 75
past is significant in the citizenship policy of every nation, and its aforementioned
play of power, inclusion and exclusion, it is particularly true in Germany's case.
!Volksgeist (spirit of the people) became a characteristic element of the German nation
during German Romanticism in the 19th century , and was considered an objective 76
feature of the pure German ethnicity and culture. Volk nationalism is defined as "state
!36
Hobsbawm in ibid, pg. 91-273
De Sola Pool in ibid, pg. 6874
Dahrendorf (1987) pg. 13775
Deutsch R. (2008) pg. 98.76
centered political rights on the basis of nationhood" , and its rise may be explained 77
with the following:
1. In 1806, the humiliation of the defeat and occupation by the Napoleonic army, had
led to a resistance, led by intellectuals like Heinrich von Kleist and the Grimm
brothers. The resistance required the aggregation of many who had hitherto been
merely subjects to various principalities into a nationally cohesive and proud
citizenry. This need for a turnover of identity necessitated the imagination or
invention of a common ground. The ideo-focal common ground at the time was the
principles of the French revolution, which had captured the hearts of German artists
and intellectuals prior to the Napoleonic occupation. Being obviously imported by the
occupier, the ideo-focal common ground became unavailable. This in turn made the
ethno-focal common ground a default choice for attaining national cohesion . 78
2. The marriage of the nation and the state, the formation of a German nation-state,
emerged in Germany parallel to the accumulation of anti-French sentiments. In 19th
century Germany, the nationalistically driven battle against the Napoleonic
occupation and the spread of principles of democracy were intertwining. The battle
against the French was based upon both the notion of a joint community
(Gemeinschaft) and the latter democratic institutionalization of the state signified by
the more anonymous notion of society (Gesellschaft) . 79
The German Volk national movement reached its peak of popularity several decades
after the second Reich of Bismarck collapsed, with the rise of the National-Socialist
!37
Calhoun (1993) pg. 21677
Kedourie (1993)78
Calhoun (1993) pg. 211-3979
Party. Since then it became somewhat tabooed in the FRG and is hardly a source for
common nationalistic pride . But the notion of common descent is still a major 80
ingredient of the nation's cohesion. The idea of the nation and its symbols are still an
answer for those in search for an identity "uniting the farmer from Germany's rural
northeast and the pensioner from Hamburg, the housewife from Itzehoe in the north
and the artist from Munich in the south, the unemployed man from Bremen and the
stockbroker from Frankfurt . 81
With the fall of the third Reich and the formation of a FRG, the notion of a common
people (Volk) was transformed, rather than eliminated: from being ultimately racist, to
officially rely upon democratic elements. Constitutional patriotism, a cosmopolitical
or at least a pan-European outlook, and the 1950's wirtschaftwunder or economic
miracle of the capitalistic market industry, were the ingredients of the modern German
national identity. The political elites of the FRG have thoroughly Europeanized the
German national identity since the 1950s. Practically, all governments since Adenauer
have supported the integration of Europe: from initiating the Steel and Coal early
agreement, through involvement and support of the Treaty of Rome to that of
Amsterdam in 1997.
The Europeanization of the German national identity originated from the resistance of
exiled political leaders to Hitler and the Nazis within both SPD and CDU.
After 1945 the CDU "embraced European unification as the alternative to the
nationalism of the past", as well as due to its religious vision of a Christian [catholic]
!38
Schmelz-Jacobsen (1987) pg. 107 80
Schnibben, Spiegel, 23.6.200681
Occident" . The pursuit of the pan-European vision of Adenauer was not interrupted 82
by the opposition, as the SPD also embraced the notion of a European Germany . 83
Only such a vision could be formally suggested and be legitimated by the post-war
community of nations. The pan-European vision was, however, a mere disguise for
persisting völkisch tendencies. These tendencies meant that the notion of community
(Gemeinschaft) continued to take precedence over society (Gesellschaft). These were
manifested in: a) Germany's constitutional commitment to all those of German
descent, but in diasporas – especially those who were exiled by the third Reich ; b) 84
the longing for a reunification with the six German states which made up the GDR,
and the celebrations of reunification in Berlin in 1989, accompanied by the chant "We
are the people!" (Wir sind das Volk); c) the hostile attitude towards foreigners erupted
in numerous racist attacks after the 1990 reunification against those of "no German
blood". One may argue that by merely conceptualizing immigrants as "foreigners", a
communal framework of the nation-state was suggested; d) finally, these völkisch
tendencies were still manifested in the articles of the hardly unchanged citizenship
law from 1913 . While the translation of these völkisch tendencies into legislation 85
will be elaborated upon in following chapters, their function should be clear by now.
German national identity was formed as a reaction to a foreign occupation, while
democratic institutions began to emanate at the same time.
!39
Risse and Engelmann-Martin (2002) pg. 29582
Ibid, pg. 29883
While it should be noted that that most Germans considered the conservative governments' policies 84
towards integrating Ausiedlers too luxurious, and only 6% considered it be insufficient: based on statistical data from an Allensbach survey conducted in 1989, quoted in Ardagh (1994) pg. 294
Kurthen (1997) pg. 7285
The German Volk movement had planted seeds that bloomed into the most poisonous
chapter in the German history, the third Reich. The formation of the FRG in 1949
failed to bring Germanness out of Germany: "German Europeaness is still German
Europeaness" and it has not "super-nationalized" or given up on the identity of a
völkisch nation-state , despite alternative narratives which were suggested with. 86
These pan-European elements did not serve to completely root out the notion of Volk,
which still serves as the most cohesive element of the German nation.
!3.3 The origin and evolvement of "German blood"
Although today generally accepted, it is a relatively recent idea that the faculties of
the mind are originating from a physical organ, the brain. Its implications, namely that
certain faculties of the mind are inborn and "cannot be changed through
environmental actors" is just as young as the machine gun, plastic or other 19th 87
century discoveries and inventions. Since the19th century, conservatives alongside
scientists have written of the correlation between "any existing social or cultural
difference" and our neurobiology. This gave rise to the idea that "any expression of
human behavior… must have a cerebral basis" . This happened to include social 88
tendencies and characteristics, and specifically one's ethnic and national identity.
The centerpiece of citizenship was thus considered to be constituted by the brain. To
consider national character being integral to the mind was just as scientific as
eugenics and other theories in biology at the time. Everything at the time was
!40
Risse and Engelmann-Martin (2002) pg. 287-886
Grosse (2008) pg. 186-787
Ibid, pg. 18988
positively scientific – from blood to nationalism. This is a crucial preliminary remark
to understand the historical context of the ethno-based definition of citizenship. In this
context the intelligentsia was writing of a national spirit (Volksgeist) as part of hard
science. Herder, for example, no longer distinguished bodily traits from spiritual ones.
Ancestry was classified by him alongside language, history, moral principles and
social values , which essentially differ being the only real hereditary trait of the 89
identity. Identity was accordingly explained as "a cultural history transposed into
biology; a biology rationalized by the state as the distinction between those who
belong permanently and those who coexist temporarily together" . The belonging to 90
a nation, and consequently to a nation-state, was natal. This legitimated any
protectionist or xenophobic attitudes towards immigrants.
Nationalism is defined as an ideological movement for attaining and maintaining 91
identity, unity, and autonomy of a social group, some of which deem it to constitute
an actual or potential nation. It may be based upon a historical founder, hero or deity,
implying a range of conceptions of the nation either as a biological and genealogical
or as a cultural and ideological phenomenon . When conceptualizing blood ties 92
between the members of the nation as physical, as when they are conceptualized
ideologically, these blood ties are merely supporting the common core of customs,
religion, institutions and language. Both of these comply with the quest "to know who
I am", to discover a true identity based on origins and pedigrees, as a basis for claims
!41
Kurthen (1997) pg. 8889
Sassen (1999) pg. 63 90
Smith (1992) pg.1891
Ibid, pg. 57-892
regarding rights and recognition. This basis of identity may be instrumental to
overcome oppression by a "foreign" or "external" rule . Obviously it is also an 93
instrument to gain power "with some machinery of compulsion strong enough to
make the enforcement of its commands sufficiently probable to aid in the spread of
habits of voluntary compliance with them" . Gellner also stressed a material goal 94
which led to the emergence of nationalism (or at least that the first was supported by
the latter). In his Marxist phrasing, "industrial society strengthens the boundaries
between nations rather than those between classes" . 95
To achieve this unity against outer forces, legitimize the rule and structure of the state
and its economy, these boundaries are obfuscated by being supportive or
representative of the nation. But in its most basic context, the nation-state is not an
instrument, but a natural desired end on a continuum which starts off with the human
anatomy and physiology. The state utilizes a homogenizing effect, as it imposes
‘national’ norms, standards and categories that regulate and constitute civil life, and it
does so as a means to a political and economic end, but also as an embodiment of the
natural order.
From a post-modern point of view, this process of homogenization may actually be
contrasted with nature. Nature's tendency to "favor diversity" rather than uniformity,
becomes clear as "new slang, fashion, gender roles, religious customs, and other
forms of ‘resistance’… emerge where homogenization already seemed to have been
!42
I use quotation marks for the words "foreign" and "external" because Smith refers to national 93
identity as constructed teleologically, that is not as a reflection of an objective reality, but rather as a means to a political goal.
Deutsch K. W. (1953), pg. 2894
Gellner E. (1983), pg. 1295
achieved. Keeping nation–states’ mass polities in line thus requires a constant effort
of weeding out, clipping and carefully tending to the population lawns" . 96
The last paragraph reflects the current approach of scholars, that ethnic identity is
essentially mythical and instrumental. An individual can belong to an ethnic group via
self-identification, by being treated as such by non-group members, or both. National
and ethnic identities can be constructed or determined at birth, but considering the
great mobilization of identities, "constructivism better fits the facts" . 97
!Despite the scientific cloak it wore in its formative era, history hardly shows any
common ethnic traits upon which the German national identity may be based.
In its history there is no single capital, language, clear borders, or political culture . 98
The political identity is completely made up. Since the age of the modern nation state,
Germany has experienced three revolutions, a constitutional monarchy, two
dictatorships – a fascist and a communist one, and two democratic republics. Located
at the centre of Europe, its geography has always threatened its cultural autonomy,
and subjected it to constant waves of immigration, emigration, and wars. In the age of
nationalism this made it very hard to control political and ethnic boundaries, which
constitute a great deal of national culture.
The first and maybe only period when Germany was exclusively populated by what is
mythically and traditionally referred to as "those of German ethnicity", was until 400
AD when northern and eastern tribes settled in central Europe. Tacitus, one of the
!43
Wein, M.J. (2009) pg. 42 96
Moore (2002) 2-397
Dreschner (1987) pg. 13-1898
founding stones of the German myths of "purity" and exceptionalism, wrote in 98
AD: "The Germans… derive their original from no other people; and are nowise
mixed with different nations arriving amongst them… Germany [is] a recent word,
lately bestowed: for that those who first passed the Rhine and expulsed the Gauls, and
are now named Tungrians, were then called Germans: and thus by degrees the name
of a tribe prevailed, not that of the nation; so that by an appellation at first occasioned
by terror and conquest, they afterwards chose to be distinguished, and assuming a
name lately invented were universally called Germans" . The German people had 99
already been conquered by the King of the Franks, Charlemagne and mingled with the
Huns and Goths, before the tenth century AD. It could not be so ethnically pure
already by that time, considering the previous invasions to the area and probable inter-
marriages that took place. Moreover, even when the Germans governed themselves,
and established the First Reich (in 962 when Otto the Great was crowned), with the
military expansions towards the east and the colonization efforts of Slavic tribes, they
naturally assimilated with the occupants. Following was the Viking Swedish
domination of large parts of North Germany which resulted in assimilations with the
occupiers. The thirty years war resulted in huge waves of migration all throughout
Europe, which naturally effected Germany too, but especially Berlin, which had two
thirds of its "German" population annihilated. The edict of Potsdam from 1685
brought to the city many French Huguenots, Lutheran Austrians, and Russian Jews.
The Second Reich first imported seasonal guest-workers from Poland, Italy, and
Russia. Even the Third Reich, as mentioned in chapter 2 of this work, used foreign
labor from Italy, Poland, and Czechoslovakia to build up its military industry. This
!44
Tacitus (1999), 1.2 99
brief review of early times clearly indicates that the idea of German ethnic purity is
quite detached from historical empirical events . An account of more recent history 100
of Germany's demography reveals that through its first fifty years as a FRG, more
than16 million foreign seasonal or gap-filling workers, businessmen and illegal
workers, refugees, tourists with expired visas, and Aussiedlers, passed through and/or
settled in the country . Nevertheless, German politicians refuse to acknowledge or 101
"allow" turning it into an immigration state.
!The contemporary legal discourse explicitly rejects tying Germanness to the racial
idea of blood because of the use of such ties by the Nazi regime, namely in the 102
1935 Nuremberg laws. Nevertheless, the ideas of "German blood", the ethnic and
genealogical construction of contemporary German identity are still highly prevalent -
even in the mainstream political discourse . Recent statements by SPD and CDU/103
CSU local heads of state (Länder), ministers, and parliament members are strikingly
based on a blood-based definition of the state. For example, asylum seekers have been
defined as a "threatening counter race who… had become a question of survival for
Germany"; Germans were considered gradually "hybridized and racially infested" and
an integration policy was accused of a being a fig leaf for "the adulteration and filthy
mishmashing of blood" . This lies in the background of any citizenship, 104
naturalization and active integration policy that was (and may be) adopted by the
!45
Kurthen (1997) pg. 67100
Boehning (1991) pg. 445-8101
Prof. K. Hailbronner in an interview at the University of Konstanz, 10.12.2008102
Mandel (2008) pg. 209-210103
German elected politicians quoted in Linke (1999) pg. 217104
federal and local governments or parliaments in Germany. Germany's "most generous
asylum provisions in the world", social-democratic constitution, and its commitment
to international treaties on foreigners' rights , do not overturn its persistent ethno-105
focal identity.
Indeed these asylum provisions are mostly only underlying and implicit tendencies.
The overall impression is that there can be "no entity which can clearly and
unambiguously be described as the German nation" . Recalling the aforementioned 106
components of Germany's national identity, it appears that there are not many
institutions which one can readily and fully associate with the notion of it as an
ethnically organic nation. Although there is a stable party- and economic system, on
an ideological level the republic is characterized by a longing for Europeanization
parallel to attempts at rehabilitating the wounded particularistic national pride. The
fall of the Third Reich brought down a great deal of the national and cultural cohesion
that had evolved in the 19th century, and even the German language lost something of
its superiority and cohesive quality . German national identity seems to stand upon a 107
frail basis. Both throughout its history and in its modern republican form, the notion
of ethnicity and "German blood" has played the role of disguising prevalent
inconsistencies.
Ethnicity, in Germany's case, is thus more ideological than genealogical. If ideology is
effective, it is because it works on more than one level . Ideology works so well 108
!46
Kurthen (1997) pg. 80-81105
Dahrendorf (1987) pg. 138-9106
Ibid, pg. 140-144107
Hall (1996) pg. 7.108
because, just like a good advertising campaign, we do not really understand its
psychological mechanisms.
The fact that a more objective account of Germany's history lacks a continuum of
most of the components of a national identity did not interrupt the construction of
such a notion. The idea of continuity still plays a significant role in its identity, even if
to a much different (if not lesser) extent. In other words, the turn from an exclusive
nationalistic state to an inclusive republic was not a complete overturn of the
foundations of Germany's self-determination.
!In the aftermath of this examination of "German blood" naturally yields a more
complicated reality. At the time of the Weimar Republic there was a strong debate
about the ingredients of German identity. The right insisted it consists of non-imitable
ethnic elements, while the left revised it as culture- or ideology based. The right
concluded that identity is a substantial unity, a Volk speaking with one voice and one
will, and from that drew that the political activism and freedom of individuals is a
contradiction to democracy, equality and "the collective will" themselves . The left, 109
on the other hand, sought to tone down the strict boundaries of the national identity:
the moderate SPD promoted the Leitkultur approach and the radical but popular KPD
called for the collapse of all national boundaries and for a class-based consciousness.
In conclusion it should thus be emphasized that the discourse was not one-
dimensional, although ethnicity had always been essential to the discourse of national
!47
Schmidt (1928) pg. 51, 84, 223, 243-5109
identity: "ethnic solidarity and radical assimilation existed alongside one another as
competing models for the adjudication of citizenship claims" . 110
!3.4 Beyond the borders of blood are "the others"
Germany officially recognizes four ethnic minorities: the Danes, the Friesians, the
Sinti and Roma, and the Sorbs. The Danish minority, which numbers about 50,000,
lives primarily in the northern state of Schleswig–Holstein. The Friesians live along
the North Sea coast. The approximately 70,000 Sinti and Roma live throughout
Germany. Some 20,000 Lower Sorbs live in the state of Brandenburg, while some
40,000 Upper Sorbs live in the state of Saxony. The Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities has protected these four groups since Germany
ratified the Council of Europe convention in 1997 . These are, however, only the tip 111
of a much larger population considered to be of "no German blood".
Germany’s population includes 7.3 million immigrants, including many refugees from
the developing world. This large group, constituting almost 10 percent of Germany's
total population, is made up of non-integrated "others". They immortalize and
allegedly necessitate the preservation of the nation-state as a "non-immigration
country" and the protection of the "German blood".
Germany largest immigrant group consists of two million Turks. Approximately half
of them were invited as guest workers during the economic boom from the mid-1950s
to the end of 1973, while the rest immigrated utilizing their right to family reunion.
Since 1970 only about 3.2 million foreigners have naturalized, although they were
!48
Sammartino (2008) pg. 59110
111
contributing to the newly suggested national identity of a democratic, free and
capitalistic Germany. They have arrived as foreigners, and so they have remained, at
least until the introduction of the new citizenship law in 2000. Before the new law,
children of foreign parents who were born in Germany (both children and parents)
were still considered "foreigners".
Furthermore, between 1988 and 1993 more than 1.4 mi4llion refugees, many from the
former Soviet Union, sought asylum in Germany, but only 57,000 were granted their
wish, although Germany formally adopted very liberal policies towards refugees.
Although the right to asylum remains intact for legitimate victims of political
persecution, restrictions on the countries of origin and entry introduced in 1993 have
steadily reduced the number of those seeking asylum to a 20-year low of 50,500 in
2003.
The "otherness" became a trait even of those who were considered German by article
116 of the constitution , but hardly carrying any "real German blood" and surely no 112
such culture with them: "Despite the romantic assumption of having common
ancestors, the influx of Aussiedler seeking German citizenship demonstrated that
common ancestors were bound to appear even more foreign than 'real foreigners'.
Their lack of linguistic ability and ignorance of German culture and politics made
them appear more alien than long-term residents who were at least acculturated to
German customs. This realization added further stratification to the commonly
perceived insider-outsider conception. A new social category emerged and Germans
living on the actual territory of the nation-state distinguished themselves from
!49
See in www.constitution.org/cons/germany.txt112
Germans living outside the state, the first self-labeled as "Germans of
stock" (Einheimische or Bundesdeutsche) . 113
!Although a highly constructed concept, the "lack of German blood" attributed to the
immigrant community does not draw solely on the German political tradition, but on
some empirical data as well.
Firstly there is the role of the German language in creating and symbolizing the
national identity. It is the country's predominant language. In addition, four officially
recognized national minorities have their own languages: Danish, North and Sater
Friesian, Romany, and Lower and Upper Sorbian. The European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages promotes the languages of these four national minorities.
Turkish, the first language of millions of residents is hardly ever taught in schools,
while the struggle of Turkish immigrants and their children with the German language
goes almost unnoticed by the country, which offers them very few options to learn it.
Considering the major role of language, especially in print, to the formation of "the
embryo of the nationally-imagined community" , by distributing shared narratives 114
and stories to millions, the significance of this lack of language skills among the
Turkish population in Germany is clear: those who do not speak the language cannot
share the consciousness of the native speakers. The absence of a common language
thus serves to dichotomize society into a German community and a bundle of foreign
tongued "others".
!
!50
Deutsch R. (2008) pg. 99113
Anderson quoted in Tomlinson (1991) pg. 81114
Secondly, religion too has a role in creating and symbolizing the national identity.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Germany. Religious affiliation is as
follows: Roman Catholics: 34 percent; Protestants: 34 percent; Muslims: 3.7 percent;
and unaffiliated or other, 28.3. The German ‘Office Responsible for Defending the
Constitution’ estimates that out of more than three million Muslims in Germany,
about 30 percent are members of an association perceived as to be Islamic. The
Turkish community is highly divided amongst many associations: with only 26,000
members, the Islamic Community Milli Görüs is the association that has the most
registered members.
Being a clear minority, Islam is disadvantaged in Germany by definition. However,
the role of religion in keeping the Turkish immigrants as the "others" is particularly
strengthened by: (I) the Christian majority in Germany; (II) the linkage made between
Islam and terror; (III) recent historical conflicts with Muslim states; (IV) the German
party-politics; (V) and the waves of racism that occurred in the FRG:
I. The dominant conservative parties, the CDU and its Bavarian sister, the CSU, are
embodying Christian values and hold these values to be as relevant to the nature of
the republic as democratic values. As a frequently governing party, this surely affects
the ability of many Germans to perceive Muslims as part of the community.
II. The global trend of linking Islam to terror is a factor which lessens the chances of
Muslims everywhere in Europe to integrate into the community, and this naturally
influences Germany too. It should be noted that the assessment of the Milli Görüs as
an Islamic terrorist association is challenged by experts . 115
!51
Nobert (2005) pg. 41 and 52115
III. Historical conflicts between Christians and Muslims in the Mediterranean region
are also affecting the level of Islamophobia in Germany: the early 70's recession due
to the 'oil sheiks', the Islamic revolution in Iran, and the USA-Iraq war and Germany's
involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
IV. The issue of immigration and naturalization policies is also reinforced by the
political game of the German right and left parties. Conservatives usually adhere to
the inherent spirit of the nation which is claimed to be endangered by the influx of
immigrants. Leaders of the Left, on the other hand, call for dealing with the facts.
They point out the number of immigrants and their problematic inferior socio-
economic status, believing that the statistics are eventually stronger than any
homogenized vision of the state. When the role of the immigrants becomes so highly
politicized, it is doubtful whether they can simply integrate without becoming a
symbol of an external threat or of the inner identity conflict of Germany.
V. Racism also creates and symbolizes the national identity. Racism "helps to
consolidate the boundaries of democratic polities by defining who does not belong
and can therefore be excluded from universalistic principles" . Advertisements 116
specifying "no foreigners" are still common in the country . 117
The first wave of xenophobia was instigated in the overheating crisis of 1966, which
led to high unemployment, standing in sharp contrast to Germany's "economic
miracle" of one decade before. Chancellor Erhard encouraged the Germans to work
more so the immigrants could be rid of, a neo-fascist party got a seat in several
Länder parliaments and racist jokes appeared in the press.
!52
Castles (2000) pg. 14116
Ibid, pg. 36117
The second wave of racism in the late 70s was targeted mainly at the Turks. Since
explicit formal racist argumentation was tabooed in post Nazi Germany, they were
described instead as a threat to the state's language, religion and democracy . 118
A third wave of racism and even racial crimes followed the reunification with East
Germany. This violent wave was counteracted by hundreds of thousands protesting in
the "light chain" (Lichterkette) demonstrations, in the capital as well as in
conservative areas like Munich and Stuttgart.
This indicates how Germany may be sort of immune to high levels of racism,
recalling its dark past , but the immigrant population has nevertheless not recover 119
from the trauma of being hated and persecuted.
The violence towards the immigrant population since the fall of the Berlin wall,
resulted in more than 130 racism-motivated murders, and more than 17,000 attacks on
immigrants were recorded in 2007 alone . This naturally reinforces the immigrants' 120
"alienation from German society" and makes them increasingly fearful.
Racism cannot obviously be separated from the aforementioned aspects of religion
(enhanced by the parts of the Islamic world's threat to the north-western world),
Islamic terrorism, historical conflicts with Muslim states, and the political party game.
There are possibly more significant empirical factors which constitute the status of
"otherness" to the immigrant population in Germany, and probably more connections
between the four factors listed above: language, religion, party-politics, and racism.
One must also recall the perpetuated idea of "German blood" which remains at least in
!53
Thränhardt (1996) 210-11118
Ibid, pg. 217-20119
Neo-Nazi violence is not targeted at foreigners only: www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1047928.html120
the background of the entire nation's modern political history. This analysis of the
conceptualization of the immigrants as "others", serves to understand the framework
of citizenship laws and naturalization policies. Furthermore, it is an introduction to
the more detailed account of the Turkish-German community, which is the subject of
the fifth chapter.
!Chapter 2 has presented the framework and boundaries of citizenship. This chapter
has analyzed and deconstructed the content of the underlying terms of citizenship law
and naturalization policies, aiming at clarifying the murky ones, which nevertheless
have very tangible and practical consequences (at least for millions of people who are
not regarded "a part of the nation"). In these two chapters I have discussed the issues
generally, as well as relating them to the case of Germany.
The next chapter is devoted to the case of Germany in its entirety, and details the legal
and political background of the reform in the citizenship law of 2000.
!!!!
!54
4. Politics and Legislation
4.1 Concise History of immigration of the "others"
Immigration is hardly a new phenomenon in the world and specifically not in
Germany. All throughout its history, there were increasing waves of immigration of
laborers to Germany from other European countries . There were 800,000 foreign 121
workers in the German Reich in 1907 and "no less than 7.5 million deportees from
occupied countries were working in Germany by 1944" . The need for foreign labor 122
in the capitalist western nation is, thus, an old one.
Nevertheless, it was rather ignored for the larger part of history. This chapter focuses
on the history of the relationship between Germany and its immigrant population,
from the aspects of politics and legislation. Generally, contemporary Germany is
considered a "middle ground" between countries which have institutionalized their
support of religious pluralism and multiculturalism such as Britain, and countries that
are reluctant to allow state support of much religious and cultural diversity such as
France . Its history of ignoring the issue leads conservatives and skeptics to believe 123
that full liberalization is unlikely. On the other hand, when realizing the major
changes which occurred in the early 1990s since Germany faced up to its immigrant
population, left wing socialists and liberals believe that even greater reforms are not
only likely, but even inevitable.
!
!55
Münz (2002) pg. 21121
Castles (2000) pg. 30 122
Fetzer & Soper (2005) pg. 98123
To better understand specifically the "others", meaning those immigrants who are
hardly ever a part of the community (Gemeinschaft) because of language, religion,
politics and racism, this chapter begins with a concise history of immigration of the
"others".
Although very significant in numbers, immigration from EU countries is of less
political interest since they do not practically need a German citizenship to influence
politics, being entitled to vote and be elected to the European parliament and in local
elections. However, regarding non-Europeans, due officially to their "greater
difficulties in integrating", restrictions were made on their permanent settlement.
!The account given in this chapter focuses on the political game within the
parliamentary and government decisions. After an introduction, it accounts in detail
for the legislative measures and milestones in immigration policy adopted until 2000.
It concludes with an analysis of these measures through the German party system.
Muslims have immigrated to Germany from the Ottoman Empire since the eighteenth
century. The elites determined that the policy towards Muslims was respectful and
diplomatic. "If Turks come to Berlin, mosques must be built for them" said King
Friedrich II after formalizing ties with Sultan Mohammed II of Istanbul in 1740. The
first mosque in Berlin was built in 1925 and even during World War II imams were
trained with the aid of the Nazi regime . It seems that as long as immigration was in 124
small numbers, it did not threaten the cultural and ethnic homogeneity of the German
nation, and it treated immigrants with respect. An important exception was, of course,
!56
Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 99124
the Jews, who were consistently perceived as a threat by both the regime and the local
communities. The reasons for this exception cannot be examined within the scope of
this work.
Since 1945 there have been three strong waves of immigration into both countries.
The first was comprised of refugees and those expelled after World War II.
Following the Potsdam convention, German minorities were transferred from
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Rumania and Yugoslavia. These transfers of almost
ten million Germans, who had been living as ethnic minorities for some thousand
years, made the FRG a country of immigration from its very start. Germany was
committed to the absorption of its descendents, first under the ruling of its occupying
countries (USA, the United Kingdom, France and the USSR) and then by its 1949
constitution. The notion that these German diasporas had any collective rights as
minorities in their host-lands was dismissed by the Western powers and was only
promoted by the USSR in a minor niche of the UN activity . 125
The second wave came following the 1950s economic boom (Wirtschaftwunder). The
"miracle" of rising growth rates in the aftermath of the world war necessitated the
recruitment of a larger work force than was available in the country at the time. This
marked the start of the recruitment of so-called ‘guest-workers’ (Gastarbeiter ) as 126
temporary labor force. Apart from the economic needs of the German market,
account, diplomacy and foreign relations were factors that made Germany open its
gates to foreigners. Treatment of immigrants was influenced by foreign relations even
!57
Inis (1955) pg. 141, 164-7.125
Ausländer and Ausarbeite, were terms formerly used for all immigrants during the Third Reich. 126
They were changed to differentiate the later recruitment of labor, from the forced laboring by the Third Reich's in work camps during the war
in the 19th century, when Tsar Nicholas I asked the Prussian King to permit less
naturalization among exiled Polish revolutionaries, who were in conflict with Russia
in the early 1830's. The 1832 Foreign Office memorandum on the subject required
that newcomers "have fulfilled their obligations to their previous states" , an agenda 127
clearly within the mandate of the Interior Ministry that was shaped by considerations
of the Foreign Office. Similar considerations can be found also more than a century
later, this time promoting immigrants rights rather than restricting them. It is claimed
that "primarily external pressure", rather than a purely economic rationale and
domestic demands for workers, led to the signing of the first recruitment treaties . 128
The first agreement was signed with Italy in 1955. In 1961 Germany began to recruit
Turkish workers and agreements with Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, and Yugoslavia
soon followed . The initial intention of the government was to recruit workers in the 129
same way that was customary in the late 19th century. Workers were to come for a
season and for no longer than a year, serve the local needs of economic growth and
return to their homelands. This proved to be of little economic rationale, as the skills
of guest-workers were acquired only after several months, and as they gained more
experience their productivity only grew. Pressure from German employers in 1962
and 1963 forced the government to grant longer and longer stay permits . Between 130
1955 and 1973 an estimated number of fourteen million workers from countries of the
Mediterranean basin entered Germany on the basis of bilateral recruitment
agreements. This was done systematically by recruitment offices of the Federal
!58
Nathans (2004) pg. 58-59127
Ibid, pg. 242128
Münz (2002) pg. 23129
Nathans (2004) pg. 242130
Employment Office (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit), provided that the employee had
sufficient skills, good health status, no criminal record, and that the employer could
provide housing for the guest-worker . Most of these workers came, actually, after 131
the recession of 1966-68, and consisted mainly of unskilled women. On 1973 the
Recruitment Stop (Anwerbestopp or Ausländerstopp) was declared. In that year there
were about 2.7 million foreign workers in Germany. Many of them decided to stay.
The background to the recruitment stop were: The recession that followed the oil-
crisis in the early 70's; a decline in industrial employment due to the realization that it
is much "more rational to move the machines to the workers, rather than the workers
to the machines" and thus many factories moved outside Germany to become Multi-
National Corporations; and finally, the industrial production which did remain in
Germany became increasingly automated, culminating in the rapid introduction of
micro-processors in the late 70's. The technological progress coincided with the
virtual stop of contract worker migration to Western Europe in general after 1974. 132
The policy from 1973 was an administrative order banning all further immigration of
workers from non-EEC countries. As the order did not include the forced physical
deportation of any immigrant, its targeted population utilized the recent regulation
from 1965 allowing family reunion and dependants. It turns out that the
Ausländerstopp was actually encouraged Turks to remain in Germany, for they were
afraid they would not be able to go to Germany again . 133
!59
Castles (2000) pg. 70131
Castles (2000) pg. 75.132
Castles (2000) pg. 48.133
In the mid-1970s the Brandt- and Schmidt (SPD) governments offered various
incentives for foreigners to move back to their homelands, such as differentiating the
state support for natives and immigrants by restricting government pensions for
children who actually resided in Germany. In the early 1980s the Kohl government
(CDU/CSU) did the same by offering them housing solutions in Turkey such as
subsidized mortgages. These were the first reactions to the problems that arose after
Germany had recruited "workers", but instead got "human beings" with a whole
cluster of needs and wishes. This late reaction may be seen as a major failure of
strategic planning and policy making, since the possibility of these "foreigners"
settling down in Germany was not realized or prepared for . 134
Contrary to expectations, such policies yielded little success and the number of
foreigners only grew due to family reunions and natural growth. Especially the SPD's
policy of the 1970s had the unintended consequence of "encouraging a second wave
of immigration" and single migrants were transformed to families who "wanted
permanent residence" . 135
The third wave of immigration came after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, as
questions of asylum seekers, refugees, and temporary protection were pushed to the
forefront of the political discourse in Germany . Enhancing the effect were also the 136
succeeding war in Yugoslavia after 1989, and the persecutions of Kurds in Turkey and
northern Iraq resulting in many asylum seekers . 137
!
!60
Fetzer and Soper, 100-1134
Münz (2002) pg. 24, and Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 3 135
Münz (2002) pg. 17136
Anil (2005) pg. 457; Ludvig (2004) pg. 502; Münz (2002) pg. 24 137
4.2 Typology of Immigration Policies
Policies concerning immigration can be assessed by quantity and quality.
The first means the way in which the state controls its borders and regulates the
number of immigrants entering its territory. The second means the way it handles the
immigrants which enter its territory: what residence permits, social and political rights
and duties does it present to its immigrant population, and what naturalization process
is available. Both aspects are significant in understanding an immigration policy.
!The aspect of quantity is much simpler than quality. As mentioned earlier on in
chapter 2.2 of this work, a country may choose the way it regulates entrance of non-
citizens into its territory. Accordingly, the aspect of quantity mostly makes use of
border control regulations, which are "expected to satisfy social, economic and
security needs… without violating international treaties and convention… [and] the
public sense of fair treatment of human beings" . Thus the aforementioned 138
Anwerberstopp of 1973 was completely in line with international law, and met the
socio-economic needs of the time of recession and rising unemployment rates.
Policies for controlling immigration quantitatively use measures such as visa
restrictions at borders, and preventive measures as "information campaigns designed
in emigration regions", informing potential migrants of the minimal chances and high
risks involved in entering Germany illegally . 139
!
!61
Brochmann (1999) pg. 1138
Ibid, pg. 12139
The aspect of quality control of immigration regards the adopted policy for handling
non-citizens who have entered (legally or illegally) into the country's territory. It
should be remembered, that once immigrants have made it to the borders, "the
determination of the federal authorities to limit [their] number… is hampered by a
watchful public and a powerful court system" . 140
Once they have already entered the state, there are four ideal ways of handling those
who have migrated . Most western democracies phrase a policy which is somewhere 141
in between these.
1. Segregationism is a policy which excludes from the political community all
migrant newcomers "who do not share the ethno cultural background of the
majority society". At the same time, migrants are not forced to give up their
culture for an ideal of assimilation. This was the attitude towards immigrants
as "guest workers", roughly until the mid-70s, when Turkish immigrants
began settling down as families. When the state of Bavaria gave classes in 142
Turkish and Islamic studies to Turkish children born in Germany until the mid
1970s, it exercised such a segregationist policy.
2. Multiculturalism "gives up ethnicity as the formal basis of citizenship,
allows easier naturalization and advocates dual citizenship. This is the policy
promoted by academics such as Taylor, Kymlica and Shapiro. Although it is
practiced to a certain extent in Australia and Canada, as noted in chapter 2.2.2,
!62
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 43140
Koopmans & Statham (2000) pg. 1-15141
Since its reestablishment in 1949, the CSU were the sole governors of the biggest state in the 142
Federal Republic. Consequently this education policy should not be understood as a case of multiculturalism, where minorities are granted special autonomic rights. While multiculturalism celebrates cultural diversity as a political and even ethical right, segregationism promotes it in order to encourage repatriation of minorities back to their homeland
it has no relevance to Germany and is mainly advocated by scholars such as
Castles and Kaya.
3. Assimilationism maintains ethnicity and certain political-cultural attributes
as the criteria for acquiring a citizenship. Dual citizenship is regarded as a
violation of the assimilative nature of this policy. Furthermore, it is perceived
as a threat by its supporters, since it may lead to the creation "parallel
societies" in the one nation-state. This policy was widely promoted in
Germany since the late 19th century by the SPD in the notion that immigrants
need to accept the terms of Leitkultur in order to naturalize.
4. Universalism aims at transcending the complexity of immigration policies
altogether. This is to be done by phrasing policies that address the countries'
residents' socio-economic status, rather than their native-citizen or foreign-
immigrant status. This is reported to be recently practiced in the
Netherlands , but remains unclear how questions regarding matters which 143
are not socio-economic (such as political rights) are met by this type of
transcendent immigration policy.
In Germany's history, the decision to grant immigrants equal social rights to
those enjoyed by citizens may reflect such a universalistic approach.
These four types of immigration qualitative policies provide a richer overview of
Germany's policies, which are not as monolithic as some of its critics claim. The
claim that the policies are segregationist or exclusionary , like Japan, Switzerland 144
and Belgium, are ignoring its assimilative policies. Claims that it should become more
!63
Koopmans and Statham (2000) pg. 15143
Castles (2000) pg. 140144
multicultural (or at least pluralistic) like the USA and Australia, ignore the
aforementioned universalistic policy.
The need to navigate between these ideal-type policies forces decision makers to
choose between democracy and nationality. Allowing residents to influence their
political condition means that equal rights (including citizenship) are required for all
residents. This obviously contradicts the ethnic nature of the German nation-state.
!The limits of the debate on immigration are dictated by international and
constitutional law. The limits themselves are sometimes also changing, with the
formation of a new regime (the move from the Second Reich to the Weimar Republic,
the Third Reich and the current FRG) and constitutional changes (such as the 2000
reform of the citizenship law). This leads to an intricate history of citizenship and
immigration policies, which reflect considerations of national security, national
economy, demography (e.g.: the age pyramid and population density) and the national
identity (in this context: the social and cultural cohesion).
Summed up, the criteria for choosing a type, or cluster of policies, are:
• The economic aspect: The need for an "industrial reserve army within the
developed capitalist countries" and the strength of labor movement resulting in
a need to give the working class "the consciousness of a labor aristocracy" 145
have made immigrants from poorer countries the most natural members of
such an under-paid and industrial reserve army. The average of employment
growth was 1% per year during the economic boom of the 1950s, while the
growth in the means of production was 6%. Without foreign labor, the market
!64
Castles (2000) pg. 27-28 145
would have been forced into inflation – since competing companies would
have to consistently offer higher wages to recruit workers. This would also
create a "stop-go" economy, soon resulting in a recession . This was the 146
rationale in the development of "a new political economy of migrant and
ethnic minority labor" . Secondary economic effects of immigration include 147
permanent settlement of immigrants, taking away jobs of natives, being used
by employers to force down wages and break worker's strikes, a possible
cause for rising rent prices and overcrowding of the cities ; 148
• Efforts to reduce the demographic gap are an increasingly important aspect in
immigration policy, as Germany had the lowest birth rates in the EU with 8.5
births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2006. By allowing immigration this gap can be
bridged ; 149
• The philosophical notions of multiculturalism, principles of equality and non
discrimination. It isn't obvious, however, that this economic rationale should
lead to granting these foreigners access to political institutions and
naturalization paths . The latter is actually a relatively new phenomenon, 150
linked closely to the evolution of the human rights discourse following World
War II;
• The political, when better integration into Europe requires amending
immigration policies;
!65
Castles (2000) pg. 73-74146
Ibid, pg. 85147
Ibid, pg. 38 148
Harding (15.3.2006), The Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/mar/15/germany.lukeharding149
Soysal (1994) pg. 34150
• The social, as when established immigrant communities claim rights and unite
in organizations;
• The legal, when international treaties on immigration are being signed.
The typology of these immigration policies and the examples indicating Germany's
utilization of most of them, necessitate a thorough examination of its history of
legislation. Such an examination serves to understand the background to the 2000
reform in the German citizenship law.
!4.3 Milestones in the history of Germany's immigration policies
Some preliminary remarks are to be made before chronologically addressing the
milestones in the history of immigration policies, which are relevant to it as a whole:
I. The language that is used throughout the historical review refers to working
migrants are as strangers' work (Fremdarbeiter) or guests' work (Gastarbeiter), and
generally as foreigners (Ausländer) rather than simply as immigrants (Einwanderer).
This terminology is used in order to stress the temporary condition and fundamental
"otherness" of the immigrants , reflecting Germany's persistent refusal to officially 151
become a country of immigrants (Einwanderungsland) for the sake of its traditional
character as an ethnic nation-state.
II. "Migrant policy and its implementation differ considerably among the federal
states (Länder), as well as between the states and the federal government".
The tension between the different ways that naturalization and immigration policies
are interpreted by the various federal states, shape the intra-governmental debate
regarding these issues. The differentiation between federal and local governments
!66
Thrändhardt (1996) pg. 198-200151
becomes clear when the federal government calls for reductions of cultural gaps,
equal opportunities in education and on the labour market, and providing vocational
training, while within local governments "different cultural existences are
acknowledged, but are not given an institutional status through which foreigners are
expected to organize" . 152
Furthermore, it is claimed that there is hardly any coordination between the local
ministries of interior affairs and that only international organizations such as the
UNHCR are sometimes used "as an institution for this purpose" . This means that 153
details of both federal and local policies must be taken with a grain of salt, and only
as the components of a rich and not necessarily consistent legal status.
III. Any historical investigation begins with an event or period of particular
significance, which sets the framework for the research. This begins in the year 1842,
when Prussia, the biggest and most influential German kingdom out of the 26
constituent states of the time, formulated its citizenship law based on the principle of
jus sanguinis. With the complete removal of the Napoleonic occupation, the notion of
a German nation was born, as explained in chapter 3. Furthermore, the German
citizenship law was inspired from the French revolution's bureaucrats , and thus 154
earlier accounts of German legal history are insignificant for this research.
IV. The survey of legal development will be mainly through the milestones in German
law, while realizing that international organization like the United Nations, supra-
governmental organizations such as the EU, and even various non-governmental
!67
Soysal (1994) pg. 62152
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 45153
Gosewinkel (2002) pg. 71154
organizations such as the International Labor Organization and numerous Turkey- and
Germany based pressure groups have always been contributing to the shaping of
federal Länder legislation . 155
V. Much legislation and attention had been devoted to refugees, both in international
law and in Germany's constitution and law. Although refugees and working
immigrants are sometimes confused by the general public, the focus of this work - the
causes of Germany's citizenship law and its effects on the (Turkish) immigrant
population – do not concern refugees. Consequently, the following examination does
not address treaties, laws and important articles regarding the quantitative or
qualitative policy towards refugees.
VI. The legislation examined is only of the kind which directly concerns citizenship
and immigration. It should be noted that other laws could certainly also have played a
role in the immigrant's integration and will to naturalize (matters to be examined in
the survey presented in chapter six). The scope of research of this work does not allow
coverage of the secondary effects of allegedly irrelevant laws.
VII. Also deviating from the research's framework are the citizenship laws and related
policies adopted in the East German GDR, none of which were retained after the
reunification in October 1990. Probably future research which is focused on one of
the six Länder which were under Ulbricht's and Honecker's rule for about four
decades, should indeed also survey the GDR's law.
!4.3.1 The International Law
!68
Blanpain (2004) pg. 321155
International law is the result of agreements between two or more countries.
Covenants, treaties and agreements are signed, and of particular importance are those
under United Nations and the European Union. In both, Germany always took part at
the front of cooperation. A second source of international law, customary law, is of
less significance to the issue of immigration, as both the scale and attention this
phenomenon receives are relatively new.
The UN Charter was formulated without considering of the principle questions arising
from the existence of minorities within and between borders, in a world where the
nation-state serves as the smallest measurement unit. 156
The first significant document concerning immigrant's rights which Germany is
signatory to is the 1957 Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic
Community. It pledges to foster "free movement of persons within the EU area, but
excludes non-EU citizens" . In 1961, however, Turks were already "considered 157
Europeans", at least in the framework of association with the EEC" . This 158
association was tightened in 1963, when The Association Treaty and Council defined
the special privileges enjoyed by Turkish citizens living inside the EEC. The
association agreements between Turkey and the European Union (the 1963
Association Agreement between the European Community and Turkey and the 1970
additional protocol), resulted in a reduction of the waiting period from five to four
years for acquiring eligibility for an unlimited work permit for Turkish workers in
!69
Inis (1955) pg. 113156
Brochman (1999) pg. 18157
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 31158
Europe. The waiting period for family members of Turkish workers was reduced to
three years. This naturally strengthened Germany's former bilateral agreements . 159
These agreements granted Turks almost the same liberties granted by articles 48, 49,
and 50 of the EEC treaty . These articles assure the rights of workers, mainly that 160
the "freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the community". This
was in accordance with the preamble of the treaty "made clear that freedom of
movement for persons generally was the ultimate goal" . Germany was keen to 161
develop its relations with Turkey as a member of the Council of Europe, NATO's
south-eastern stronghold and an associate with the EEC, as well as because of its
economic growth at the time . 162
!The next milestone in the EU policy regarding immigrants is the1986 Single
European Act or revised Treaty of Rome. Article 8 states that: "the internal market
shall comprise an area without international frontiers in which the free movement of
goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of
this treaty". While several EU member states have interpreted this article as referring
to EU citizens only, the European commission had made it clear that it refers to all
nationals. The economic rationale is that Multi National Companies and Corporations
operating in several EU states should not have their competitiveness be threatened by
an unequal status given to their third-country labor. The opaque phrasing, which
persisted also in article 7a/2 of the 1992 Treaty of European Union, signifies the
!70
Norbert (2005) pg. 49159
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 52160
Nathans (2004) pg. 240161
Thränhardt (1996) pg. 204162
tension between the economic rationale of the supra-national entity and its nation-
states counterparts clinging to sovereignty over their frontiers . The supra-national 163
point of view was and is still mainly promoted by the European Commission. In 1991,
an organization of migrant groups was established, "as part of an initiative to generate
dialogue between migrant communities and Community institutions", and budgeted
by the Commission . 164
The Council of Europe is a body comprising of 47 countries (twenty more than that of
the European Union after its expansion). It promotes a pan-European identity,
democracy, human rights and solutions for the challenges that the continent faces.
Because of its pan-European identity, Germany is a member of the organization. In
1996 the Council adopted the revised European Social Charter . Article 19 reaffirms 165
many rights for immigrants that were by then already ensured by the German law for
more than thirty years.
Similarly, since 1951 Germany is a member of the International Organization for
Migration and since 1990 it is a signatory to the International Convention on the 166
Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers . Although not promoting any policy 167
that is not already existent in Germany, such globally accepted policies may actually
encourage even more permissive legislation in the various German Länder, stemming
from the aspiration to be at the front of Europeanization and international cooperation.
!71
The Single European Act & The Treaty on European Union: 163
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/index.htm
Soysal (1994) pg. 114164
The European Social Charter: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/163.htm165
IOM is an "inter-governmental organization in the field of migration that works with governmental, 166
intergovernmental and non-governmental partners": http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/about-iom/lang/en
The treaty is available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_mwctoc.htm/167
This may explain special legislation passed in Saarland allowing immigrants to vote
in local elections, and similar proposals which later came up in Berlin, North-Rhine
Westphalia and even in conservative Baden-Württemberg . 168
!With all of its support of Europeanization, Germany does not follow the principle
without reservations. Most prominently, it refuses to admit Turkey into the European
Union. This objection is partly explained by formal reasons, such as the criteria which
were set for Turkey and were not met. However, some of Germany's opposition to
Turkey's entering the Union stems naturally also from the possibility that its largest
immigrant group will be instantly endowed with many political rights.
In 1997 the Council of Europe decided to rescind its 1963 Convention which called
for restrictions on multiple-nationality . Germany refrains completely from the 169
suggested joint-EU naturalization policy. Mandel is just as skeptic about the
likelihood of such a policy, as is international law experct, Prof. Hailbronner : 170
"The idealism of post-national citizenship might appear somewhat illusory at
present… Citizenship is still inextricably tied to national and state identities, borders,
and powers. Through a suggestive notion, a post-national [imagined identity] may not
suffice for many Turkish German actors who have not yet found a credible hearing in
the halls of Brussels". Nevertheless, bearing in mind the rapid progress in European
and the general international law of the post-war era, it should be recalled that "the
!72
Kurthen (1997) pg. 79168
Castles (2000) pg. 12169
Prof. K. Hailbronner in an interview at the University of Konstanz, 10.12.2008170
future [could] open paths for local civil rights disputes to be resolved within the
bureaucracies of the EU or UN in the name of abstract universal rights" . 171
!International law can only be truly enforced by willing and cooperative states which
adhere to it. Therefore, compliance with the international and European norms
regarding immigration is often "merely supported by international opinion". In the
European context, however, several relevant judicial bodies operate, such as the
European Court for Human Rights . Among rulings of this court are the following, 172
which have led to precedential amendments in the German law:
- Turkish children may reunify with their families until the age of 21 (the German
legislator preferred this to be up to 16);
- Turkish students may stay in Germany to continue working there after they would
have finished their studies, provided they did so while studying there;
- Turkish sailors working on German ships for four years or more are permitted to
work also on land;
- Turkish contract workers may receive a permanent work permit after one year.
!Clearly interfering with its autonomy in legislation in one of the most sensitive issues
of its national identity, the German government does not embrace these rulings with
the same fervor with which it usually advocates international law. Instead it is trying
to prevent these rulings and implements them very slowly . 173
!73
Mandel (2008) pg. 229171
Brochmann (1999) pg. 4172
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 52173
!4.3.2 Legislation within Germany since 1949
Since the 1842 Prussian citizenship , foreigners were increasingly considered to 174
have a "different 'form of life' (Art von Leben)" that made them a threat to one's own
form of life . Protectionist local communities objected to opening their gates to 175
outsiders, who "endangered" its economy by introducing competition into these small
hitherto closed markets. This would have lowered prices for everyone (an effect
desired by the kingdom's bureaucrats), but also wages for the native local workers. In
distant villages the idea of a far-reaching German identity, based on common descent
of all the many principalities which comprised the intellectual product of 'the nation',
was at first not welcomed or even understood. Germans from outside the local
community were considered about as foreign as Poles or Russians were at the time.
The important 1913 law, which remained untouched for almost a century, draws
retrospective criticism that it was the basis of the racist laws of the Third Reich . 176
This interpretation may be supported by legislation of the same spirit in the German
colonies at that time, which forbade mixed-marriages (marriage between German men
and female colonial subjects) and reflected the rising power of the extreme right in
these marginal areas of the German Reich . The conservatives utilized a rhetoric that 177
accused foreigners of stealing jobs and housing from German citizens on their
electoral campaigns, but did not do much to stop that from happening when they came
into power during the 1920s. Actual government money given to foreigners in those
!74
The law based on the French Civil Code: Nathans (2004) pg. 7; Eley & Palmowski (2008) pg. 6174
Nathans (2004) pg. 203175
See in Brubaker (1992) pg. 1, 114, 122, 127-137176
Wildenthal (1997) pg. 263-6177
difficult years, such as the granting of unemployment fees to the newly naturalized,
was not even mentioned in the debate, which focused on identity, rather than real
interests. Xenophobic sentiments further increased when unemployment soared in
1929's Great Depression, and became formal in the notorious Nuremberg Laws.
Germany's constitution, the Basic Law (Grundgezetz), set out to restrict the previous
abuse of human rights by the state through its citizenship laws . 178
Examples of this effort are Articles 3, 16 and 116. The first guarantees that "all men
are equal before the law" and that "no one may be disadvantaged or privileged as a
result of his gender, origin, race, language, home or background, beliefs, or religious
or political views". This, along with Articles 16 and 116, ensures that "no one may be
deprived of his German citizenship. Loss of citizenship may arise only pursuant to a
law, and against the will of the person affected it may arise only if such person does
not thereby become stateless". Finally, it explicitly overturns the definitions of the
former regime: "a German within the meaning of this Basic Law is a person who
possesses German citizenship who has been admitted to the territory of the German
Reich, as it existed on December 31, 1937, as a refugee or expellee of German stock
or as the spouse or descendant of such person…". The constitution also tries to amend
past acts of expulsion: "Former German citizens, who… were deprived of their
citizenship for political, racial or religious reasons, and their descendants, shall be re-
granted German citizenship on application" . 179
!
!75
Nathans (2004) pg. 235178
The German Basic Law: www.constitution.org/cons/germany.txt179
Despite of its liberal provisions, the republic kept the 1913 law intact. In addition to
the persistent underlying notions of völkisch identity, Germany refrained from a new
citizenship law due to the following:
I. Germans were treated as ethnic Germans by the four occupying forces, and thus
adopted the identity suggested from outside;
II. As the governing party, the CDU/CSU, did not accept or even acknowledge the
division of Germany into two countries. The 1913 law served to provide a definition
of German citizenry which transcended the hard political reality. While nationalism
was "utterly discredited" at the post-war period, West Germany was fully and
"officially committed to the reunification of Germans" under Chancellor Adenauer . 180
Overturning Nazi policies, while retaining the 1913 legal definition of a common
descent, was the golden middle-way sought by the founding government.
III. Communist and soviet-led oppression in countries where Germans lived made the
1913 law's provision to grant these people citizenship more humanitarian than racist.
A law which was once ethnically justified at the height of German international power
was upheld based upon "liberal-democratic values" countering the dark regime 181
system of the communist east.
IV. The preserved citizenship policy kept the country's interests above those of the
individual. Naturalization was an "exceptional act which would solely be undertaken
in the interests of the FRG, and not of the applicant" , and thus contributed to the 182
!76
Fulbrook (1999) pg. 183-4.180
Ibid. 181
Green (2001) pg. 7182
sense of a "common good", appropriate for a republic – especially in its formative
years, replete with an extreme economic shortage.
1955-1968: West Germany concluded bilateral agreements for the temporary
employment of workers with Italy (1955), Greece, Spain, Turkey, Portugal and
Yugoslavia (1968). Naturalization was "a final barrier to… permanent settlement" 183
under the clauses of these agreements, and specifically those with Turkey, homeland
of the majority of immigrants.
This threshold was set in 1965. With the arrival and settlement of many immigrants,
the conservative government under Chancellor Erhard adopted the Alien Act
(Ausländergesetz). This act regulated the work and residence options of guest
workers. Formally, the law presented four categories of immigrants:
1) Aufenthaltslaubnis, residence permit; 2) Aufenthaltsberechtigung, extended
residence permit; 3) Aufenthaltsbewilligung, short term residence permit; 4)
Aufenthaltsbefungnis, residence permit for humanitarian/political reasons . This 184
legitimized the country's clear objection to naturalization. The act goes on as follows:
"The Federal Republic of Germany is not a country of immigration; it does not strive
to increase the number of German citizens by way of naturalization... The granting of
German citizenship can only be considered if a public interest in the naturalization
exists... the personal desires and economic interests of the applicant cannot be
decisive" . This act is criticized for being a control measure enabling deportation of 185
immigrants unnecessary by the labor market , cloaked in a liberal series of 186
!77
Nathans (2004) pg. 237183
Kissrow (1998) pg. 6184
Hailbronner and Renner, quoted in Koopmans (1999) pg. 630185
Kaya (2000) pg. 48, quoted in Karakus (2007) pg. 14; Castles (2000) pg. 37 186
individual rights which also restricted the immigrants' options for political
organization.
"Foreigners enjoy all basic rights, except the basic rights of freedom of assembly,
freedom of association, freedom of movement and free choice of occupation, place of
work and place of education, and protection from extradition abroad" . As 187
demonstrated in chapter 4, in light of the patterns and rates of Turkish immigrants in
both intra-communal and general organizations, such extreme criticism cannot be
justified. It may very well represent (or constitute), on the other hand, a state of mind
and attitude of immigrants being excluded, deprived and discriminated.
1973: The Ausländerstopp was an administrative order banning all further
immigration of workers from non-EEC countries in reaction to the recession of this
year. Other measures adopted were increasing the employer-paid recruitment fee from
DM 300 to DM 1000 and prohibiting immigrants from moving to cities where rates of
foreigners exceeded 12% of the population . As already explained, these policies 188
actually motivated immigrants to stay and unite with their families in Germany, an
effect which made the immigrant population double in a little more than a decade.
1975: the Stichtagsregelung (literally the "key date regulation") of Chancellor
Schmidt's center-left government, made child benefits available only to children in
Germany. It also denied a labor permit from second-generation foreigners . 189
This was meant to make immigrants' lives in Germany less worthwhile financially,
and thus encourage their voluntary repatriation. However, this policy too had the
!78
Soysal (1994) pg. 122187
Martin (2002) pg. 10188
Castles, 2000, 59189
opposite effect, as it turned out to encourage many parents to bring their children into
Germany, ensuring both family reunion and the government's financial support.
1976: A recommendation of the Standing Conference of Education Ministers (a
consultative body linking federal and Länder authorities) was accepted, so schools
were to give preparatory classes both in German and in the foreigner's mother tongue.
This was meant on the one hand to help integrate children into German society and on
the other hand to prepare children for their return home. After being tested it was
realized that "the transition from preparatory to normal classes" was rarely
successful, and the policy was abandoned. 190
1977: Germany’s most restrictive policy on naturalization was adopted in the form of
Guidelines on Naturalization (Einbürgerungsrichtlinien) . As the economic 191
difficulties of the last decade were explained in both media and parliaments by the
presence of (especially) Turkish immigrants, "the government sought - without great
success - to induce Turks to return to Turkey". At the same time, it also sought to
facilitate immigration of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe , based on Germany's 192
affiliation with the democratic west, as well as its persisting völkisch identity.
1983: Helmut Kohl's three-term chancellorship began with a campaign using anti-
immigration slogans. Its policy of giving foreigners access to low-interest loans to
build homes in their countries of origin (meant to encourage immigrants' voluntary
repatriation), did not differ really from the failing policies of former left-wing
governments.
!79
Castles (2000) pg. 53190
Green (2001) pg. 7191
Brubaker (1992) pg. 169192
1990-1: In the late 1980s, the Berlin, Hamburg, and Schleswig- Holstein state
governments adopted bills granting the right to vote in local elections to foreigners.
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled this initiative "unconstitutional" in 1990 on the
grounds that the principle of ‘‘popular sovereignty’’ was represented by the people of
the state (Staatvolk) and does not allow aliens to participate in elections . 193
Ironically, only one year later a new federal policy was indeed adopted.
With the recurring need of manual labor following the reunification, it became clear
that a re-evaluation of naturalization policy was necessary. The unclear status of
immigrants, who by then made up about ten percent of the country's population,
encouraged Interior Minister Schäuble to add naturalization provisions to the Alien
Act. Foreigners between 16 and 23 years of age with 8 or more years of residency and
foreigners above the age of 23 with a minimum of 15 years of residency became
eligible to naturalization . Simplified naturalizations were introduced with the 194
foreigners' law in 1991. Art. 85 reduced the required period of residence to apply for
naturalization from fifteen to eight years, and did not demand homogeneity of
citizenship within one family. Art. 86 provided the same for long-term residents after
fifteen years, along with their children and grandchildren" . Finally, the law 195
recognized the right of second-generation immigrants, born in Germany to foreigners,
to acquire German nationality. It also made it easier for the first generation , and 196
!80
Anil (2005) pg. 459193
Ibid, pg. 455194
Ludvig (2004) pg. 507195
Thränhardt (1996) pg. 220196
cancelled the waiting period previously demanded before an immigrant could apply
for a family reunion (restricted to spouse and children) . 197
According to the revision of the Alien Act, an applicant should be granted citizenship
provided that he/she: (1) has lived in Germany for eight years; (2) is between the ages
of 16 and 23; (3) has attended school in Germany for six years; (4) has no serious
criminal record; and (5) gives up his or her former citizenship. By specifying the
conditions for naturalization, the Länder's discretion to grant or deny citizenship
without accountability was reduced. Although the spirit of this legislation was of a
"significant liberalization" , its immediate impact was arguable at best. After the 198
revisions, naturalization increased (from approximately 20,000 naturalizations in
1990 to 83,000 in 1997), but so did the number of foreigners living in Germany (from
5.3 million to 7.3 million). However, later on in 1999, just before the reformed
citizenship law was adopted, the number of naturalizations peaked . 199
1993: Since the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union) was signed, the
German law became evermore closely linked to the EU policies.
For EU citizens, naturalization became dictated by Article 8. Non EU citizens of
German descent retained the right to naturalize (according to Art. 116.1 of the
German basic).
The Asylum Compromise of 1993 should be noted. Following the Maastricht Treaty,
the earlier Schengen agreements of 1985 and 1990, and the rise in asylum seekers, the
left and right parties agreed to change the constitution and restrict the terms of
!81
Soysal (1994) pg. 122197
Nathans (2004) pg. 248198
Ibid, pg. 250199
compliance with refugees' requests to enter Germany. This consisted of sending some
of them back immediately and without a court hearing . All those travelling from 200
other EU member states and other safe third states, were categorically classified as
"free of persecution".
The greater shifts in immigration and naturalization policies occurred two years
before, concerning the non-EU members who were not of German ethnicity, and who
had immigrated to Germany as guest-workers but had stayed. 31% of these immigrant
non-EU citizens were actually born in Germany. Since Germany's law was based
exclusively on the jus sanguinis principle, this population was still not entitled to an
automatic naturalization. This meant that "even if… immigration could be reduced
completely, the number of foreign residents would still increase due to the birth rates
amongst foreigners" . Unchanged, this situation would have led to a growing 201
anomaly. Once this was realized by the government, reforms followed. Due to some
cognitive dissonance, as Germany refused to reckon that the guest-workers and their
families are bound not to leave the country , these reforms were suggested only as 202
temporary measures for five years in the early nineties. A constitutional change was
only adopted later at the turn of the century.
!1998-9: These years mark the political battle over the extent of the reform in the 1913
citizenship law. The Red-Green coalition government of the Social Democrats and
environmentalist Grün Party, led by chancellor Schröder, initiated a new bill of
!82
Münz (2002) pg. 24. 200
Ludvig (2004) pg. 500201
Currently, although it holds the largest immigrant population in the EU, German officials refuse to 202
call Germany an immigration-country.
naturalization that would allow dual citizenship and the principle of jus soli. It was
meant to make citizenship consistent with Germany's democratic values, and to face
up to its new demography, with about ten percent of immigrants. Thereby it meant to
completely overturn the 1913 law.
Constitutional change, as was desired by the elected government, required consent
from both Bundestag (the Federal Parliament) and Budesrat (House of
Representatives of the sixteen Länder). The majority of the left parties in the latter
was lost when the conservative CDU won elections in Hesse. Their campaign was
based upon a petition against the suggested bill of liberalizing the citizenship law. It
gathered 5 million signatures against the acceptance of dual citizenship and the
principle of jus soli, and paved the way for the left wing parties' loss in the Länder
elections.
Having lost its majority, the government was forced to adopt a compromised version
of the bill. The key changes were the removal of general dual citizenship from the
bill, and the introduction - at the behest of the FDP - of simple jus soli, with dual
citizenship until the age of 23. The FDP assumed a pivotal position in the Bundesrat.
For the proposal to be signed into law, the SPD/Grün coalition needed the support of
the FDP. The capitalist and liberalist FDP consented to the reform of the citizenship
law as a way to improve Germany’s image in order to attract highly skilled workers.
When the German government initiated a pilot program in 2000 to ‘‘hire’’ 20,000
highly qualified workers from abroad, but received only about 8000 applicants, the
political elite began to argue that potential highly skilled immigrants were put off by
the country's insistence on preserving its pure ethnic national identity . 203
!83
Ibid, pg. 460203
The Greens fought a rearguard action by attempting to retain dual citizenship also for
the elderly, but when the FDP rejected this, the party was forced to content itself with
the reinstatement of a hardship clause for unemployed naturalization applicants . 204
2000: Since the adoption of the reform, German citizenship is granted to all children
born to foreign residents if one of the parents has had legal residence for at least eight
years, notwithstanding any other nationality they might inherit from their parents. By
the age of 23 such persons will have to opt for one nationality. The required period of
residence after which people are eligible for naturalization has been reduced from ten
to eight years for all applicants. Naturalization became, however, conditioned to the
Leitkultur - "both language skills and the commitment to the German liberal
democratic constitution have to be proven for naturalizations by law as well" . 205
The new law thus granted citizenship to those born to permanent residents. It adopted,
therefore, the principle of jus soli, and incorporated it into the existing jus sanguinis
(the latter is still intact). The compromise with the conservative party, however,
excluded from the citizenship law a real recognition of dual citizenship, as children
born in Germany to foreign parents are allowed to have dual citizenship only until the
age of 23. When they reach that age, however, they must choose which citizenship to
retain. This leads some to claim that in the new law "immigration is still
predominantly framed as detrimental for state and society". 206
!
!84
Greens (2001) pg. 31-2204
Ludvig (2004) pg. 507, 511; for the origins of Leitkultur: Sammartino (2008) pg. 59-61.205
Anil (2005) 454, 463206
With the laws adopted between 1990 and 2000, Germany "gave up one of the
instruments it and predecessor regimes had employed to mold society, an instrument
used for much of this century to promote the ethnic homogeneity of the nation . 207
On the one hand, it is true that with the reform of the citizenship law Germany
rejected "the idea of a nation [based] on ethnic homogeneity" de jura. On the other
hand the strong opposition to the definition of Germany as an immigration country
and to the provision of the law (dual citizenship and jus soli), makes clear that "the
representation of the nation defined by blood ties belongs to the tragic evils of [its]
past" was really only wishful thinking of the left. The parliamentary debate is not 208
settled, and the law reflects a compromise rather than an overall shift in definition of
citizenship.
!In conclusion, foreigners were traditionally excluded from politics in Germany, while
socially they were increasingly included since the formation of the FRG in 1949.
Germany insisted on not being an immigrant country, but surely could neither
practically nor ethically halt the natural growth of its immigrant population. The
option of physical expulsion was rarely used - and only against (former) refugees . 209
Germany is mostly perpetuating and carrying with it the idea of immigrants as a
problem, rather than "solving it" . The means that were available for Germany were 210
!85
Nathans (2004) pg. 269207
Foreign Ministry's statement in 2000, quoted in Mandel (2008) pg. 217208
Regarding the Bosnian refugees, Federal Interior Minister, Schoenbohm, said in 1996: "They 209should go home on a volunteer basis. But if no one is going home, then we have to use force to send them home", CNN (October 16, 1996): www.cnn.com/WORLD/9610/16/germany.bosnia.refugees/index.html?eref=sitesearch
Wein, M. J (2009), pg. 31. 210
limited to "nation-cleansing", meaning the removal of unwanted population groups
"politically or socially but not violently" . Such attempts at nation-cleansing were 211
prevalent at least until the early 1990s in Brandt's, Schmidt's and Kohl's governments.
The 2000 reform in the citizenship law does mark (at least) one clear shift in
immigration policy, by no longer categorically classifying immigrants as foreigners,
and allowing their children citizenship through the principle of jus soli and a limited
option of dual citizenship.
!The final part of this work will examine the perceptions and extent of integration of
Turkish people residing in Germany. This is to penetrate the "cultural contestations of
community on which legal definitions were based" from the broad viewpoint 212
necessary to assess the 2000 reform in the citizenship law.
!4.4 Overview of the Political System
Understanding the German decision making process on immigration requires an
understanding of its political system. Their system has four main characteristics:
aiming at a consensus, an impact of non-governmental actors, its political parties and
federalism. The first has always been central to German politics. Reaching a
consensus may also be read as aiming at cooperation . The second is derived from a 213
strong front of institutionalized labor and capital. Society is mostly organized in
strong workers' unions and founded on an equally strong independent banking system.
!86
Wein, M. J (2009), pg. 43. 211
Eley & Palmowski (2008) pg.14212
Greens (2001) pg. 3213
These are but two central non-governmental forces of many more which influence
decision making. The third is made up of a trio which gradually became a quartet, and
perhaps even a quintet. Until 1998, the FDP, standing for capitalism and liberalization
of the market, joined and shaped policies of all governments headed by either the
conservative CDU or by the SPD (apart from the 1966-9 Grand Coalition of CDU/
CSU-SPD). For three decades, the system has witnessed the rise of the Grün Party,
which formed the government with the SPD after the 1998 elections. Since the
Greens' rise, the FDP became more aligned with the conservative right wing Christian
parties. A fifth party which gains more and more seats in the federal and local
parliaments is the Linke (left), which was officially founded in 2007 and takes on the
role of a Marxist-oriented left, will not be addressed in this work. It has never
participated in federal government, and due to its recent founding it could not evem
have influenced the reform of 2000 from the opposition.
The fourth characteristic indicates the tight connection between federal and local
legislation. The Länder, unlike a mere municipally governing force, have a veto right
through their council (the Bundesrat) over most of the legislation of the German
parliament (the Bundestag). The exercise of that power is urged by the opposition
party and can bring about a standstill in legislation. This risk pushes the political
system into Grand Coalitions , such as the current SPD-CDU/CSU. Baden-214
Württemberg (where a survey of the Turkish immigrant community was conducted
and is included in chapter 6) has a much more conservative interior policy than
!87
Ibid214
Berlin. While the Baden-Württemberg advocates preaching in mosques in German,
Berlin actively recruited and encouraged immigrants to apply for citizenship . 215
!All of these characteristics are manifested in the process of adopting the citizenship
law of 2000: the foreigners' effect on legislation through membership in various non-
governmental organizations (including workers' unions), intra-party debates, the
crucial effects of the Bundesrat after the 1999 elections in Hesse, the compromise
which followed are all embedded in the intricate power-structure of the federal state.
!4.4.1 Overview of the Party System
Of the four characteristics of the German political system, aiming at a consensus,
influence of non-governmental organizations, and the relation between the federal and
the local level are quite self-explanatory. A brief overview on the system's parties and
their immigration policies is necessary, though, to complete the understanding of
citizenship law making in Germany.
The SPD was traditionally more open to immigration and naturalization, and allowed
membership in the party to foreigners since the 19th century. In the early 1930s its
policy remained that "long-term residents of Germany should be given the chance to
become citizens, if they could demonstrate cultural assimilation" and that "a foreigner
who wished to become a German citizen in spite of its military defeat 'has inwardly
become firmly attached to the German state" . With the establishment of the FRG, 216
the party took on immediately a continued role in politics (after its members were
!88
Mandel (2008) pg. 218, 222-3215
Nathans (2004) 205-6216
persecuted and its leaders forced into exile by the National Socialist Party). In
addition to its persisting notion of Leitkultur, its immigration policy was to plan
immigration in advance. This was in order "to balance the demographic gap
developed since the early 70s" . 217
The post-war SPD also established new and firmer borders of quantitative
immigration policy. Chairman Lafontaine stated in 1996 that "endangered asylum
seekers had a greater moral claim to immigrate than ethnic Germans who were no
longer in imminent danger" . Furthermore The Social Democrats proposed to reform 218
the citizenship law according to the jus soli principle in 1985, 1988, 1989, and 1993.
If the bill they drafted in 1993, ‘‘Children’s Citizenship’’ (Kinderstaatsangehörigkeit),
became a law, a child born in Germany would become a German national if one of its
parents was born in Germany and possessed an unlimited residence permit or
entitlement at birth . 219
Although the country's restrictive naturalization policy attracted much criticism from
the left, at times even compared to the National Socialist Ausländer policy, the SPD
seems to have been content to support that policy during all but its final period in
office, when reformation was virtually impossible. The party was even co-responsible
for the 1977 Guidelines on Naturalization . Only when in opposition did the SPD 220
develop "more radical proposals… By the late 1980s, these included dual citizenship
!89
Ibid, pg. 205-6217
Ibid, pg 36218
Anil (2005) pg. 461219
Greens (2001) pg. 8220
and so-called ‘double jus soli’ for immigrants, as well as a right to naturalization after
10 years’ residence" . 221
The FDP is yet another party which already existed prior to the war and returned to
the political game with the formation of the FRG.
The party had traditionally supported pro-immigration policies and even dual
citizenship, considering the macro-economic advantages inherent in a flexible
worker's-market . During the 1980s, the party advocated liberalization of the 222
German citizenship law itself. However, it did not advocate the jus soli principle . 223
For the FDP, exclusion of foreigners from citizenship on the basis of ethnicity and
common descent conflicted with its secular beliefs. The party played an important
role in the compromised version of the new 2000 law. Members supported the
proposed citizenship law in the Bundestag. However, the FDP's objection to dual
citizenship caused the proposal to be rewritten. The FDP’s liberal ideology explains
why it supported birthright citizenship, but not why it objected to the dual citizenship
clause . 224
Since The Grün Party was only once a member of the Federal Government, the
party is not deterred from tolerating even illegal residents and workers in Germany.
The debate around this issue is anyway mainly about its "burden sharing" of asylum
seekers in the EU, which is argued to be too high . 225
!90
Ibid221
Soysal (1994) pg. 206222
Anil (2005) pg. 462223
Ibid, pg. 465224
Ibid, pg. 44225
The Greens first entered federal politics in the 1983 Bundestag election. In 1984 they
proposed a ‘right to settle’ (Niederlassungsrecht), which "would grant immigrants
permanent residence and the right to vote after five years’ residence without the need
to formally naturalize" . In 1989 they drafted a bill introducing the jus soli principle, 226
recognition of dual citizenship, and granting the right to citizenship to every
individual who had resided in Germany for at least 5 years.
In the 1990s a highly publicized campaign was led by party member and elected to
the Berlin state council, Ismail Kosan, a naturalized German from Turkey: "the
campaign gathered one million signatures supporting legalization of dual
nationality… and called the German law anachronistic, a folk relic" . 227
!All the aforementioned parties, at least regarding the topic of citizenship, were
reflecting the ideal of an "ideal state [where] the national community will not be
‘split’ into cultural and political spheres". The Left-wing parties, that stand for anti-
nationalism, but nationalist nevertheless, argued that nationalist ideology should "also
[be] combined in a powerful but illogical way with purely democratic and political
values" . The net result was the compromise in 2000, reflecting the aforementioned 228
cooperative spirit, and due to the inter-party battle on both federal and local levels.
!The CDU/CSU have traditionally held a solid conservative stand, which by the
nineties had become less unified. Dating back to the late 19th century and revamped
!91
Greens (2001) pg. 8-9226
Mandel (2008) 220227
Breuilly, J. (1994), Pg. 109, 111–112228
during the post-First World War decade, Bavaria, Baden and generally the south, held
strict and conservative stands about naturalization. This was contrary to Prussia which
was ruled primarily by the SPD . The Bavarian CSU has traditionally opposed the 229
liberalization of citizenship and immigration policy, and also promoted more racially
oriented naturalization policies . Immigration and naturalization policy were indeed 230
prominent themes in the conservatives' election campaigns. Such was the case in the
federal elections of 1983, when they made the previous SPD led government's alleged
"permissiveness in dealing with foreigners a major issue" , and in the crucial 231
instance of the last Bundesrat elections for Ronald Koch in the state of Hesse.
While the general position of the Right is that of the conservative guardians of
citizenship, it is countered by those accusing it of presenting "major challenges to the
stability of political systems" . The Conservatives were against the introduction of 232
jus soli based citizenship in the 1980s and the party has not changed its official
position since then. Nevertheless, despite coalition discipline, "in a heated internal
debate during 1995/1996, three young CDU Members of Parliament, supported by
most of the party’s liberal wing, argued that simple jus soli should indeed be
introduced to aid the integration of immigrant children, who would otherwise remain
foreigners all their lives". Even at the time of the 1999 parliamentary debates, the
CDU presented a wide range of attitudes towards immigration and naturalization.
Such voices that even supported dual citizenship were heard already in 1992, by the
parliament's president, the mayor of Berlin, and both prominent conservative figures.
!92
Nathans (2004) pg. 201-2229
Gosewinkel, 2002, 72230
Nathans (2004) pg. 244231
Eley and Palmowski (2008) pg. 5232
Such views within the CDU are not adopted, in any case, due to "coalition discipline"
with the CDU's more conservative Bavarian sister, the CSU. For example, Bavarian
Minister-President Stoiber taunted the Greens by suggesting that dual citizenships
threatened the existence of the German state in the same way that the Red Army
Faction terrorists had done in the 1970s and 1980s . 233
The CSU maintains a strict anti-naturalization policy and demands a massive
reduction of foreigners in Germany . Another factor in the final objection of both 234
the conservative Christian and the liberalist FDP specifically to dual citizenship,
concerned that the new voters (created by allowing dual citizenship) would primarily
support the left parties.
The alternative immigration policy that conservatives presented, instead of the left's
dual citizenship and adoption of jus soli, was their own version of the Leitkultur. The
Leitkultur was originally an SPD policy from late 19th century, which was an
alternative to the radical nationalist and ethnic puritans who advocated citizenship –
especially from 1894 - only for those with "German blood". Since then, the entire
political map has become liberalized, and the current conservatives condition
naturalization no longer to have "German blood", but to an adherence to the existing
values of a Social Christian nation: foreigners must "embrace values rooted in
Christianity, the Enlightenment, and humanism" . 235
Regarding their attitude towards Islam and Christianity in Germany, one would be
inclined to agree that the Christian parties have more restrictive immigration policies
!93
Mandel (2008) pg. 220233
Thrändhardt (1999) pg. 34-5; Thrändhart (1996) pg. 212234
Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 104235
than the permissive left ones. The situation is more intricate, and actually greatly
varies from one Land to another: "in those Länder where the SPD is in opposition... it
advocates the teaching of Islam in the schools and fights for the rights of the Muslim
community. But where this same party is in power… it doesn't do so. And the
opposite is also true: where the CDU is in opposition… it supports Muslims' political
demands" . Smaller parties present indeed a more consistent attitude. Such is the 236
Green Party which recently elected Turkish Cem Özdemir as their leader , the 237
liberal capitalist-oriented position of the FDP, and the National Democrats who spread
xenophobia and probably even promote physical attacks against foreigners . 238
Carrying with them a more substantial history of political power, the same
consistency cannot be attributed to the big parties, which frequently formulate
immigration and citizenship policies in a rather opportunistic manner.
!This chapter focused on the legal and political background to the case of the
immigrants in Germany, and particularly those marked by "otherness". The
motivation of decision makers in permitting or restricting immigration (and even
more so naturalization) stems from a cluster of reasons, from the economic, through
party politics, to the religious and socio-cultural.
Chapters 2 and 3 provided an analysis of the concept of citizenship and national
identity, and surveyed the elements underlying and implicit in citizenship law and
immigration policy in Germany. This chapter provided the same for the explicit
!94
Ibid, pg. 121 236
See "German Leader, not German Obama": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7732976.stm237
See: "German Parliament votes for Nazi Ban": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1061138.stm238
elements of legislation and politics, thus enabling a comprehensive understanding of
the background of the citizenship law reform in 2000 and especially its causes,
particularly with regard to immigrants from non-European countries.
Chapter 5 aims at understanding the effects of the German immigration policies on its
Turkish residents (and naturalized), as well as their role in influencing and shaping it.
To do so it returns to the more implicit level of investigation, as the Turkish
population in Germany is not officially represented by parties or other elected bodies
from which one may deduce their positions.
!!
!95
5. The Story of Others
5.1 From immigrants to hyphenated Germans
It is interesting to note that "A considerable part of the German public still perceives
immigration more as a burden than as an enrichment for the country and is afraid of a
lack of control over immigration", although there is a "shrinking of Germany's
population", a sustainable pension system and a "shortage of highly skilled labor" . 239
Without the 31.3 million immigrants that entered Germany since 1954, its population
would be in decline since the mid-1970s, and it is expected that Germany would
"need a net immigration of 23 million people in the first half of the twenty-first
century in order to stabilize its population size" . Nevertheless, the opposition to 240
turning Germany into an immigration country prevails.
The story of the others, the Turkish immigrants, can therefore not be entailed solely
by macro-economic considerations, but encompasses a recent history and relationship
of (at least) two peoples and the FRG.
!As detailed in chapter 4, the rapid economic growth in 1950's Germany led to a labour
shortage in the workforce. Parallel to that Turkey faced a shortage of foreign currency
which made an emigration agreement with Germany an ideal strategy . The bilateral 241
agreement between the two countries was supposed to redeploy the 19th century
principle of rotating guest or seasonal workers, thereby limiting their interests and
possibilities of becoming permanent residents or citizens. Their principle soon proved
!96
Münz (2002) pg. 16.239
Münz (2002) pg. 30-31.240
Kadioglu (1993) 241
to be undesired, both by the foreign employees and local employers. The first wished
to stay and save money for longer durations than the initially granted one-year work
permit, while the latter resented the need to train new workers on an annual basis. As
these wishes were met in later agreements between the two countries, the stay of
Turks in Germany began gathering an increasing sociological meaning.
The housing-, educational-, social welfare- and religious needs of the immigrant
community became clearer when families were settling down permanently with the
policy of Anwerberstopp . The living conditions of the Turkish communities were 242
steadily poor, as if their stay in Germany after uniting with their families was just as
temporary as before. Their housing, under the responsibility, and frequently also in
the ownership of their employers, led to the workers being a controlled work force, in
poverty and seclusion. Housing was usually in "wooden huts belonging to the
employers and attics in the cities". Furthermore, employers often use their control
over the Turks' accommodation to "force them to act as strike-breakers" . 243
!Regarding education, the general duty for children with foreign citizenship to visit a
school was introduced in 1964 , but the system was hardly prepared to 244
accommodate these children's needs. The children, lacking basic language skills and
coming from poor residential areas, were most usually placed in the 'basic
schools' (Hauptschule). These schools train young students for simple jobs and focus
on practical matters, in contrast to the academically oriented and university targeted
!97
Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 102242
Castles (2000) pg. 34-5243
Norbert (2005) pg. 43244
Gymnasium. The fact that these schools became almost the default for the immigrant
children created schooling characterized as "education for bilingual illiteracy" , due 245
to minimal rates of graduation even from this basic school system.
Such inferior services to the foreign population in Germany both in residence and
schooling, drew on the expectation they would all emigrate eventually. This
expectation shaped also the way Germany accommodated Muslim religious needs . 246
Islam is represented by thousands of organizations in Germany, but none of them is
formally recognized by the federal state. Such recognition of a religion (currently
granted to Catholic, Protestant and Jewish organizations) gives it a public corporation
status. Without it, Islam is prevented from becoming "a part of the country's religious
landscape" and makes it harder for Muslims to receive social welfare from their
religious community . The general policy from the 1990's is that special welfare 247
services should be abolished, and that the staff working in public authorities should be
inter-culturally trained instead and that the share of employees with immigrant
background should be increased . 248
!With their settlement and family reunions in Germany, xenophobia began being
targeted at the new Turkish communities. This was particularly strong during the
economic recessions of the mid 1960's and early 70's. Instead of supporters of the
economic miracle, the Turks were increasingly classified as "Muslim intruders" . 249
!98
Ibid, pg. 59245
Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 126 246
Ibid, pg. pg. 3247
Norbert (2005) pg. 34248
Kadioglu (1997) pg. 84249
With the SPD led government at the time, the borders for Turkish working
immigration were closed. This led to the rising appeals of the Turkish communities in
Germany (although as individuals and not commonly organized) for family reunions,
and of Turks in Turkey to plead for refuge in Germany . Both of these were 250
possible due to provisions of the German constitution concerning refugee rights, the
1965 law and general European treaties concerning workers' rights.
Until the early 1980s immigrant participation was no issue in Germany. But with the
realization that the recruited workers would not return to their countries of origin, the
issue of integration and participation of the immigrant population entered the public,
political and academic agenda . Until the 1990s, there was no significant decline in 251
the return of immigrants to their homeland. In 1990-1, the introduction of the Mark to
East Germany brought in new purchase power that resulted in a short economic
boom, calling for more immigration (although formally under "family unification")
from Turkey . Between 1998 and 2002 Turkish immigration to Germany and 252
emigration back to Turkey was balanced. Among the existing Turkish migrant
population, more than 90 % possessed a secure residence permit and enjoy a denizen
status . 253
The current situation is characterized by the political target of zero-immigration.
!
!99
Abadan-Unat (2002) pg. 55-56, quoted in Karakus (2007) pg. 10 250
Norbert (2005) pg. 20251
Thränhradt (1996) pg. 214252
Castles (2000) pg. 12-13 253
The life environment of the Turkish immigrants in Germany is usually poor, including
housing conditions and education level. Furthermore, they present a paradoxical
profile in the economy and specifically in the job market.
!5.2 The paradoxical profile of the Turkish immigrant
Employers prefer that immigrants remain at the bottom of the employment scale,
offered the more unstable, low paying and less promising jobs . 254
This results in the Turkish people staying in closed communities of a low socio-
economic rating. The first generation of immigrants was of this kind. As they had a
clear consciousness of immigrants and was not concerned for its social status in
relation to native Germans , it settled in densely populated areas in the peripheries 255
of cities, and usually worked in heavy industries, mines, or construction sites. This
ghetto lifestyle triggered suspicion and stereotypes on a communal level from the
native Germans (accusing the Turks of being the source of high crime rates, for
example), as well as on the national level (reinforcing conservative claims that the
immigrants are foreigners and a threat to the national culture). On the other hand,
there is of course a possible breakthrough for the immigrants. The more language
skills, education and experience that they gather, the more likely they are to integrate
into society and get more jobs from the primary market that is traditionally reserved
for native Germans. Perhaps they even open up their own successful businesses. This
!100
Massey (June 1999) 254
It is estimated that of the first generation of immigrant Turks, about 42% were actually skilled 255
workers, 14% were civil servants or officers, and 15% were merchants, although its majority was occupied in manual labor jobs; cited in Karakus M. (2007) pg. 11. Brochman (1999), pg. 2: "Since the door was closed for labor immigrants in the beginning of the 1970s, the main legal forms of entry have been through the asylum 'door', the humanitarian 'door', or through family reunification
triggers a different type of accusation from the natives, namely that the Turkish
immigrants are robbing real Germans of their jobs.
As far as xenophobia goes, once it is raised, it quickly becomes a general and
categorical hostility towards foreigners. The Turkish communities, treated from the
ethnic point of reference, both on the legal and political level and on the street-level
racism, soon adopted an ethnicity-based self-definition.
!5.3 Patterns of Organization and Roadblocks on way to integration
Life in Germany seems to be a wonderful bargain for an emigrant. The federal and
local government services are making sure that the standard of living of the migrant
population is adequate and assures its social rights. Relatively high wages in the
secondary market of unstable and unskilled manual-labor or heavy industry also make
the country attractive for immigrants. Thirdly, chain migration keeps immigration
levels high. Finally, the courts' decisions have usually been in favor of refugees.
This brings us to the research question: however kind Germany is to them,
immigrants do not very often apply for German citizenship. The low rate of
applications to become a German citizen is not a new phenomenon. As of the early
1990s, about 90% of the immigrants in Germany stated that they do not want to
naturalize . 256
!
!101
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 49)
Hoskins (1991) pg. 37256
Parallel to Shain and Sherman's earlier distinction of two kinds of immigrants'
political activity targeted at a change in their homeland or in their host land , is 257
Ostergaard-Nielsen's distinction of two kinds of immigrant policies . The first kind 258
according to Ostergaard-Nielsen refers to "immigrant politics", which is political
behavior aimed at improving the political, social and economic status of the Turkish
immigrants in the host land. The second kind, "Diaspora politics", is meant to
influence their political status in their homeland. The first kind is particularly
characteristic of the Turkish immigrants' political behavior in 1970's and early 1980's.
The prospect of return to Turkey became temporarily greater once their families got to
Germany, since the cost of living became higher for these immigrants. However, once
children began attending schools, the wish of returning to Turkey diminished . With 259
the settlement of many Turks becoming permanent, their awareness of inner politics
grew accordingly.
The concern for their ability to inherit property in Turkey is considered a major factor
for their unwillingness to give up their original passports , and partly explains their 260
consistent ties with the homeland politics. Although unknown to some Turks, the
possibility to give up the Turkish passport in order to receive a German one and to
receive a "Pink Card" instead, presents an option for those who give up their Turkish
citizenship in order to become naturalized Germans. This card entitles them to inherit
property in Turkey even without being Turkish citizens , and is a part of the Turkish 261
!102
Shain & Sherman (1998) Figure 1 in pg. 336257
Ostergaard-Nielsen (2003) pg. 21258
Castles (2000), pg. 72259
Fetzer and Soper (2008) pg. 101260
Mandel (2008) pg. 226261
government's policy to keep Turkish emigrants connected to their homeland –
sustaining the "Diaspora politics". Turkey "is trying to establish an 'ethnic lobby' and
supports the idea of giving dual nationality to Turkish immigrants in Germany",
hoping to "facilitate chain migration" . 262
!Other than that, there is naturally some correlation between the two kinds, since
strong activism in the host land signals those in power in the homeland, and vice
versa. There is also an evident combination of the host and homeland politics in the
agenda of Turkish organizations in Germany . An example is the battle of Sunni 263
organizations in Germany against the head-scarf ban in Turkey, which is associated
with the battle to bring Germany to acknowledge Islam as official religion. Another
example is the battle of Kurdish refugees and immigrants in Germany to be
recognized as a separate group from the Turkish community can be linked to their
lobbying for the right of that minority to self-determination in Turkey.
The strategies of politically-oriented Turkish organizations in Germany were shaped,
amongst other factors, due to the way the Turkish community was explicitly defined
in German politics. The community was not one of a mere immigrant minority, but,
particularly since the immigrants-focused election campaign of CDU/CSU in 1982,
the community was one of a clearly excluded ethnicity. The ethno-focal basis of
political action by Turkish organizations in Germany is influenced by the ethno-focal
politics of inclusion and exclusion of Germany. The blood principle of German
politics had marginalized and contributed to the ethnicized approach of Turkish
!103
Thränhardt (1999) pg. 54262
Ibid, 22 and 57-60263
immigrants. This leads in turn to the formation of inseparable strategies of
"Immigrant" and "Diaspora" politics.
This mishmash of "Immigrant" and "Diaspora" politics correlates also with the
hyphenated identity of Turkish youth of a second and third generation living and/or
born in Germany. This youth adopted a German and Turkish identity that is hardly
separable. These hyphenated Germans may be culturally and socially well integrated
to the society and partially opposed to their traditional parents . This is in contrast to 264
the way Turkish immigrants were hitherto perceived by both German and Turkish
governments, as workers who primarily identify with Turkey as a homeland and a
permanent and final place of residence. This new hyphenated identity is perpetuated
by and perpetuating a growing rejection by those governments, who gradually began
seeing them as foreigners in both lands. This identity can finally be explained as a
contrast between holistic and syncretic identities. The first implies a need to make a
binary choice of either a German or Turkish national identity, while the second
implies a possible third space between these two identities . The writings of Turkish 265
writers in Germany clearly express the complexities of this hyphenated Germans: "do
they have a true zu Hause, or home? Can one really speak of the Fremde, the strange
or foreign land and the state one is in as a stranger or foreigner? How [to] differentiate
between their Turkish selves and their German selves?" . 266
Currently, Turkey is still making it easy for emigrants to keep their nationality "in
order to foster stronger ethnic lobbies working in their homeland national interests as
!104
Kaya (2005) pg. 220-241264
Ibid, pg. 229265
Veteto-Conrad (1996) pg. 2266
well as to bolster remittances" . This generation of hyphenated Turkish-Germans is 267
characterized by a shift in interest from Turkish to German politics while seeking for
a special recognition in Turkey . 268
In conclusion, Turkish immigrants in Germany have undergone a process from
passive and disinterested guest-workers in the 1950s, to active lobbyists whose
interests were promoted in both the host- and the homeland with an ethnicity based
self-reference (echoing the prevalent identity discourse in Germany), until the present
point, described as a hyphenated generation.
Their active engagement is not predominantly oriented towards neither the country
nor origin or the host land . Another interesting and important point, common to the 269
entire aforementioned process, is that the Turkish immigrants in Germany hardly
organize in the formal federal and/or Länder party system.
!According to a survey conducted in Manheim, the majority of immigrants are not
organized. Rates of membership in organizations among Turkish women are very low.
Only a small potion of immigrants is member in both German and Turkish
associations. This survey as well as a similar one conducted in Berlin, indicate that
the older the immigrants are, the less they participate in associations in general, and in
German ones specifically. Both indicate the same conclusion: the older the
respondents, the lower the participation . 270
!105
Vertovec (2001) pg. 17 267
Karakus (2007) pg. 61268
Norbert (2005) pg. 45. 269
Norbert (2005) pg. 30270
Patterns of organization vary therefore according to gender, types of organizations
according to "Immigrant" and "Diaspora" politics, and age.
!The most important participation area of persons of Turkish origin is religion (29 %).
The following most important areas have to do with the organization of leisure time
(sports 28 %; social gathering 20 %; cultural activities 17 %) or with the immediate
social world (school and kindergarten 14 %; representation of professional interests
11 %). The areas referring to more civic concerns (social concerns, education or youth
groups) make up between 6 and 11 percent of social involvement. Only few
immigrants participate in the areas of health, accident and rescue service or communal
pressure groups, environment or animal protection, economic self-help or justice. This
order of preference corresponds with the order of preference of German citizens –
with the notable exception of the area of religion. While religion takes the first place
among respondents of Turkish immigrants with 29 percent, among German citizens it
takes only the sixth place with 10 % . A third of Turkish immigrants participate (as 271
formal members or informally) in one ore more associations. But only ten percent of
the respondents declared to be actively engaged. The according projection of this
figure indicates that "probably 200,000 Turkish immigrants are actively engaged".
This is less then the average 50% membership rate of German citizens in associations.
Patterns of associating in German civil society circle around sports and trade unions,
while in Turkish foreign working society it circles around religion and culture . 272
!
!106
Ibid271
Norbet (2005) pg. 22-3, 26272
Considering its significance for the Turkish immigrant population, the patterns of
Muslim organization in Germany will be more extensively detailed. Free-exercise of
religion is guaranteed in Article 4 of the Basic Law for freedom of faith, of
conscience and of creed . This is often insufficient to settle the conflicts arising 273
between the local states' law with the demands made by Muslims. The latter concern
issues from "family law, burial regulations, the slaughter of animals, and public
recognition of religious holidays" . This is definitely made worse by a process of 274
secularization in German Christian society that is not paralleled in the Muslim society,
in which two-thirds report worshipping regularly in a mosque and state that "their
religious beliefs are an important part of their identity". The contrast between
constitutional and local law continues as Article 140 of the Basic Law states that:
"The provisions of Articles 136, 137, 138, 139 and 141 of the German Constitution of
August 11, 1919, are an integral part of this Basic Law". The aforementioned articles
rule that while Germany has no state church, the public stature of religious
communities should be recognized. As of 2005, no Muslim group has yet to receive
such recognition in any one of the Länder. This was formally explained by one of the
requirements of Article 140 that was not met by these groups: having insufficient
members, not having existed at least thirty years, not being representative or
democratic… practically, this prevents those Muslim groups from receiving state
support and public money for their respective communities, hospitals and schools . 275
!107
The Basic Law can be found on: http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/docs/german.htm273
Fetzer and Soper (2008) pg. 108-110274
Ibid275
The responsibility over the Turkish guest-working community's religious needs was
left for Turkey to officially take care of, since Germany is "no immigration country".
Attempts were made since 1972 to meet these needs with a separate division of the
official religious affairs office to handle the religious needs of Turks abroad. It was
not sufficiently organized from the start, and the effort of the Turkish government to
"dominate Muslim religious life in Germany ultimately failed", leading to the creation
of "more than two thousand Turkish-Islamic organizations with a membership of half
a million" . 276
Three associations control the majority of mosque organizations: "The National
Vision Organization, the Islamic Cultural Centers, and the Directorate of Religious
Affairs' Turkish Islamic Associations". They are umbrella organizations for most
religious associations, which were founded in the 1970s and 1980s by first generation
immigrants . The immigrants initially gathered informally, but later established 277
formal associations and began to rent rooms for the Mosque services. Today, a vast
number of Mosque associations exists that is partly organized in confederations on
state, federal or even European level. Gradually, the political identity became mixed
with the traditional one. These organizations, moderate as radical, demand "not only
the right to religious life, but also for the political, social, and economic rights of their
members" . 278
Regarding religious education, Article 7 of the Basic Law states that: "Religious
instruction forms part of the ordinary curriculum in state and municipal schools,
!108
Ibid, pg. 103, 120276
Soysal (1994) 109-110277
Ibid, pg. 115278
excepting secular schools. Without prejudice to the state's right of supervision,
religious instruction is given in accordance with the tenets of the religious
communities". However, since no Muslim has yet achieved public corporation status,
"Land school officials do not feel obligated to provide Islamic instruction or to
consult formally with Muslim leaders on the content of any such classes" . The local 279
authorities actually aim most usually at exposing Muslim students to a "version of
Islam that is compatible with liberal democracy". The issue of publicly wearing the
hijab (the Muslim head scarf for women) which was forbidden in France and received
much media coverage , serves as a good example of the different interpretation of 280
the Article 7 of the constitution in various Länder. While the right to wear the hijab is
derived from the right to practice religion, and is respected in Hamburg and
Brandenburg, other states like Baden-Württemberg forbid it as "a violation of the
state's duty to be neutral toward all religions". Courts finally ruled in favor of appeals
to allow wearing the hijab because the principle of "neutrality in of the teacher" was
used as double standard when "for Christians it's okay, but for everyone else it's
not…" . 281
Regarding the right to build appropriate places of worship and mosques for the
Turkish community, there has been a sharp growth from around 700 in 1981, to about
2,400 in 2002. However, just as in the case of education, the ease of establishing a
new mosque depends on the Land. Another example from Stuttgart, Baden-
Württemberg's capital, shows how conservative Länder are likely to mount difficulties
!109
Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 112279
Windle (2004) pg. 2, 15280
Fetzer and Soper (2005) pg. 114-116281
on those wishing to publicly practice their Islamic faith. In that and other conservative
Länder, it is also likely to encounter arguments against the Muslim call to prayer
broadcasted by loudspeakers, being a disturbance to public order (while the church
bells are accepted without any public dispute) . 282
Finally and notwithstanding all its exceptions, the rule of Germany's attitude to the
Muslim population is that its "inherited church-state institutions and practices have
structured the political agenda". The most significant obstacle to equality, at least in
that respect, is probably the lack of any state recognized Turkish-German religious
organizations, entailing both a financial and symbolic significance . 283
!Among organizations Turks are associated with, the members of religious associations
have the lowest number of contacts with Germans. Furthermore, particular
engagement in immigrant's religious or ethnic associations is met with great
suspicion . 284
Most notable was the formation of the fundamentalist mosque association founded by
the charismatic leader Kaplan, known as the Caliphate State. In 2004, the Islamic
association “Milli Görüs”, perceived by German authorities to be fundamentalist,
began being observed by the ‘Office responsible for the defending of the
constitution’ (internal intelligence service) . It should be noted, though, that 285
!110
Ibid, pg. 117, 119282
Ibid, pg. 127, 129283
Ibid, pg. 6284
Nobert (2005) pg. 24285
compared to non-members, those who are part of religious associations speak better
German and feel more like Germans . 286
Regarding membership in German native organizations and institutions, "immigrants
are absent or sharply underrepresented in leading positions " 287
!The community's involvement in "Diaspora" and "Immigrant" politics is both indirect
and direct. Indirect involvement includes the transference of money to Turkey.
Transferring money to the families remaining in Turkey was a reason of the
emigration of the first generation of immigrants. Donations to the homeland's
government and non-governmental organizations have increased since the 1980s, both
continuous and specific (for example, following the deadly 1999 earthquake) . The 288
transference of money to Turkey makes the Turks in Germany not only consistently
involved but also a potential pressure group in the homeland.
!Turks' membership in political associations began mainly in the early seventies in
response to the political situation in Turkey and focused on the homeland . In the 289
1970s there were four major organizations in Germany, "replicating the political
grouping in Turkey, itself" . In the 1980's, there was a decline in "Diaspora politics" 290
in favor of "Immigrant politics". Since 1983 there have been attempts at aggregating
the interests of the Turkish community in Germany itself by "umbrella organizations".
!111
Ibid, pg. 49286
Norbert (2005) pg. 49287
Ibid, pg. 39288
Ibid, pg. 41289
Soysal (1994) pg. 202290
These aim at representing smaller professionals, academics, trade-unionists, social
workers, and intellectuals . Some of them are invited to hearings and meetings in the 291
Länder's parliaments, and some are established as pressure groups calling for
recognition of minority rights and legislation that would allow dual-citizenship.
Umbrella organizations with an orientation to German national politics where founded
in the 90's. An example of this development is the foundation of the "Turkish
Community in Germany" in 1995 . 292
!As the political competition becomes tighter in the five-party system that make up the
Bundestag, the 1998 election was decided with a difference of 0.3%, all parties (apart
from extreme right-wing Bavarian CSU, and racist NDP and its partners) allow and
encourage membership of immigrants. The FDP's "Liberal Turkish-German Union",
the "Federation of Turkish Social-Democrats", the Grün Party's "Immigrün" and the
"German Turkish Union". Vural Öger, an example of a Turkish-German politician,
entered Germany in the early 1970s and established a successful travel business. In
the meantime, he became a social-democratic Member of the European Parliament. In
terms of publicity, his colleague Cem Özdemir is more prominent as a Bundestag
member of the Grün Party, and later member of the European parliament and
chairman of the party. He came to Germany as a child and became the most
prominent politician with immigration background in Baden-Württemberg and
Germany in general. Due to his charismatic appearance he has gained wide publicity
as German-Turk or Swabian-Turk. Emine Demirbüken became member of the federal
!112
Ibid, pg. 108291
Norbert (2005) pg. 42 292
executive board for the CDU, and Lale Akgün is a prominent Bundestag member of
the SPD fraction . 293
Party membership is low nevertheless (between 3-4%), and even that is accounted
mostly by membership in homeland-based Turkish parties. Only a similar percentage
of the migrant population would even consider becoming a party member.
In cities like Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart or Munich, wherein over twenty percent of
the residents is excluded from political representation.
! A majority of Turkish immigrants claim they would have voted for the SPD (had 294
they been citizens), which may be explained by the fact that it was the first German
party and worker's organization open to non-Germans starting from the 19th century.
Similar data of the German Social Economic Panel confirms that the Social-
Democrats enjoy most support also among foreign citizens in general, with 86 % of
Italians and 68 % of Turks and former Yugoslavians . 295
In the last years politicians with immigrant background had taken on higher positions
in the party hierarchy and gained some public attention in most established parties.
Naturalized immigrants represent the German parties as members of the local, state,
federal and European parliaments, although they are still highly underrepresented.
Currently, only five members of the 2002-2005 Federal Parliament are immigrants of
foreign descent.
!113
Norbert (2005) pg. 51 293
Ibid, pg. 32294
Diehl and Blohm (2003) pg. 133295
Turks in Germany also take part quite extensively in various umbrella immigrant
organizations operating in Europe. A notable one is the Council of Associations of
Immigrants in Europe, which aims at realizing the rights of immigrant's communities
stated in the European Convention of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and was involved with the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the
European Community.
Özcan divides the organizational landscape with reference to their attached political
orientation in left wing and right wing groups. Religious Islamic associations are
generally categorized as right wing groups. Two separate associational landscapes
developed among the Turkish immigrant population, and affirm the aforementioned
claim that in the course of time the focus of interest has shifted from an exclusive
orientation on the homeland to an orientation on the affairs in the host land. This
process has affected the left wing groups more than the right wing ones, which kept a
rather segregating stance towards the native society.
!A final organization form to be reviewed is the Advisory Boards. These are semi-
formal advisory bodies existent in many Länder, recognized de facto if not de jure,
especially since the supreme federal court ruled against granting non-citizens with
voting rights in local elections. They are funded exclusively on a local basis, and most
of their participants are trade union representatives "or individuals chosen by [other]
migrant organizations" . 296
!114
Soysal (1994) pg. 78296
More than half of Turkish respondents in a survey did not even know of their
existence and voting participation for the councils is generally low , which is 297
probably perpetuated by but also perpetuating the councils' lack of real influence.
Nevertheless, of all immigrant groups it is the Turkish community participating in
Advisory Boards. Immigrants from Turkey are even overrepresented in the local
foreigners’ advisory boards.
!On the federal level, however, there is no such consultative participation of
migrants . The federal Commissioner for Foreigners (Ausländerbeauftragte) is 298
formally in charge of speaking out for the immigrants since 1979 . 299
!Trade unions were open for immigrants from the beginning of the recruitment of
foreign workers and represent their interests not only in the economic realm. The
trade union confederation actively lobbies for the rights of immigrants, the protection
of refugees and fair treatment of foreigners. Currently, about 10 % of the 7 million
union members are immigrants.
The worker's unions accepted immigration and founded special consultation and aid
offices for foreigners . Membership rates, however, are dropping among Turkish 300
respondents in the membership: since 1985 they have dropped from 51.4 % to 26.8 %
in 2001 . 301
!115
Norbet (2005) pg. 33297
Soysal (1994) pg. 82298
Thränhardt (1996) pg. 209299
Castles (2000) pg. 40-1300
Norbet (2005) pg. 35301
!5.4 Prevalence and Effects of Muslim Terror in Germany
Formally, German government officials work at facilitating inter-religious and cross-
cultural dialogue. Such was the case of Federal President, Johannes Rau, who would
regularly initiate meetings between various religious leaders. The dialogues were not
just inter-group but also intra-group dialogue. The city of Bremen, for example, has
become a role model to be emulated by others because of its successful inclusion of
all kinds of Muslim, Christian and Jewish organizations in the “Islam week”, during
which representatives from organizations ranging from the Islamist Milli Görüş to
secularized Alevi communities are supposed to "cooperate in order to enter into a
‘dialogue’ with the non-Muslim public."
The activities of organized Islam, however, are frequently observed with particular
suspicion for the fear of Islamic infiltration of the German society. Islam is often
equated with intolerance, suppression of women and totalitarian and fundamentalist
endeavors. Incidents like the 2001 terrorist attack against the World Trade Center, or
the recent killing of a Dutch film director, fuel the debate on immigration and national
identity in Germany with fears of international Islamic terrorism.
In December 2001 new legislation increased not only funds for the police force but
also their powers of investigating and even shutting down suspicious bodies such as
religious organizations which are not conforming to constitutional norms "[the] bright
Bremen public image was stained somewhat when it became known that one of the
regular visitors to one of the inner-city mosques had been detained by the U.S.
military at Guantanamo Bay, charged with ties to the former Taliban regime and the
terrorist Al Qaeda. Nonetheless, in the respected Bremen mosque this sparked an
!116
intra-Muslim debate about the relationship of religion and politics, and more nuanced
newspaper reporting on the diverse views held in Muslim communities and
organizations on this crucial issue" . 302
The first reactions following the 2001 attack in New York also called out to halt the
implementation of the new immigration law because "governing and opposition
parties could not agree on tighter checks upon applicants for citizenship" . 303
This marks the clear generalization of all Muslims, sometimes called Islamophobia 304
regardless of their background: Al-Qaeda Afghanis in New York, a Kurdish refugee
and a Turkish worker are easily equated.
Germany sometimes is, indeed, a target of terrorism because of its participation in
peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and in police training in Iraq.
For example, in February 1999 a crowd of Kurdish immigrants stormed the Israeli
embassy in Berlin, while protesting the arrest of their leader .305
In another case, years of procedural maneuvers were required before the German
judicial system finally succeeded in deporting an Islamic extremist, the so-called
“Caliph of Cologne,” to Turkey in October 2004. In yet another case, a Syrian-
German terrorist suspect was released from custody in July 2005 after the German
Supreme Court ruled that he could not be extradited to Spain under a European Union
arrest warrant because this step would violate Germany’s Basic Law.
Following al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, terrorist attack against the United States,
Germans were surprised to learn that the mastermind of the strike and several
!117
Ibid, pg. 11-15302
Faist (2005) pg. 5303
Halevi (2008) pg. 3304
Koopmans and Statham (2000) pg. 2305
accomplices previously had been living in Hamburg. Since then, Germany has been a
reliable partner in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, according to the U.S. Department of
State. German courts have a very high standard of habeas corpus, which has made it
difficult for authorities to convict or deport terrorist suspects. In February 2003, a
Hamburg court convicted Mounir el Motassadeq of aiding and abetting the conspiracy
and sentenced him to the maximum available term of 15 years. However, in March
2004, the German Supreme Court overturned this conviction, which was the first in
the world related to the 9/11 incident, for lack of evidence and remanded the case for
retrial. Finally in August 2005, a Hamburg court re-convicted el Motassadeq and
sentenced him to a seven-year prison term.
More recently in September 2007, Germany authorities arrested three suspects in an
alleged terrorist plot to stage bomb attacks on U.S. citizens at the U.S. military base in
Ramstein and at Frankfurt International Airport. Two of the three individuals were
ethnic German citizens, and the third was a Turkish resident in Germany. The two
ethnic Germans had received training at terrorist camps in Pakistan. The foiled plot
raised fears of homegrown terrorism in Germany involving the recruitment of
Germans by Islamist organizations.
These isolated cases sometimes promote an explanation of integration problems with
their own reluctance to accept Western values and their propensity to retreat to
(violent) ‘parallel societies’. This term suggests that immigrants actively and
deliberately segregate, refuse to acquire basic cultural techniques such as language,
and substance (pluralism, gender equality, etc.). This is used to account for their "high
rates of unemployment" and being chronic "social assistance receivers" . While this 306
!118
Norbert (2005) pg. 16306
claim may hold some truth, its totality makes certain decision makers ignore the part
of the state in perpetuating an integration of these parallel societies and puts the
weight entirely on the immigrants.
Also, a balanced appraisal of immigration and security cannot overlook that
sometimes immigrants themselves are those interested in dismantling terrorist groups.
For example, it was Arab-background immigrants who helped French police to
dismantle the Armed Islamic Group in 1995. Such evidence comes from Turkish
immigrants in Germany as they assist in the containment of the Kurdish PKK . 307
!The organizational patterns of Turks in Germany are not unequivocal: While
membership is relatively low in parties and Advisory Boards (membership and voting
rates) on both federal and local levels, they are high in religious organizations and
other intra-community organizations. Perhaps as long as the Turkish community
remains a "victimized group", at least in its own mind, it is not likely to have an effect
on national and international politics . Instead, it is likely to suffer relatively quietly, 308
a status bound to change once it rids itself of the passive consciousness.
Turkish immigrants, however, do participate more prominently than other minorities
in Germany in formal politics. Their political orientation is usually for SPD, which
may have something to do also with the high rates of membership in workers' unions.
Another important pattern of political participation is still in "Diaspora politics",
meaning in the affairs of the homeland.
!119
Faist (2005) pg. 8-9 307
Moore (2002) pg. 6308
The constitution usually allows civil and communal participation for all residents,
regardless of their ethnicity or citizen/non-citizen status. In practice, there is frequent
exclusion of immigrants from politics, and an unequal treatment of their religious
needs. This is particularly true for Islam – not only a minority's religion, but one that
attracts prejudices and phobias on a European and even global level .309
!For the research purpose of assessing the effect of the 2000 reform of citizenship law,
and explaining the decrease in naturalization rates, the general investigation of this
chapter cannot be sufficient. Because Turkish immigrants in Germany are not
represented by a single or even known number of organizations or representatives, it
cannot be expected to gather sufficient and accurate information on this group, as may
be gathered about German citizens through their voting patterns, and the policies that
their elected representatives promote.
A survey conducted in Baden-Württemberg is the necessary final step for assessing
the effects of the reformed citizenship law.
!
!120
Halevi (2008) pg. 1-2309
!6. Naturalization & Integration: Empirical Effects
6.1 Details of the survey
Implementation of immigrant policy lies in the responsibility of the federal states , 310
which also budget their integration policies. Consequently this work cannot focus on
the effects of the 2000 citizenship law on the FRG as a whole, but rather on one of its
Länder. Future research should definitely use larger samples and conduct the survey
in all Länder, in order to obtain an overall assessment of the effects of the law on the
Turkish immigrant population. A representative survey would have been ideal to
realize the positions of residents from Turkey in Baden-Württemberg, since Turkish
immigrants have no official representation in Germany. The scope of this research
made it impossible to collect a sufficient sample for a quantitative survey.
To measure the effectiveness of the 2000 reform, the correlation between integration
and the perceived desirability of the German citizenship was measured. This is
because it was assumed by the legislator that liberalizing the citizenship law would
enhance integration (while the conservatives claimed the opposite to be true: that only
strict conditions for naturalization would enhance integration). The questionnaire
consists of items that operationalize theories from the relevant literature, and explain
the possible deterrents and positive elements in the 2000 reform. These theories can
be confirmed or dismissed with the suggested questionnaire.
The survey sampled 21 Turkish residents (citizens and non-citizens). The participants
were recruited in several locations: mosque, university, restaurants and other small
businesses. It was distributed both in German and Turkish . 311
!121
Norbert (2005) pg. 19310
See the appendix following chapter 8311
The questionnaires were distributed between 2nd of April and the 2nd of May 2009.
The results from the sample in this research indicate strong trends among the
respondents, but more elaborate ties and correlations should be deduced only from a
larger sample.
Demographic questions (1, 30-35) make the questionnaires available for examining
correlations which are not directly connected to the current research question. Of
these, the only datum that was significant to this work is whether the respondent is a
citizen or a non-citizen, since measuring the correlation between integration and the
desirability of the German citizenship is clearly linked to the respondent's citizenship.
The results of the questionnaire can be generalized to Baden-Württemberg, since
immigration and naturalization policies are within the Länder's authority.
It should be noted that Switzerland is included as an option in many parts of the
questionnaire due to Konstanz's proximity to the border, as it was important not to
include immigrants from Switzerland in an assessment of German policies. In future
use of the questionnaire in other cities, references to Switzerland should thus be
omitted. A clear disadvantage of the questionnaire is that it cannot separate working
immigrants from refugees (Kurds from Turkey), since referring to the refugee status
proved to be embarrassing to respondents in previous versions of the questionnaire.
Perhaps in future use of the questionnaire, this information could be indirectly
obtained, as policies towards working immigrants and refugees are probably different.
!
!122
6.2 The questions
Questions 1 and 29-35 provide standard demographic data:
1. Are you a German citizen? 29. Gender 30. Age 31. What is your education? 32. What is your profession? 33. In which country do you live? 34. Where do your children grow up? 35. Where were your children born? !Items 5-28 consist of statements to which participants indicate their level of
agreement ranging from "completely disagree" to "completely agree".
!Items 2-13 measure integration:
2.1 Are you a member of a trade union? !2.2 If “no”, have you ever been a member in of a trade union, or are you planning to join a trade union? !3.1 Do you think that your children will live in Germany, Turkey, or somewhere else? !3.2 Do you think that your grandchildren will live in Germany, Turkey or somewhere else? !4.1 Do you want your children to later live in Germany, Turkey, or somewhere else? !4.2 Do you want your grandchildren to later live in Germany, Turkey or somewhere else? !5.1 I speak German fluently !5.2 I read German fluently !5.3 German is my language !6. My house and my neighbourhood are a closed German community !7. At my work/ at school, I mostly speak Turkish
!123
!8. I spend my free time in places where there are mostly German speaker !9. I feel at home where my workplace is !10. I feel at home where I raise my children !11. I feel at home in Germany !12. I feel at home where most people have the same religion as I do !13. I feel at home where most people speak my language !!Items 14-28 measure the desirability of naturalization and German citizenship:
14. I would not mind taking to take a government test (citizenship test) about German history and form of government !15. I would not mind to take the language test that the German government requires me to do !16. When I see how Germans treat Islam I have little desire to become a German citizen !17. It is not worth making an effort to become a German citizen because it does not really give me more rights !18. Turkish children that receive German citizenship are better at school !19. It matters to me that I lose rights in Turkey if I become a German citizen !20. I am proud to be a Turkish citizen !21. I am interested in German Länder- and federal politics !22. The application fees for German citizenship are to high !23. It is easy to obtain information about how to apply for German citizenship !24. When I have to deal with bureaucracy in Germany I feel bad !25. For non citizens, bureaucracy in Germany is more complicated !
!124
26. Also as a German citizen, people in Germany will look at me differently because I talk and/or dress differently !27. It is important for me to have the right to vote in Germany !28. It is important for me to be able to travel to other countries as easily as German citizens !6.3 Analysis of the possible results
The results of the survey can reveal one of four possible combinations:
!Option I would suggest that the current decrease in applications for citizenship is
only temporary, and that the overall effect of Germany's interior policy has been
positive.
* It would erode the repeated claims against the current naturalization process, from
those by Castles and Blatter for dual citizenship, to Soper's analysis of insufficient
formal recognition and support of Muslim institutions.
Option I
High degree of integration and
perceived desirability of citizenship
Option II
Low degree of integration and majority of
factors that encourage application for
citizenship
Option III
High degree of integration and majority
of factors that deter from application
for citizenship
Option IV
Low degree of integration and majority of
factors that deter from application for
citizenship
!125
* Politically it would suggest that the Red-Green reforms in naturalization policy
were successful, and that they were a complementary component in promoting
integration.
* Such a result could encourage the current and future governments to further ease the
conditions for German citizenship and advance towards the Left and Free Democrats
parties' policies.
Option II would suggest that although the Turkish immigrants do not feel a part of
German society, citizenship is nevertheless a highly regarded asset.
* It would erode Soysal's claim that citizenship has lost its significance in the post-
world-war democracy, where rights are equally granted to all residents.
If Soysal was correct, it would mean that only those who feel a part of the society
would pursue a German citizenship. This finding would suggest that citizenship is
interpreted by non-integrated immigrants as a means to gain more rights.
* Politically it would mean that the conservative objection to the reforms in
naturalization was well-founded, since accessible citizenship does not enhance
integration.
* Such a result could encourage the current and future governments to promote
integration by broader policies, and that (assuming that citizenship should be granted
only to fully integrated and loyal residents and that it is not some a form of
commodity which enhances integration) naturalization policies should remain strict or
even become stricter.
Option III would suggest one of the following:
!126
It could mean that citizenship is generally desired and perceived as complementary to
the integration process undergone by Turkish immigrants. In that case, the criticism
against various factors in the naturalization process should be further examined.
* It could support various types of opposition to the process: from Blatter and Castles
in the argument for dual citizenship, to Soper's analysis of insufficient formal support
of Muslim institution.
* Politically it would mean that the CSU restraining of the red-green naturalization
reforms in 1999 resulted in an unsuccessful reform in 2000 that essentially maintains
the overly restrictive process required from well-integrated Turkish immigrants.
* Such a result could encourage the current and future governments to make the
process of naturalization more attractive: by marketing it through a public campaign,
getting rid of some red-tape associated with the process, etc.
It could mean, on the other hand, that citizenship is viewed as not highly significant
by immigrants, supporting Soysal's theory.
* Politically it would mean that the conservative opposition to citizenship reforms
was redundant, and even cast doubts on the notion of citizenship in the 21st century
nation-state. Future naturalization policies could, accordingly, be less associated with
national homogeneity.
Option IV would mean one of the following:
It could mean that integration is linked with citizenship, and that since the first isn't
fully realized yet, the latter is not pursued by eligible immigrants.
It could mean, on the other hand, that integration is not linked with citizenship, and
that the latter is simply not perceived as meaningful – not in gaining equal rights to
citizens and/or complementing their residential status with political power.
!127
* The reformed naturalization process would appear to have been prematurely
executed, or even wholly redundant, since its goals were to enhance an integration
which did not take place in the first place.
!6.4 The results
* Question 2: Only three respondents are members of trade unions. This was
surprising, as Nobert's data indicated that worker-unions are the most common form
of organization among residents of Turkish origin. Citizen respondents are more
interested in joining a trade union. This may imply a stronger inclination to integrate
among citizens.
* Questions 3 and 4: Most respondents expect and want both their children and
grandchildren to live in Germany. This tendency is much weaker among non-citizens.
This too may imply a stronger inclination to integrate among citizens, assuming that
an expectation and interest to stay in Germany signifies integration.
* Question 5: Command of the German language is the most consistently mentioned
criterion for integration: has been prevalent in the conditions for naturalization
throughout Germany's history and in the agenda of most of its parties. It also
presented as a central criterion for naturalization by the Ministry of Interior. The
importance of good command of the German language is thus obvious. The results of
question 5 indicate that most respondents feel very comfortable and even identify
with the language.
* Questions 6-8: To integrate means also to live and associate with the native
Germans. The respondents replied that they mostly do not limit their social life to the
Turkish community, both in work/studies and in leisure.
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* Questions 7-13: It was assumed that to be integrated, one must not feel alienated
towards Germany, and that if one sees a home in Germany then he/she is integrated.
The results indicate that at least in their family environment, the respondents feel at
home in Germany. In the workplace there is a smaller prevalence of that feeling. Also
the different majority religion causes respondents to feel less at home in Germany.
Nevertheless, the general trend indicates that the respondents identify with Germany
as their home: only four respondents answered otherwise when asked directly.
* Questions 14 and 15: The language- and knowledge tests to acquire citizenship have
been the source of public ridicule , but also of the failure of many naturalization 312
applications . The test was therefore expected to be a deterrent from applying for 313
German citizenship. The willingness to take the government test (in language and
general knowledge about Germany) does indeed create a lot of antagonism. The
results strengthen the criticism of the test, and encourage a reassessment of it, as it
seems to deter also residents who proved to be well integrated.
* Question 16: Fetzer and Soper claim that the way Islam is treated by the state and
society, namely being unrecognized as a formal religion, is a cause of resentment
among Turkish residents. The survey's results confirm that claim. Recognizing Islam
as a formal religion in Germany (like Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism ) could
therefore decrease the antagonism of many residents of Turkish origin towards
German citizenry.
* Question 17: Soysal claims that gaining more rights is no longer a motivation for
foreigners to obtain citizenship. Nevertheless, more than half of the respondents feel
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Germany to introduce Controversial New Citizenship Test: http://www.spiegel.de/international/312
germany/0,1518,559021,00.html
in the first three months of 2000 one-fifth failed the language tests: Ludvig (2004) pg. 507-8313
that German citizenship entitles them to more rights. The ones who completely
disagree with that notion are already citizens. Therefore as long as non-citizens
perceive naturalization as a means to get more rights, Soysal's theory may be
dismissed.
* Question 18: Castles claims that non-citizens are categorically discriminated in the
school system. Since sixteen of the respondents feel that children are not benefiting in
school when their parents are citizens, the results do not support this claim. The state
should therefore not link its education policies and system to its naturalization
policies.
* Question 19: Mandel claims that most non-citizens are deterred from naturalization,
because of their fear of losing rights in Turkey . While the respondents with 314
citizenship do not mind losing rights in Turkey, the contrary is true for non-citizens.
The government should campaign to raise awareness of such arrangements as the
Pink Card, which allows giving up the Turkish passport but maintaining crucial rights
in Turkey.
* Question 20: It is assumed that as long as dual-citizenship is not allowed in
Germany, people who are proud of their Turkish citizenship will be deterred from
applying for a German one. Indeed, there is much pride in being a Turkish citizen
among those without Geman citizenship. This means that the demand to give up the
Turkish citizenship and not allowing dual-citizenship is a deterrent from applying for
naturalization, and should be reconsidered.
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Such as losing out on inheritance: see Ludvig (2004) pg. 510-11 314
* Questions 21 and 27: An interest in German local and federal politics may be an
incentive to naturalize. While there is no such tendency for interest in politics, all
respondents with citizenship answered that the right to vote is highly important to
them. The non-citizens did not follow a clear trend. These results can be interpreted as
that implies that the 2000 reform was effective: citizenship correlates with an
enhanced political consciousness, and a democracy undoubtedly needs a politically
involved citizenry.
* Question 22-25: It is assumed that red-tape on the way to knowing about
naturalization, getting government services, and/or a feeling that citizens have it
easier with bureaucracy than non-citizens, can be a deterring or encouraging factor for
naturalization. However, most respondents do not find the application fees too high
(and those who do are mostly citizens already). Generally, both citizen and non citizen
Turks feel that information about how to naturalize is fairly accessible. Not one non-
citizen respondent perceives the bureaucracy in Germany as too complicated or
difficult to deal with. The same applies to how bureaucracy is perceived by citizens as
well as non-citizens. This suggests that neither government bureaucracy nor the fees
involved in naturalization are significant in deterring or encouraging naturalization. 315
It may also mean that the reduction of application fees since the early nineties was an
effective policy. Furthermore, it implies that Germany is effective and fair in its
services to both groups, and to those of no German descent in general.
* Question 26: It is assumed that the 17,000 racist assaults on foreigners only in 2007
are a deterrent from wanting to adopt the German citizenship. 10 out of 12 non-citizen
!131
Fees of 250 Euros, required to register foreigners' children as Germans, are a possible deterrent: 315
ibid, pg. 508.
respondents indeed perceive citizenship as useless to improve the way they are
viewed by native Germans (due to their "foreign appearance" and/or language). This
means that the government needs to supplement the naturalization policies with more
education for tolerance among the German native population. This is especially true
when considering the ongoing racist assaults on foreigners across the country.
* Question 28: One of the rights that permanent residents without a German passport
do not enjoy is the right to travel abroad freely and easily. Indeed, all respondents but
one state that citizenship is very important for them to travel abroad more easily. This
point is especially important since it does not appear in the available literature. For a
government that wishes to alter the decline in applications for citizenship, it is
recommended to campaign for naturalization by stressing the advantage of easy
travelling.
!!In conclusion of the results:
Regarding integration: it seems that the sample is quite integrated, with a stronger
level of integration among citizens.
Regarding the way citizenship is viewed, it seems that while the bureaucratic services
encourage naturalization, other government policies (such as the citizenship tests or
the treatment of Islam) can frequently deter non-citizens from naturalization. There is
no apparent correlation between the level of integration and the opposition to these
policies, since although many respondents are integrated they are still considering the
German citizenship to be undesirable because of these policies. Finally, Soysal's
theory is unconvincing. Most of those without citizenship do believe that it grants
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more rights than those granted by the permanent residence permit, and an actual
distinct feature of the German passport (the ability to travel abroad) makes it
especially desirable.
The results indicate that specific policies adopted with the 2000 reform are deterring
residents of Turkish origin to apply for the German passport. In order to reverse the
decline in applications, the government should revise those policies.
!!
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7. Conclusion and Recommendations
An early definition of German citizenry refers exclusively to "the adherents to the
states that form the German Empire" . What is it that makes one person more 316
naturally an adherent, but another - say, a Jew, a Pole, a Russian, a Turk or even a
woman - less?
This work has analyzed the historical milestones that led to the current German
citizenship law, and assessed their effectiveness. Germany is a country with a
tradition of highly exclusionary citizenship laws, but that has nevertheless allowed
and encouraged outsiders to enter its territories since its genesis.
To understand this tradition of exclusion, the work started with an analysis and
deconstruction of the basic terms and concepts connected of the relevant discourse.
This was necessary as criticism of the current reformed citizenship law echoed this
tradition only with murky terms, such as "identity", "nation" and "descent" (or
"German blood"), "national-identity" and "Leitkultur". As these terms and concepts
are not only philosophical but also political, their practical function is examined also.
If identity is the essence that goes unchanged through time, then national identity
assumes that such an essence is inherent in the peoples of the world.
The German national identity not only gives meaning to the lives of those who share
it, but it also serves real political and economic needs by aggregating the people in the
case of a national war and to regulate the market.
Immigrants have been a part of the German landscape throughout its entire history.
During the last century, they were used to aid the economy in times of growth, after
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Gosewinkel (2002) pg. 61316
which they would be dispatched. While some of them did settle down and assimilate,
most of them returned willingly to their homelands and families.
Naturalization, or the total acceptance of the immigrant into the nation, was therefore
the exception. After 1945 the need for a more specialized and steady migrant work
force increased, and both employers and employees petitioned the government to
prolong their work and residence permits.
Parallel to the changes in the demands of the economy, the concept of the nation also
significantly altered. After the crimes of the German people in the Second World War,
the nation state could no longer enforce a severely exclusionary policy, and
consequently it granted almost entirely equal rights to immigrants.
This led to the formation of immigrants' communities, such as the Turkish one, which
now makes up almost five percent of the whole population in Germany. Nevertheless,
the shift in the openness of the nation to non-Germans was only partial and remains
today. When Turkish and other immigrants united with their families in Germany, it
was threatening to the spirit of the nation. The German people had to choose between
secluding the immigrants' communities, or to make considerable changes in their
national identity in order to include them. The Germans chose exclusion: an option
that was politically, economically and socially almost costless.
After exclusionary policies had failed and the number of foreigners in the country was
peaking, a policy of inclusion was adopted by the Kohl government, making
naturalization easier. The 2000 change of the citizenship law was meant to reform not
only the law, but to completely alter the national identity: had dual citizenship and jus
soli been granted categorically to residents not of the German ethnos, then the
German nationality would have become obsolete.
!135
The German party system embraced the agenda for and against permissive
naturalization, and the current law is the result of a compromised left wing vision.
Considering these historical and political causes of the reform in Germany's
citizenship law, its socio-political effects are not surprising.
From an overview of the Turkish community, it is clear that no policy could instantly
overturn the effects of decades of deliberate and consistent exclusionary policies.
The Turkish community was perceived by the public, media and parts of the political
system as a threat to the economy in times of recession, but more profoundly as a
danger to the völkisch tendencies that still prevail in the German nationality. The
racism that is still targeted at them, their poor (German) language skills, the way
Islam is perceived, and their children's "naturally reserved" place in the Hauptschule,
are all factors that prevent integration and enhance alienation. This cannot be
expected to be instantly reversed by any law, let alone by a compromised law that
antagonizes Turks in its own right, and has resulted in a decreasing rate of
naturalizations.
More constructive and specific recommendations to achieve the goal of the legislator
arise from the survey detailed in chapter 6. Since all the respondents turned out to be
quite integrated, it was not possible to measure with the full scope of correlations
between integration and desirability of the German citizenship.
There is a clear trend of strong opposition to certain policies entailed by the law, such
as the citizenship test or the refusal of dual citizenship. If the legislator truly wishes to
move from an exclusionary to an inclusionary citizenship policy, then those who are
integrated should be naturalized rather then deterred by a government test or by
having to give up their Turkish citizenship.
!136
Citizenship is still perceived by non-citizens as a means to get more rights. This not
only contradicts certain new theories about transnational citizenship, but also can
become a pull factor by the government to attract more non-citizens to naturalize.
With that, it should be noted that the non-citizens respondents are not interested in
naturalization only to get more rights in the country, but also in order to participate in
the democratic process, since they mostly cherish the right to vote and already have
some interest in local and federal policies.
Other changes in policies could promote integration and naturalization in the longer
run, by working to suppress racism and acknowledging Islam as an official religion,
alongside Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism.
Finally, the law that was accepted in 2000 misses out on its goal of enhancing
integration by making the nation more inclusionary. Based on a historical analysis and
deconstruction of a vague term such as "integration", it seems that the government has
adopted policies (like the citizenship test) that do not properly measure if applicants
for citizenship are integrated. Consequently many integrated non-citizens were
antagonized about the law and German citizenship in general.
!Future research should: 1) survey the effects of the citizenship law on the Turkish
community in all Länder. The questionnaire designed for and used in this work can
serve as a basis for surveying a larger and more representative sample; 2) investigate
more migrant groups in Germany: since the Turkish group is the biggest, but not the
only ethnic group affected by the 2000 reform.
!137
If these two recommendations are followed, the preliminary conclusions and
suggestions for policy making of this research can be accepted and hopefully
broadened, and help for their implementation.
!138
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!8.2 Internet Sites * International Organization for Migration: http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/about-iom/lang/en * CNN: Delaney, N (26.10.1996). "Bosnian Refugees Leave Germany for the Unknown http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9610/16/germany.bosnia.refugees/index.html?eref=sitesearch * Der Spiegel (28.12.2007): "State Governor Wants Crackdown on Criminal Young Foreigners": http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,525734,00.html * International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_mwctoc.htm *Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany: http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/docs/german.htm * Decleration of the Rights of Man – 1789: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/r.asp * President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/wilson14.asp * Haaretz: Avrahami, Z. (20.12.2008). "Neo-Nazi Violence in Germany is no Longer Aimed Exclusively at Foreigners": www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1047928.html * BBC News (17.11.2008): "German Leader Not German Obama": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7732976.stm * BBC News (8.12.2000): "German Parliament Votes for Nazi Ban: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1061138.stm * Federal Ministry of the Interior: Becoming a German citizen by naturalization http://www.bmi.bund.de/cln_028/nn_148264/Internet/Content/Themen/Staatsangehoerigkeit/Einzelseiten/Erwerb__der__deutschen__Staatsbuergerschaft__durch__Eingbuergerung__en.html * Der Spiegel: Germany to Introduce Controversial New Citizenship Test (6.11.2008): http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,559021,00.html * Der Spiegel: Schibben, C. (23.6.2006). Germany's Carnival of Cultures: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,423324,00.html * The New York Times, Cohen Roger, ‘‘Germany Ponders Opening Door, Just a Crack, to Immigration,’’ 5.7.2001: h t t p : / / q u e r y . n y t i m e s . c o m / g s t / f u l l p a g e . h t m l ?res=9E0CEFDB1638F936A35754C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 * The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. * The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): www.unhcr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm. * European Council´s Convention on Reduction of Cases of Multiple Nationality and Military Obligations in Cases of Multiple Nationality: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Word/043.doc
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* The Guardian: Harding, L. (15.3.2006). German Birth Rates Falls to Lowest in Europe": http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/mar/15/germany.lukeharding * Full text of the Single European Act (1986) and Treaty on European Union (1992): http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/index.htm
!8.3 Other sources * Prof. K. Hailbronner in an interview at the University of Konstanz, 10.12.2008: recording available upon request. * Results of questionnaire distributed amongst twenty residents originally from Turkey: filled out questionnaires available upon request. !
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Appendix Abbreviations and key terms in German Aussiedler: ethnic Germans granted the right to return to Germany, especially from the former USSR. CDU/CSU: Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union Party (conservatives) FDP: The Free Democratic Party (liberals) FRG: Federal Republic of Germany GDR: the former German Democratic Republic Grün Party: the Green Party Länder: The FRG is divided into 16 federal states (lands). Länder is the plural form. Leitkultur ("dominant culture"): naturalization conditioned with a common culture instead of descent. SPD: the Social Democratic Party of Germany !!Questionnaire in English !Dear Participants, !My name is Tal Harris and I am conducting a study about the Turkish community in Konstanz for my master thesis at the University of Konstanz. Please answer the following questions as exact as possible. Some of the questions consist of statements, and we ask you to indicate to which degree you agree with that statement. If no answer expresses exactly what you think, please choose the answer that comes closest to your opinion. Please make a cross in the respective circle. There are no right- or wrong answers, since every person has a right to his/ her own opinions. Of course all results will be handled anonymously. Thank you very much for your time to fill out this questionnaire. We hope that the results will contribute to a better understanding of Turkish life in Germany. !1. Are you a German citizen? o o Yes No !2.1. Are you a member of a trade union? o o Yes No !2.2. If “no”, have you ever been a member in of a trade union, or are you planning to join a trade union? o o Yes No !3.1. Do you think that your children will live in Germany, Turkey, or somewhere else? o o o 1) Germany; 2) Turkey; 3) other !3.2. Do you think that your grandchildren will live in Germany, Turkey or somewhere else? o o o 1) Germany; 2) Turkey; 3) other !4.1. Do you want your children to later live in Germany, Turkey, or somewhere else? o o o 1) Germany; 2) Turkey; 3) other !4.2. Do you want your grandchildren to later live in Germany, Turkey or somewhere else? o o o 1) Germany; 2) Turkey; 3) other !Please answer whether you agree or disagree with the following statements
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!5.1. I speak German fluently o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !5.2. I read German fluently o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !5.3. German is my language o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !6. My house and my neighbourhood are a closed German community o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !7. At my work/ at school, I mostly speak Turkish o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !8. I spend my free time in places where there are mostly German speaker o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !9. I feel at home where my workplace is o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !10. I feel at home where I raise my children o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree 11. I feel at home in Germany o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree 12. I feel at home where most people have the same religion as I do o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !13. I feel at home where most people speak my language o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !!The following 12 statements refer to the process of naturalization in Germany !14. I would not mind taking to take a government test (citizenship test) about German history and form of government o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !15. I would not mind to take the language test that the German government requires me to do o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !16. When I see how Germans treat Islam I have little desire to become a German citizen o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !17. It is not worth making an effort to become a German citizen because it does not really give me more rights
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o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !18. Turkish children that receive German citizenship are better at school o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !19. It matters to me that I lose rights in Turkey if I become a German citizen o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !20. I am proud to be a Turkish citizen o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree; 5) I o am not a Turkish citizen !21. I am interested in German Länder- and federal politics o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !22. The application fees for German citizenship are to high o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !23. It is easy to obtain information about how to apply for German citizenship o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !24. When I have to deal with bureaucracy in Germany I feel bad o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !25. For non citizens, bureaucracy in Germany is more complicated o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !26. Also as a German citizen, people in Germany will look at me differently because I talk and/or dress differently o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !27. It is important for me to have the right to vote in Germany o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !28. It is important for me to be able to travel to other countries as easily as German citizens o o o o 1) Completely disagree; 2) quite disagree; 3) quite agree; 4) Completely agree !29. Gender o o Male Female !30. Age: ___ !31. What is your education? o o o 1) No education; 2) Basic school; 3) Basic school (Hauptschule) graduate; o o 4) Secondary school level I certificate; 5) Advanced technical college entrance o qualification; 4) Diploma from secondary school qualifying for university admission;
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o 5) University degree 32. What is your profession? o o o o 1) Student; 2) Employee; 3) Currently I am unemployed; 4) Pensioner; 5) Other 33. In which country do you live? o o o o o 1) Germany; 2) Switzerland; 3) Turkey; 4) Other; 5) Currently I am unemployed !34. Where do your children grow up? o o o o o 1) Germany; 2) Switzerland; 3) Turkey; 4) Other; 5) I have no children !35. Where were your children born? o o o o o 1) Germany; 2) Switzerland; 3) Turkey; 4) Other; 5) I have no children !!!Questionnaire in German !Liebe Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen, !mein Name ist Tal Harris und ich führe eine Studie über die türkische Gemeinde in Konstanz im Rahmen meiner Masterarbeit an der Universität Konstanz durch. Bitte beantworten Sie die folgenden Fragen so genau wie möglich. Einige Fragen bestehen aus Aussagen, und wir bitt Falls keine Antw Sie anzugeben, ort genau das ausdrückt, was Sie denken, wählen Sie bitte die Antwort die dies am ehesten ausdrückt. Machen Sie dafür ein Kreuz in dem entsprechenden Kreis. Es gibt keine richtigen oder falschen Antworten, da jeder Mensch ein Recht auf seine eigenen Anschauungen hat. Selbstverständlich werden alle Ergebnisse vertraulich behandelt. Vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit, diesen Fragebogen auszufüllen. Wir hoffen, dass die Ergebnisse dazu beitragen werden, türkisch Leben in Deutschland besser zu verstehen. !1. Sind Sie deutsche/r Staatsbürger/in? o o Ja Nein !2.1. Sind Sie Mitglied in einer Gewerkschaft? o o Ja Nein !2.2. Falls “nein”, waren Sie jemals Mitglied in einer Gewerkschaft, oder planen Sie, einer Gewerkschaft beizutreten? o o Ja Nein !3.1. Denken Sie, dass Ihre Kinder später in Deutschland, in der Türkei oder woanders leben werden? o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Türkei; 3) woanders !3.2. Denken Sie, dass Ihre Enkelkinder in Deutschland, in der Türkei oder woanders leben werden? o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Türkei; 3) woanders !4.1. Möchten Sie, dass Ihre Kinder später in Deutschland, in der Türkei oder woanders leben werden? o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Türkei; 3) woanders !4.2. Möchten Sie, dass Ihre Enkelkinder in Deutschland, in der Türkei oder woanders leben werden? o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Türkei; 3) woanders
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!Bitte geben Sie an, ob Sie den folgenden Aussagen zustimmen oder nicht !5.1. Ich spreche fließend deutsch o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu 5.2. Ich lese fließend deutsch o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !5.3. Deutsch ist meine Sprache o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !6. Mein Haus und meine Nachbarschaft sind eine geschlossene türkische Gemeinde o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !7. Bei der Arbeit/ in der Schule spreche ich meistens türkisch o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !8. Ich verbringe meine Freizeit an Orten, wo die meisten Leute deutsch sprechen o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !9. Wo ich arbeite, da bin ich zu Hause o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !10. Ich fühle mich da zu Hause, wo ich meine Kinder groß ziehe o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu 11. Ich fühle mich in Deutschland zu Hause o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu 12. Ich fühle mich da zu Hause, wo die meisten Leute dieselbe Religion haben wie ich o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !13. Ich fühle mich da zu Hause, wo die meisten Leute meine Sprache sprechen o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !!Die folgenden 12 Aussagen beziehen sich auf die Beantragung der deutschen Staatsbürgerschaft !14. Es würde mir nichts ausmachen, einen Test von der Regierung (Einbürgerungs/ Staatsbürgerschaftstest) über deutsche Geschichte und Staatsform zu machen o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !15. Es würde mir nichts ausmachen, den Sprachtest zu machen, den die deutsche Regierung von mir verlangt o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !16. Wenn ich sehe, wie Deutsche mit dem Islam umgehen, habe ich weniger Lust, deutscher Staatsbürger zu werden o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu
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!17. Es hat keinen Sinn, mich anzustrengen, deutscher Staatsbürger zu werden, denn ich bekomme dadurch nicht wirklich mehr Rechte. o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !18. Türkische Kinder, die die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft erhalten, sind besser in der Schule o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !19. Es macht mir etwas aus, dass ich in der Türkei Rechte verliere, wenn ich deutscher Staatsbürger werde o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !20. Ich bin stolz, türkischer Staatsbürger zu sein o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu; 5) Ich bin kein türkischer Staatsbürger !21. Ich interessiere mich für deutsche Landes- und Bundespolitik o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !22. Die Gebühren für die Beantragung der deutschen Staatsbürgerschaft sind zu hoch o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !23. Es ist leicht, Informationen darüber zu erhalten, wie man die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft beantragen kann o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !24. Wenn ich mit der Bürokratie in Deutschland zu haben muss fühle ich mich schlecht o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !25. Für nicht-deutsche Staatsbürger ist die Bürokratie in Deutschland komplizierter o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !26. Auch wenn ich deutscher Staatsbürger bin, werden die Leute in Deutschland mich schräg anschauen, weil ich anders spreche, und/ oder mich anders anziehe o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !27. Es ist wichtig für mich, das Wahlrecht in Deutschland zu haben o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !28. Es ist mir wichtig, so leicht wie deutsche Staatsbürger in andere Länder reisen zu können o o o o 1) stimme gar nicht zu; 2) stimme ein wenig zu; 3) stimme zu; 4) stimme völlig zu !!!29. Geschlecht o o Mann Frau !30. Alter: ___ !
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31. Was ist ihr höchster Schulabschluss? o o o 1) Keine; 2) Hauptschulabschluss; 3) Qualifizierter Hauptschulabschluss; o o o o 4) Mittlere Reife; 5) Fachhochschulreife; 4) Abitur; 5) Hochschulabschluss 32. Welchen Beruf haben Sie? o o o 1) Student; 2) Angesteller; 3) derzeit ohne Beruf; 4) Rentner; 5) Sonstiges 33. In welchem Land arbeiten Sie? o o o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Schweiz; 3) Türkei; 4) Sonstige; 5) derzeit ohne Beruf !34. Wo wachsen Ihre Kinder auf? o o o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Schweiz; 3) Türkei; 4) Sonstige; 5) ich habe keine Kinder !35. Wo wurden Ihre Kinder geboren? o o o o o 1) Deutschland; 2) Schweiz; 3) Türkei; 4) Sonstige; 5) ich habe keine Kinder !!!Questionnairre in Turkish !1. Alman vatandaşlığınız var mı? o o Evet Hayır !2.1. Her hangi işçi birliğine üye misiniz? o o Evet Hayır !2.2. Her hangi işçi birliğine üye değilseniz, hiç katılmayı düşündünüzmü? o o Evet Hayır !3.1. Çocuklarınızın nerede yaşayacağını düşünüyorsunuz. o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) Başka bir ülke !3.2. Torunlarınızı nerede yaşayacagını düşünüyorsunuz? o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) Başka bir ülke !4.1. Çocuklarınızın nerede yaşamasını istiyorsunuz? o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) Başka bir ülke !4.2. Torunlarınızı nerede yaşamasını istiyorsunuz? o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) Başka bir ülke !Aşağıdakilere katılıyormusunuz/katılmıyormusunuz? !5.1. Almancayı akıcı konuşuyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !
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Almancayı akıcı bir şekilde okuyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !5.2. Almancayı anadilim olarak görüyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !6. Evim ve mahallem çevreye kapalı bir Türk topluluğudur. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum 7. İş yerimde/okulda genellikle Türkçe konuşuyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !8. Boş zamanımı genelde Almanca konuşanların bulunduğu yerlerde geçiriyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !9. Çalıştığım ülkede evdeymişim gibi hissediyorum (kendimi vatanimda hissediyorum). o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !10. Çocuklarımı büyütüğüm ülkede evdeymişim gibi hissediyorum (kendimi vatanimda hissediyorum). o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum 11. Almanya´da kendimi evimde hissediyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum 12. Çoğunluğun benimle aynı dine inanandığı ülkede evdeymişim gibi hissediyorum (kendimi vatanimda hissediyorum). o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !13. Çoğunluğun benimle aynı dilde konuştuğu ülkede evdeymişim gibi hissediyorum (kendimi vatanimda hissediyorum). o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !Aşağıdaki 12 cümle Alman vatandaşlığı kazanma süreci ile ilgilidir !14. Alman tarihi ve hükümeti ile ilgili resmi bir teste girmek istemem. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum 15. Devletin dil sınavına girmek istemem. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !
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16. Almanların İslam dinine karşı olan davranışları Alman vatandaşı olmayı daha az cazip kılıyor. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !17. Alman vatandaşlığına baş vurmama gerek yok, çünkü benim daha çok hakka sahip olmamı sağlamıyo. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !18. Alman vatandaşlığına sahip olan Türk çocukları okulda daha başarılı oluyor. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !19. Eğer Alman vatandaşı olursam Türkiye’deki haklarımı kaybedeceğimi düşünüyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !20. Türk vatandaşı olmaktan gurur duyuyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !21. Alman yerel/federal politikasıyla ilgileniyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !22. Alman vatandaşlığı için başvuru ücretleri çok yüksek. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !23. Alman vatandaşlığına geaiç bilgilerine erişebilmek çok kolay. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !24. Alman bürokrasisiyle uğraşmayı sevmiyorum. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !25. Almaya da Bürokras, Alman vafandoşi olmadğin tazhrade daha zor. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !26. Alman vatandaşlığına sahip olsam bile, konuşma ve/veya kıyafet tarzım nedeniyle Almanya’daki insanalar bana değişik bakacaklar. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !27. Seçme (oy verebilme) hakkı benim için önemlidir. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !
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28. Benim için Alman vatandaşları gibi diğer ülkelere vizesiz yolculuk yapmak önemlidir. o o o o 1) Kesinlikle katılmıyorum; 2) Kısmen katılmıyorum; 3) Kısmen katılıyorum; 4) Kesinlikle katılıyorum !29. Cinsiyetiniz: o o Erkek Kadın !30. Yaşınız: ___ !31. En yüksek eğitim diplomanız aşağıdalilerden hangisidir? o o o 1) Eğitimsiz; 2) Hauptschulabschluss; 3) Qualifizierter Hauptschulabschluss; o o o o 4) Mittlere Reife; 5) Fachhochschulreife; 4) Abitur; 5) Hochschulabschluss !32. Çalışma statüsünüz aşağıdakilerden hangisidir? o o o o o 1) Talebe; 2) Işçi; 3) Serbest çalışan; 4) Sosyal yardımların tabisi; 4) Işsiz; o o 5) Emekli; 6) Başka 33. Hangi ülkede çalışıyorsunuz? o o o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) İsviçre; 4) Başka ülke; 5)Çalışmıyorum !34. Çocuklarınızı nerede büyütüyorsunuz? o o o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) İsviçre; 4) Başka ülke; 4) Çocuklarım yok !35. Çocuklarınızı nerede doğdu? o o o o 1) Almanya; 2) Türkiye; 3) İsviçre; 4) Başka ülke
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