No more foreigners? The remaking of German naturalization and citizenship law, 1990-2000

Dialectical Anthropology

Volumn 29, Issue 3-4, 2005, Pages 453-470

  Anil, Merih ^a  

^a CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK   (United States)

Author keywords

Birthright citizenship; Germany; Immigration; Integration

Indexed keywords

EID: 32044447446     PISSN: 03044092     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10624-005-1544-4     Document Type: Review

References (71)

1. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the graduate student conference, "Trading Cultures: Migration and Multiculturalism in Contemporary Europe," at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, December 3-4, 2004. The author thanks the panel members and conference participants for their useful comments. The author also gratefully acknowledges the support of Professors John Mollenkopf and Hartmut Haussermann, the organizers of Humboldt University-CUNY Exchange Program, and thanks the participants of the June 2001 Berlin Summer Seminar for their useful suggestions.
2. Some policies addressing immigrants' problems in Germany such as the education of children of immigrants were formulated and implemented at the state and local level.
3. Thomas Faist, "How to Define a Foreigner? The Symbolic Politics of Immigration in German Partisan Discourse, 1978-1992," German Politics and Society 33 (1994): 51-71. The term 'foreigner' in the title refers to the immigrant population in Germany. I use these terms interchangeably since the German government had preferred to use the term "foreigners" (Ausländer) instead of immigrants (Einwanderer).
4. Liah Greenfeld, Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), 286.
5. Due to historical and political reasons, a substantial number of people of German descent was dispersed and has lived throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union since the late 19th Century. By way of descent, language, and culture, they belong to Germanness (Deutschtum), according to German Constitution (Grundgesetz) and Expellee Law (Bundesvertriebenengesetz) and have a statutory right to emigrate to Germany as ethnic Germans. See Rainer Muenz and Rainer Obliger, "Long-Distance Citizens: Ethnic Germans and Their Immigration to Germany," in Paths to Inclusion, Peter Schuck and Rainer Muenz, eds. (Berghahn Books: New York, 1997), 155-201;
6. Jost Halfman, "Immigration and Citizenship in Germany: Contemporary Dilemmas," Political Studies 45 (1998): 260-274.
7. Rogers Brubaker, Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992).
8. Rogers Brubaker, Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany, 1982 Ibid., 188.
9. Christian Joppke, "The Evolution of Alien Rights in the United States, Germany, and the European Union," in Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices, eds. Alexander Aleinikoff and Douglas Klusmeyer, (Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment, 2000), 36-62.
10. Kay Hailbronner and Günter Renner, Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht Kommentar (München: C. H. Beck, 1998)
11. quoted in Ruud Koopmans, "Germany and Its Immigrants: An Ambivalent Relationship," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 25 (1999): 630.
12. I would like to thank Dieter Land from the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt) for providing me with the data.
13. The Turkish government's policy toward its nationals' naturalization changed substantially over time, which might also have an effect on the increase in the number of naturalized foreigners. Turkish nationality law was amended in 1995, which introduced a pink card system ("pembe kart") to remove some of the disincentives for Turkish nationals to apply for German citizenship. Instead of its former disapproving tone, the government now encourages Turkish nationals to naturalize.
14. Rainer Muenz and Ralf Ulrich, "Germany and Its Immigrants: A Socio-demographic analysis," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 24 (1998): 25-56, 49.
15. Yasemin Soysal, Limits of Citizenship: Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994);
16. and Tomas Hammar, Democracy and the Nation-State, Aliens, Denizens, and Citizens in a World of International Migration (Aldershot: Gower, 1990).
17. Gerald L. Neuman, "Nationality Law in the Unites States and Germany: Structure and Current Problems," Paths to Inclusion, eds. Peter Schuck and Rainer Muenz, (Berghahn Books: New York, 1997), 247-297.
18. I would like to thank Christa Altenstetter, professor of political science of the City University of New York, for bringing this to my attention.
19. Joppke, "The Evolution of Alien Rights," 44.
20. In 1990 and 1991 Germany tightened the criteria and procedures for "the reception of Volksdeutsche." There is a substantial reduction in the entitlements for ethnic Germans who migrated after May 1996. They would no longer be eligible for Volksdeutsche status if they could not prove that they personally suffered or are suffering from ethnic discrimination or could not pass a mandatory language test introduced in 1996. In addition, the German government introduced policies that encourage ethnic Germans to stay in their home country. See Rainer Muenz and Rainer Obliger, "Long-Distance Citizens."
21. Koopmans, "Germany and Its Immigrants," 628.
22. Philip L. Martin, Germany: Reluctant Land of Immigration (Washington. DC: American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, 1998).
23. Virginie Guiraudon, "Third Country Nationals and European Law: Obstacles to Rights' Expansion," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 24 (1998): 657-75, 669.
24. Also, for the landmark constitutional court decisions in 1973 and 1978, guaranteeing family reunification, see Gerald L. Neuman, "Immigration and Judicial Review in the Federal Republic of Germany," New York University Journal of International Law and Politics 23 (1990): 35-85.
25. Neuman, "Nationality Law," 272-273.
26. Ibid.
27. See Roger Karapin, "The Politics of Immigration Control in Britain and Germany: Subnational Politicians and Social Movements," Comparative Politics 31 (1999): 423-444.
28. Neuman, "Nationality Law," 272.
29. Jost Halfman, "Immigration and Citizenship in Germany: Contemporary Dilemmas," 271.
30. Lydia Morris, "Rights and Controls in The Management of Migration: The case of Germany," The Sociological Review 48 (2000): 224-241.
31. Koopmans, "Germany and Its Immigrants," 630.
32. Pascal Zachary and Cecilie Rohwedder, "Germany Enacts Laws To Attract Highly Skilled Foreign Workers," the Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2001.
33. Suessmuth Commission. Zuwanderung Gestalten, Integration Fördern. Report of the independent commission appointed by the German government (known as the Suessmuth Commission Report). Berlin, Germany. July 4, 2001. Available from 〈http://www.boell.de/downloads/migration/Zusfassgbericht.pdf〉.
34. Suessmuth Commission.
35. See, Christian Joppke, Immigration and the Nation-State: The United Stales, Germany, and Great Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999);
36. Gallya Lahav, "Immigration and the State: The Devolution and Privatization of Immigration Control in the EU," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 24 (1998): 675-694;
37. Virginie Guiraudon, "Citizenship Rights For non-Citizens: France, Germany, and the Netherlands," in Challenge to the Nation-State: Immigration in Western Europe and the United States, ed. Christian Joppke, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 272-318;
38. Gary Freeman, "The Decline of Sovereignty: Politics and Immigration Restriction in liberal States," in Challenge to the Nation-State, 86-108;
39. and Alan B. Philip (1994). "European Union Immigration Policy: Phantom, Fantasy or Fact?" West European Politics 17 (1994): 168-91.
40. Virginie Guiraudon, "Citizenship Rights for non-Citizens," 274-280.
41. See Saskia Sassen, "The de facto Transnationalizing of Immigration Policy," in Challenge to the Nation-State: Immigration in Western Europe and the United States, ed. Christian Joppke, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 49-85;
42. David Jacobson, Rights across Borders: Immigration and the Decline of Citizenship (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1996);
43. Rainer Bauböck, ed., Transnational Citizenship. Membership and Rights in International Migration (Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1994);
44. and Soysal, Limits of Citizenship.
45. Soysal, Limits of Citizenship, 143.
46. The Bundestag is the lower house of the German legislature. Representatives are being elected by a mixed proportional representation system. The Bundesrat is the upper house of the German legislature. The 69 representatives of the Bundestag are the members of the 16 state governments (die Länder) whose votes are counted a block vote on behalf of their governments.
47. Laura Murray, "Einwanderungsland Bundesrepublik Deutschland? Explaining the Evolving Positions of German Political Parties on Citizenship Policy," German Politics and Society 33 (1994): 23-56.
48. Neuman, "Nationality Law," 276.
49. Ibid.
50. Murray, "Einwanderungsland," 39.
51. Murray, "Einwanderungsland," Ibid., 44.
52. For a discussion of intra-party opposition and liberal elements in the conservative parties in Germany, see Dietrich Thrändhardt, "The Political Uses of Xenophobia in England, France, and Germany," Party Politics 1 (1995): 323-245;
53. and Murray, "Einwanderungsland."
54. Roger Cohen, "Germany Ponders Opening Door, Just a Crack, to Immigration," The New York Times, July 5, 2001.
55. Murray, "Einwanderungsland," 26. The term "Wende" now indicates the big "turn" or "change" of 1989, whereas here the term applies to the "western turn," which happened, as pointed out in the quotation, in 1982 when the FDP switched sides to form a coalition with the CDU/CSU (having previously been with the SPD) and as a result Kohl became chancellor.
56. Koopmans, "Germany and Its Immigrants," 645.
57. The adoption of the proposal required a simple majority vote from the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. These two houses are almost equally powerful in the German federalist structure. Since the Bundesrat is a powerful upper house with an absolute veto power, there is a delicate power balance between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. See David P. Conradt, The German Polity. (8th ed. New York: Longman, 2004);
58. and Dalton Russell, Politics in Germany (2nd ed. New York: Longman, 1993).
59. The article, "Der Weg der Gesetzgebung im Deutschen Bundestag: Vom Entwurf zum Gesetz," is available from Bundestag's official website, 〈http://www.bundestag.de/bp/1999/bp9906/9906086.html〉, last viewed June 2005.
60. The article, "293 Abgeordnete wollen Reform des Staatsangehorigkeitsrechts," is available from Bundestag's official website, 〈http://www.bundestag.de/aktuell/bp/1999/bp9903/9903032. html〉, last viewed June 2005.
61. Deutscher Bundestag. Plenarprotokoll 14/40. May 7, 1999. Available from 〈http://dip.bundestag.de/btp/14/14040.pdf〉, last viewed June 2005.
62. Deutscher Bundesrat. Plenarprotokoll 738. Available from 〈http://www.parlamentsspiegel.de/portal/WWW/Webmaster/GB_1/I.4/ Dokumentenarchiv/dokument.php?k=BBP738〉 last viewed June 2005.
63. The voting for the bill in the Bundesrat is not available since the Bundesrat does not keep any record of its voting results.
64. See note 34 above.
65. Özdemir, Cem (then-parliament member of the Green Party). Interview by the author. Berlin, Germany. June 6, 2001.
66. See notes 49 and 50 above.
67. See Thrändhardt, "The Political Uses of Xenophobia,"
68. Faist, "How to Define a Foreigner?"
69. See note 42 above.
70. Following up on this study, during my visits to Germany in the summers of 2001 and 2003, I conducted a pilot study of Turkish immigrants in Berlin, exploring the impact of the citizenship reform on their naturalization and voting rates. Guided by the American literature on naturalization and transnationalism, my findings suggest that the effects of citizenship reform on Turkish immigrants were mediated by their generational status, the type of transnational practices they are involved in, and the time period in which they arrived or were raised in Germany. The findings of this study can be found at 〈http://www.urban-europe.net/working/06_2004_Anil.pdf〉.
71. Neuman, "Nationality Law," 272.