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Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back?. Frank Eckardt Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back?. Contents: The Ethnic Diversity of Germany Immigration politics until 1998
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Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? Frank Eckardt Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? Contents: • The Ethnic Diversity of Germany • Immigration politics until 1998 • Reflection on the German citizenship • Frankfurt as a Test City • Multiculturalism as pragmatism • 2005:Returning to ideology?
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? • The Ethnic Diversity of Germany • Since the seventies the Turkish remain the largest ethnic minority • From the nineties, more ethnic diversity appears • Largest group now are the „Aussiedler“ (2,3 million from 1990-2002) • Germany received the most immigrants in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? 2. Immigration politics until 1998 • Denial of being a country of immigration • Politics of „dissuasion“ • Integration in German society in a universalist way • Social integration via the social security system and the broader welfare state
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? • Reflection on the German citizenship • Definition on the basis of cultural concepts of German nationality (ius sanguinis) • In the eigthies, left-wing and Greens promoted a kind of exotic multiculturalism • In the nineties, broader intellectual reflections on the North-American way of integration • Claims for a “politic of recognition” in a still universalist style
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? 4. Frankfurt as a Test City • Frankfurt hosts the highest percentage of foreigners and ethnic minorities in Germany • Reflecting growing racism in the nineties by giving integration policies a high status • AMKA: Devolving from a „Green“ institution to a politically wider established office • Concentrating on forms of conflict prevention and mediation
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? • Multiculturalism as pragmatism • The Berlin red-green coalition called for a societal modernization including a beter way of ethnic diversity politics • Reform of the laws on German nationality • Discourse on relationsships with ethnic minorities (Süssmuth commission) • New local initiatives to review ethnic diversity policies (Stuttgart, Berlin, Dresden)
Multiculturalism in Germany: From ideology to pragmatism - and back? • 2005:Returning to ideology? • Restrains on the regional level (Länder) against the implementation of the red-green reforms • Linking integration and immigration issues to terrorism • Outspoken resistance from conservative politics to step back from the idea of a „guiding German culture“ (Leitkultur). • Negative perception of the foreign examples (especially the Dutch).