Citizenship and Participation in Post-Cold War Germany: Aussiedler Migration as a Challenge to German Citizenship

An examination of the integration and political participation and mobilization of German post-war expellees, post-Cold War Aussiedler and the non-citizen residents in Germany forms the basis for a discussion of citizenship in Germany. Citizenship in the Federal Republic of Germany has, like most other nation-states in Western Europe, undergone a shift in the post-war era. Where once membership in the nation-state - citizenship - was the crucial determinant for rights and belonging, now residence and social integration are the determining factors. Permanent resident status carries with it a number of civil, social and political rights. Consequently, the nearly 10% of the German population which does not have German citizenship enjoys many more rights than is generally thought. The study of another migrant flow - ethnic German migrants from Eastern and Central Europe (Aussiedler), who make up about 4% of the German population - offers another perspective on the issue. Although the Aussiedler have citizenship, their integration is not necessarily any smoother than that of the non-citizens; indeed, in many cases, it is more difficult. This dissertation explores two aspects of the citizenship shift in Germany, suggesting that substantive aspects of citizenship - those aspects actually exercised - are more significant than are formal rights - the mere possession of such rights for integration. In this aspect, this study adds to the postnational citizenship or devaluation of citizenship literature. Nor is it only on the level of exercise of rights that German citizenship has shifted away from an ethnic model.