Hogwood (2000) explains that citizenship is a very sensitive and emotive subject for many Germans. New laws were made in favour of people living within German borders, at the expense of the ‘ethic’ Germans outside the national borders. That it still is a sensitive subject is shown by the fact that there are still many issues and different opinions about modernise German citizenship law nowadays. Over the last years new laws and acts about citizenship rights have been adopted and reformed. Nowadays Germany is still coming up with additional rules. In 2007 they introduced a new citizenship test (Moore, 2008). The aim of the test is to make sure new German citizens have basis knowledge of the German state and history. But as many argued, the test is too hard, as it is not even easy for born-and-bred Germans to pass the test. Restrictions like those declare that Germany is trying to decrease the number of immigrants. Despite all the progress Germany made in the field of nationalism and citizenship rights, the idea of jus sanguinis is very deeply rooted and inextricably connected with concepts as race and ethnicity. Debating sensitive issues around citizenship rights can still be emotionally charged. Especially because it is difficult to ignore history and to avoid taboos as Nazism and racism (Hogwood, 2000). For many decades, including the period after the Second World War, Germany has taken a restrictive, perhaps racist, position (Kesselman, 2009). Till today Germany history has acted as a brake on many issues related to anti-ethnic and nationalism. Many Germans nowadays grow up with the idea that they can’t be proud of Germany and the Germany ‘volk’. They still feel that they have to be ashamed of what their ancestors did in history and this is a very important aspect of German identity and Citizenship. They almost feel responsible and are therefore careful with restrictions on asylum and immigration law to not give the wrong impression. Even though other countries have same or even stricter policies when it comes to foreigners. Because of their history, a common conception is that they own it to the foreigners. All this manifests itself in a well considered immigration policy, even though the Second World War happened more than sixty years ago.
While discussing the pre- and post-unification approaches of Germany, Hogwood (2000, p. 134) points out how the saying: ‘Wherever the Germans are is Germany’ changed after 1990, into: ‘Germans are found within the territorial state boundaries of Germany’. Although this might be the aim Germany is trying to pursue, it is not the reality. Miller-Idriss (2006) states in his article that a lot of Germans are still seeing German citizenship and ‘being’ German as two totally different things. Some even find that foreigners who lived in Germany for generations cannot be reckoned as Germans. In their opinion, the fact that someone has German citizenship does not mean they are German.
Hogwood (2000) makes it very clear that the there is a wide division in Germany. Intellectual debates about the concepts civic-territorial and ethno-cultural nowadays are in full swing and politicians nowadays are using the terms ‘Kulturnation’ (culture nation) and ‘Verfassungsnation’ (Constitutional nation). The partisans of the Kulturnation position are assembled in the Christian Democratic CDU/CSU. They support the principle of jus sanguinis and they believe that people should see immigration as an exceptional measure. Emotional commitment to the German state is one of the main principles of naturalisation. The SPD, the Greens and also the FDP (although in less degree) are proponents of the verfassungsnation stance. They believe in the principle of jus soli as well in a regulated and updated legal immigration route. Just looking at the political elites, the left-liberals seem to be in the ascendancy when it comes to citizenship rights. However it is most likely that most Germans are stand behind the views of the kulturnation. Hogwood (2000) makes it clear that the division between the conservatives and the left-liberals runs very deep in Germany. Not mentioning the tension among Germans still present today in German society as well as in German politics (Roberts, 2007). The division of territories is a sensitive subject and politicians are still having trouble finding the right tone when they talk about the former GDR. Former residents of the GDR still have different memories and ideas about German history, than former FRG residents. The unification was suppose to bring prosperity for both parts of Germany. But the integration didn’t go as expected, as they didn’t take into account the deep mental division. The reunification needed a lot of adaption especially from the former GDR. This division is still noticeable in the different parties representing Germany and although they are making progress, the tensions still exist.
The Germans were seen as a superior ‘volk’ and this ‘völkisch’ nationalism was based on the principle of jus sanguinis. With the division of territories, after the Second World War, the FRG claimed to be the only true German Reich, completely disclaiming the GDR. The unification of Germany in 1990, obviously, leaded to confusion among the German people. With the emergence of the mass immigration in the early 1990s, Germany was more divided than ever and tensions were running high. Lately the hostility in Germany is increased which makes it clear that there still is a problem. Germany needs legal provisions and the German citizens and immigrants need to change their attitudes with respect to each other, to try to decrease the tensions. Together with other ongoing tensions between former GDR and FRG residents, and the effects of the Second World War, Germany has a lot to deal with nowadays. Which makes it clear that Germany just needs a little more time, before they can embrace a multi-cultural Germany.
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References:
Hogwood, P. (2000). Citizenship controversies in Germany: the twin legacy of volkisch nationalism and the alleinvertretungsanspruch. German politics. 9(3), pp. 125-144.
Kesselman, M. et al. (2009). European politics in transition. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Houghton and Mifflin Company.
Miller-Idriss, C. (2006). Everyday understanding of citizenship in Germany. Citizenship Studies. 10(5), pp. 541-570.
Moore, T. (2008). German citizenship is put to test. BBC News, 4 September. [Online]
Available at: (Accessed at: 16 November 2010).
Roberts, G. (2007). The West German parties and the ostpolitik. Government and opposition. 7(4), pp. 434-449.
