Germany and its immigrants: An ambivalent relationship

Abstract Over the 50 years of its existence, immigration to the Federal Republic of Germany has consisted on the one hand of migrants of ethnic German descent, and on the other, of foreign migrants, who came as gastarbeiter or asylum‐seekers. The levels of political conflict and mobilisation provoked by these two immigration flows have diverged enormously. While ethnic German immigration and integration has been a low‐key political issue, the migration of foreigners has developed into the most conflict‐ridden issue of political mobilisation in 1990s Germany. The present article explains this difference as a result of Germany's ethno‐cultural conception of citizenship and nationhood. While this conception facilitated the integration of migrants labelled as ‘Germans’ into the national community, it simultaneously stood in the way of the inclusion of ‘foreign’ migrants, including their German‐born descendants. The article shows how this affects the public perception and self‐identification of migrants, and consequently the political mobilisation of ethnic minorities in Germany, as well as the mobilisation of xenophobic and extreme‐right groups. Finally, the possible implications of Germany's recent decision to revise its conception of citizenship are discussed.