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The new German citizenship law and its impact on German demographics: research notes

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Abstract

The processes of marginalization and inclusion of immigrants vary widely among industrialized welfare states. Models of citizenship, as a mechanism of both inclusion and exclusion, shape, to a large degree, the outcome of these processes. They affect the way immigrant and ethnic groups identify themselves within the mainstream society. This research note discusses whether or not institutional approaches to naturalization developed in the United States apply to the German case in the wake of the German citizenship reform of 1999. It also demonstrates how the introduction of birthright citizenship has caused a dramatic change in such demographic trends as the number of births to immigrants at both the federal and local levels. Berlin will provide the context at the local level for the impact of the citizenship reform on local official statistics.

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Notes

  1. See Neuman (1990) for constitutional court decisions in 1973 and 1978, guaranteeing family reunification.

  2. I would like to thank Professor Christa Altenstetter for bringing this to my attention.

  3. My e-mail correspondence with Geert Baasen at the Berlin Statistical Office, my interview with Kenan Kolat, and conversations with the “ordinary” immigrants in the immigrant districts in Berlin point to the same explanation.

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  1. School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, International Affairs Building, 13th Floor, 420 West 118th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Merih Anil

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  1. Merih Anil
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Anil, M. The new German citizenship law and its impact on German demographics: research notes. Popul Res Policy Rev 25, 443–463 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-006-9013-6

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