Given that citizenship laws in Germany have
historically been
discriminatory, the 1999 law could have been an
opportunity for real
reform. Instead, mired in the populist politics of
conservative forces
playing on ethno-cultural fears, the 1999 Citizenship
law deepened
the discriminatory nature of citizenship by
institutionalizing
stratification based on nationality. Instead of
fostering a culture of
civic virtue wherein citizens are encouraged to
participate by the
nature of being included as citizens, the new law
created an obstacle
course wherein the prize became the legal status of
citizen. This
demonstrates injustice in so far as that these
hurdles do not apply to
other Europeans. In Germany, because its largest
ethnic minority
population is made up of third-country nationals,
citizenship
stratification is all the more evident. This book is
an analysis of the
most recent citizenship law in Germany embedded in
the context of
the construction and development of such laws.
Analyzing German
citizenship laws allows us as political scientists to
study the salient
social, legal and political impact that citizenship has.
historically been
discriminatory, the 1999 law could have been an
opportunity for real
reform. Instead, mired in the populist politics of
conservative forces
playing on ethno-cultural fears, the 1999 Citizenship
law deepened
the discriminatory nature of citizenship by
institutionalizing
stratification based on nationality. Instead of
fostering a culture of
civic virtue wherein citizens are encouraged to
participate by the
nature of being included as citizens, the new law
created an obstacle
course wherein the prize became the legal status of
citizen. This
demonstrates injustice in so far as that these
hurdles do not apply to
other Europeans. In Germany, because its largest
ethnic minority
population is made up of third-country nationals,
citizenship
stratification is all the more evident. This book is
an analysis of the
most recent citizenship law in Germany embedded in
the context of
the construction and development of such laws.
Analyzing German
citizenship laws allows us as political scientists to
study the salient
social, legal and political impact that citizenship has.