Germany's Citizenship Policy in Comparative Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID3668603
AuthorsMarc M Howard (0000-0003-3669-6997, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume30
Issue1
Pages39-51
Publication date2012-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGerman Politics & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-0300 • E-ISSN: 1558-5441
PublisherBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3167/gps.2012.300103
OpenAlexW2332256050
LanguageEN
Citations received4

This article puts the 1999 German Nationality Act into a comparative European perspective. By applying a common measure of the relative restrictiveness or inclusiveness of a country's citizenship policy to the countries of the EU-15 at two different time periods, it provides an analysis of change both within and across countries. From this perspective, Germany has clearly moved "up" from having the single most restrictive law before the 1999 reform to a more moderate policy today. Yet Germany's major "liberalizing change" was also tempered by a significant "restrictive backlash." The German case therefore provides support for a broader theoretical argument about the potential for mobilized anti-immigrant public opinion to nullify the liberalization that often occurs within the realm of elite politics

Citizenship · Development economics · Economics · Elite · European union · Geography · German · Immigration · International trade · Liberalization · Nationality · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Realm · Restrictiveness · Sociology · Turkish · European Union Policy and Governance · Law

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