Party Competition and Inclusion of Immigrants in Germany

Abstract In the history of traditional immigration countries, i.e., countries with an open policy and tradition of immigration, migration has exercised a great influence on party systems and election results. In Europe, the current situation in Austria illustrates very clearly how migration can affect the electoral success of political parties. Apart from cases highlighting the isolated success of radical right-wing, xenophobic parties at the regional level, immigration in Germany has not had any marked influence on the party system up to today. An essential reason for this fact is that a large number of the immigrants do not have or have not yet gained German citizenship and, as a result, are not entitled to vote. But if we anticipate the future development of sustained immigration and naturalization in Germany, the number of migrants entitled to vote will likely grow in the near future. What implications will immigration have upon have upon the German party system? And, what implications will the German party system have upon immigration policy and the integration of a large migrant population? This article is intended to make a first attempt to approach this complex subject by using the classic theories by Lipset/ Rokkan and Downs which explain parties and the shape of party systems. In this article I note that the role of parties in solving the question of the integration of immigrants in German society has been underestimated. Following the theory of Lipset/ Rokkan it can be concluded that until now the importance of parties in their serving as bridges between various social groups is not recognized sufficiently in contemporary German migration research. The special role of parties surrounding the debate on immigration and the integration of immigrants is also emphasized by the Rational-Choice-Theory introduced into the party system research by Downs. According to Downs' rational-choice prerogative , integration is not primarily socially and culturally determined, it is rather a question of will, or the benefit of parties. From this it seems to be clear that migration policy is dependent on interests, which can mean, on the one hand, that parties build bridges, but which also means that social cleavages can be created by parties. 1. Introduction: German Party System and the Position of Immigrants Throughout the history of countries with an open policy and tradition of immigration, migration has exercised a great influence on party systems and election results. Thus, immigration in Israel has led to a restructuring of the party system as immigrants, with a view to safeguarding their own specific interests, have founded parties of their own and which have participated in different constellations in the Israeli Government (Klein 200). Likewise, in the USA, the significance of the electoral strength of several immigrant populations has been a subject of discussion for a quite some time. Even during presidential elections, electoral researchers discovered that "immigrant votes" were decisive for the outcome of the elections (Kleppner 1966; Luconi 1989). In Europe, which is the "new continent of immigration" (Thranhardt 1996), the current situation in Austria illustrates very clearly how migration can affect the party system. Although Austria was seen for a long time as having one of the most stable party systems in West Europe, this stability was lost very suddenly after the success and participation in government of the extreme rightist "Anti-Immigration-Party", FPO, which has caused considerable apprehension abroad. Similar situations can be observed in the other West-European neighboring countries, France, Italy and Switzerland, in which right-wing extremist parties have become established on the national level, a part of whose success is based on Anti-Emigration campaigns. Apart from cases of the isolated success of radical right-wing, xenophobic parties on the regional level, immigration in Germany, with the exception of a short period between 1953 and 1957, has not had any marked influence on the party system up to the present. …