Thesis
ETHNIC NATION-STATES AT THE CROSSROADS
Institutions, Political Coalitions, and Immigration Policies
in Germany and Japan
Submitted by
Jan Patrick Seidel
Graduate School of Public Policy

In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree Master of Public Policy
The University of Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Summer 2015

Advisor: Kentarō Maeda

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my advisor Kentarō Maeda for the direction and advice in writing my thesis.
I would also like to thank Chisako Kaga, my family and friends in Germany and Japan for theunconditional emotional support. Finally, I would like to thank the University of Tokyo for thefinancial assistance that made my stay in Japan possible.
誠にありがとうございました！

Table of contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... IIABBREVIATION INDEX .......................................................................................... 1
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 5
1. THEORIES OF IMMIGRATION POLICY-MAKING AND THE CASES OF GERMANY AND
JAPAN .................................................................................................................12
1.1 Theoretical and methodological considerations .....................................121.1.1 Three theory streams of immigration and integration policy-making ..121.1.2 Theorizing the interactions between political coalitions and institutionsin immigration policy-making .....................................................................17
1.2 Convergence and divergence in Germany and Japan’s immigration andintegration policies..........................................................................................21
1.2.1 Late policy divergence........................................................................21
1.2.1.1 Citizenship laws ...........................................................................21
1.2.1.2 Immigrant incorporation ...............................................................21
1.2.1.3 Asylum policies ............................................................................22
1.2.2 Early policy divergence and late convergence:
Labor immigration policies ..........................................................................23
2. GERMANY AT THE CROSS-ROADS: INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION AND
INERTIA OF A RELUCTANT COUNTRY OF IMMIGRATION..........................................26
2.1 Institutional and political antecedents in Germany’s contemporary
immigration and integration policies ...............................................................26
2.1.1 Nation-building and pre-war immigration policies ................................26
2.1.1.1 Immigration policies between agrarian interests and nationalism:
The institutionalization of the first national recruitment system ................26
2.1.1.2 The assertion of conservative interests during the reformof the Nationality Act ...............................................................................29
2.1.1.3 Immigration policies during the World Wars:
Continuity and rupture ..............................................................................30
2.1.2 The guest worker program as a critical antecedent: Germany’s
immigration policies from 1945 to 1998 ......................................................33
2.1.2.1 Immigration policies under Allied occupation: Processing the
migratory consequences in the aftermath of the war .................................33
2.1.2.2 Executive dominance and the primacy of foreign policy: The
initiation of the guest worker program ......................................................34

2.1.2.3 Policy stagnation, party polarization and interest alignment:
Germany’s consolidation as a “de facto country of immigration” .............36
2.1.2.4 Germany as a country of asylum? New immigration streams andpost-unification immigration policies .......................................................42
2.2 The reform of the Immigration Act 2000/2004: Critical juncture or
incremental change? .......................................................................................46
2.2.1 The structure of institutions and political coalitions in immigration
policy-making before the reform period .......................................................46
2.2.1.1 Institutions: Administration, legislation and judicial review .........46
2.2.1.2 Party positions ..............................................................................51
2.2.1.3 Societal coalitions and interest groups ..........................................60
2.2.1.3.1 Immigrant associations ...........................................................60
2.2.1.3.2 Employer organizations ..........................................................68
2.2.1.3.3 Churches and welfare organizations ........................................69
2.2.1.3.4 Civil society groups and NGOs ...............................................72
2.2.2 Analyzing the reform period from 1999 to 2004: Elite consensus andregional dissent ............................................................................................73
2.2.2.1 Legislative changes ......................................................................73
2.2.2.2 Political coalitions and institutions of the Citizenship Act
and the Immigration Act ...........................................................................78
2.3 Critical antecedents and critical juncture? The aftermath of the
Immigration Act ...........................................................................................101
3. JAPAN’S IMMIGRATION POLICY-MAKING IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ...105
3.1 Institutional and political antecedents in Japan’s contemporary
immigration and integration policies .............................................................105
3.1.1 The Japanese nation-state and ethnic nationalism .............................105
3.1.2 History of Japan’s immigration policy-making .................................106
3.1.2.1 Between emigration and colonialism: Japan’s pre-war migrationand citizenship policies ...........................................................................106
3.1.2.2 Restricting entry and preventing settlement: Japan’s post-war
immigration policies until 1990 ..............................................................109
3.1.3 The history of immigration policy-making of Japan
and Germany in comparison ......................................................................114
3.2 Immigration reform in Japan: Similarities anddifferences with Germany .............................................................................117
3.2.1 The structure of institutions and political coalitions in immigration
policy-making before the reform period .....................................................117

3.2.1.1 Institutions: Administration, legislation and judicial review ........117
3.2.1.2 Party positions ............................................................................121
3.2.1.3 Societal coalitions and interest groups ........................................123
3.2.1.3.1 Immigrant associations .........................................................123
3.2.1.3.2 Trade unions .........................................................................127
3.2.1.3.3 Employer organizations ........................................................130
3.2.1.3.4 Civil society groups and NGO ..............................................132
3.2.2 Analyzing immigration reform and inertia from 1980 to today: Elite
dissent and political fragmentation ............................................................134
3.2.2.1 The immigration situation in the 1980s and 1990s ......................134
3.2.2.2 Immigration reforms from 1982 until today ................................135
3.2.2.3 The 1990 immigration reform: Repeating Germany’s mistakes? 141
3.2.2.3.1 Political coalitions in comparison..........................................141
3.2.2.3.2 Institutions in comparison .....................................................143
3.2.2.4 The immigration reforms during the 2000s .................................146
3.2.2.4.1 Political coalitions in comparison..........................................146
3.2.2.4.2 Institutions in comparison .....................................................150
4. CONCLUSION: INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL COALITIONS IN ETHNIC NATIONSTATES .............................................................................................................155
SOURCES AND REFERENCES ...............................................................................162

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Abbreviation index
AA
AfD
AFG
APVO
AsylVFG
AuslG
AWO
BA
BAA

BAMF
BMAS
BDA
BDI
BMF
BIG
BITKOM
BMI
BMJ
BMBF
BMW
BVerfG
BfV
BZI
CDA

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Germany)
Auswärtiges Amt
Alternative for Germany
Alternative für Deutschland
Work Promotion Law
Arbeitsförderungsgesetz
1938 Foreigner Police Regulation
Ausländerpolizeiverordnung
1982 Asylum Process Law
Asylverfahrengesetz
1965 Alien Act (Germany)
Workers’ Welfare (Germany)
Arbeiterwohlfahrt
Employment Agency
Arbeitsamt
Federal Agency for Employment Services and Unemployment Insurance/
Federal Agency for Employment
Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsvermittlung und Arbeitslosenversicherung/
Bundesagentur für Arbeit
Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge
Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Germany)
Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Sozialordnung
Federation of German Employers
Bund Deutscher Arbeitgeber
Federation of the German Industry
Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie
Federal Ministry of Finance
Bundesministerium der Finanzen
Federation for Innovation and Justice
Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit
Federal Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media
Bundesverband für Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien
Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)
Bundesministerium des Innern
Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany)
Bundesjustizministerium
Federal Ministry for Education and Research
Bundesministerium für Bildung und ForschungFederal Ministry of Economic Affairs (Germany)
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft
German Federal Court
Bundesverfassungsgericht
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz
Federal Immigration and Integration Council
Bundeszuwanderungs- und Integrationrat
Christian-Democratic Employees

1Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads
CDU
CSU
DAG
DAZ
DIHK
DITIB
DM
DP
DPJ
DGB
DTU
DPWV
DVU
EC

Christlich-Demokratische Arbeitnehmerschaft
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian Social Union
Christlich-Soziale Union
German Employees Union
Deutsche Angestellten-Gewerkschaft
German Workers Agency
Deutsche Arbeiterzentrale
Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce
Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag
Turkish-Islamic Union of the Religious Institutions
Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği
Deutsche Mark
Displaced Person/sDeutsche Arbeiter Zentrale
Democratic Party of Japan民主党
German Trade Union Federation
Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
German-Turkish Union
Deutsch-Türkische Union
German Paritatic Welfare Organization
Deutscher Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband
German People’s Union
Deutsche Volksunion
European Community

ECSC

European Coal and Steel Community

EKD
EPA

Evangelical Church in Germany
Evangeliche Kirche in Deutschland
Economic Partnership Agreement

EU

European Union

FDP

Free Democratic Party (Germany)
Freie Demokratische Partei
Federal Republic of Germany
Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Free Trade Agreement

FRG
FTA
GDR
GG
ICCB
ICO
ICARRA

German Democratic Republic
Deutsche Demokratische Republik
Basic Law
Grundgesetz
Organization of Islamic Associations and Communities Cologne
Islami Cemiyetve Cemaatleri Birligi
Immigration Control Order
出入国管理令Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act

2Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads
IT-ArGV

LDP
LTD
JCP
JET
JITCO
JSP
METI
MHLW
MOFA
MOJ
NGO
NPD
ÖTV
PDS
PEGIDARFA
RuStAG
SCAP
SDP
SED
SME
SPD
StAG

出入国管理及び難民認定法
Regulation on residence permits for highly qualified
foreign specialists in information- and communication technologies
Verordnung über die Arbeitsgenehmigung für hoch qualifizierte
ausländische Fachkräfte der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
自由民主党
Liberal-Turkish-German Association
Liberal Türkisch-Deutsche Vereinigung
Japanese Communist Party
日本共産党
Japan Exchange and Teaching
Japan International Training Cooperation Organization
国際研修協力機構
Japanese Socialist Party
日本社会党
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
経済産業省
Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (Japan)
厚生労働省
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)
外務省
Ministry of Justice (Japan)
法務省
Non-Governmental Organization
National-democratic Party of Germany
National-demokratische Partei Deutschlands
Union for Public Services, Transportation and Traffic
Gewerkschaft öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr
Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus
Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Occident
Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes
Federal Agency for Employment Services
Reichsamt für Arbeitsvermittlung
1913 Nationality Act (Germany)
Reichs- and Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Social Democratic Party (Japan)
社会民主党
Socialist Unity Party of Germany (GDR)
Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
Small- and medium-sized enterprises
Social-democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Citizenship Law (Germany)
Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz

3Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads
UNHCR

United Nations Commissioner for Refugees

USA

United States of America

WWII

Second World War

ZuwandG

2004 Immigration Act (Germany)
2004 Zuwanderungsgesetz

4Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Abstract
Both Germany and Japan share similar historical conceptions of a nation-state defined by ethnicity and ius
sanguinis nationality rules. Accordingly, both countries were traditionally skeptical of admitting immigrants
and proactively accepting ethnic minorities. However, Germany opened up its labor market for low-skilledlabor in the early post-war period and significantly reformed its immigration and citizenship policies in the late
1990s and early 2000s by including immigrant integration measures into an inclusive political and societal
strategy while Japan did not make any substantial changes. Low-skilled labor is instead admitted informallythrough various “side-doors”. Neither have there been serious attempts to facilitate immigrant integration oralter citizenship policies at the national level in order to facilitate the naturalization and inclusion of immigrants.
Hence, given the existing pressures towards liberalizing immigration policy, what explains resistance to change
in Japan? And given the pervasive resistance to reform in Germany in the past, what explains the recent shift
to immigration reform? How and why were changes limited in the end? In this paper, I hypothesize that change
in immigration policies is related to the structure of institutions and political coalitions as well as to the different
historical experiences after the end of the Second World War in each country. I analyze the differences in thesestructures and histories in detail by using a framework of historical institutionalism considering both long-term
antecedents and short-term shifts in political coalitions and institutions before and during a significant legal
juncture. I will offer a case study of the paradigm change in Germany for the new Immigration Act (Zuwanderungsgesetz) and Citizenship Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) versus the more incremental changes in Japanand study the different legislative approaches and political processes from a comparative perspective. I findthat the outcomes in Germany are generally related to foreign policy concerns after the Second World War that
led to the unexpected settlement of immigrants. More recently, the inability to create a more thorough paradigm
change in immigration and integration policies is related to an adverse combination of party competition andfederal veto players in Germany’s consensual political system. In Japan, the fragmentation of interest groups
and ministerial interests only led to policies that were highly “reactive” and related to foreign policy, without
a proactive vision of immigration or integration. Due to the substantial fragmentation of interests, politicalcoalitions in favor of immigration reform were often only strong enough when immigration issues received an“international” dimension.

Introduction“It’s not an immigration policy. We’d like [foreign workers] to work and raise incomes for a limited period oftime, and then return home.” (Shinzō Abe, 2014)1“Within the next four years, it will be necessary to reduce the number of Turks by 50 percent, but I cannot say
this publicly. It is impossible for Germany to assimilate the current number of Turks.” (Helmut Kohl, 1982) 2

When Otto von Bismarck talked to representatives of the Japanese Meiji state, he noticed the lackof industrialization in the modernizing country that seemed surprisingly similar to the situation inPrussia before 1830: “The conditions in your country, gentlemen, are just as they were in Prussia
several years ago. I can understand the circumstances quite well, because I have been born in a small

Jonathan Soble, “Japan stands by immigration controls despit shrinking population,” The Financial Times, 6th February
2014, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/32788ff0-ea00-11e3-99ed-00144feabdc0.html.
2
Der Spiegel, “Kohl verteidigt seine Äußerungen über Türken,” 2nd August 2013, http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/kohl-verteidigt-seine-aeusserungen-ueber-tuerken-a-914528.html.
15Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

and weak country that has slowly raised itself to the status that it enjoys today.”3 Indeed, the development of two “small and weak countries” towards two economic powerhouses has followed surprisingly similar phases even though Japan often lagged behind Germany: Both countries were “belated nation-states” developing a centralized government only in the 19 th century, both became allies
during the Second World War (WWII) and both were closely allied to the United States (US) and saw
strong export-led growth rates in the post-war period.
When it comes to migration, Japan and Germany were countries of emigration for the most part oftheir long histories and created a significant diaspora of German and Japanese ethnics in other countries. But here, too, Japan received immigrants on a significant scale much later than Germany inwhich economic interests could exploit the porous Eastern borders in the 19th century in order tomatch labor scarcities in agriculture and the industries while Japan still faced typical problems oflabor-exporting countries such as the discrimination of its citizens in host countries. Both states relied
on a self-conception of “ethnic” and culturally homogeneous nation-states for which immigration was
primarily a security issue that threatened the stability of the young state and, in the case of Germany,even the national borders. Japan’s Nationality Act was thus drafted in analogy to the German version
and defined citizenship in terms of ius sanguinis rules. Even though the volume of immigration wasconsistently higher in Germany, 4 the lack of a political concept of immigration was evident in bothcountries’ exclusionary treatment of immigrants with respect to societal integration. Even after the
recruitment program for foreign labor was halted and family reunification and settlement tendencies
became clearly visible in Germany, the government still only saw immigrants as temporary “guest”
workers while unskilled immigrants in Japan faced the exploitation of employers through various
illegal and “backdoor” immigration channels.
However, in contrast to Japan, a comprehensive new Immigration Act was ratified in Germany in2004 that officially consolidated Germany’s status as a “country of immigration” after decades ofofficial neglect even though it fell short of more substantial proposals. Japan, on the other hand,adopted a scheme for the acceptance of ethnic Japanese from Latin America (nikkeijin) in 1990 including the possibility of their long-term settlement without altering the framework of immigrant

Dietrich Thränhardt, “Japan und Deutschland in der Welt nach dem Kalten Krieg,” in Japan und Deutschland in der
Welt nach dem Kalten Krieg, ed. Dietrich Thränhardt, Studien zur Politikwissenschaft 85 (Münster: Lit Verlag, 1996),
15–58, 23f.
4
David Bertram, “Japan and Labor Migration: Theoretical and Methodological Implications of Negative Cases,” International Migration Review 34, no. 1 (2000): 5–32, 6.
36

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

incorporation and socio-political effects comparable to the guest worker program in post-war Germany. It thus seems as if Japan would again follow the pattern of a late-comer in adapting immigration
policies while having largely followed restrictive policies in its post-war history, even under the condition of labor scarcities.
In this paper I want to answer two main questions: First, why has the conceptualization of immigration and integration changed in Germany relative to Japan? And how can we explain phases of convergence and divergence in different areas of immigration policy-making? In order to clarify the divergence in immigration policies, I will compare how Germany changed from a “country of emigration” to a “country of immigration”, why it instituted a guest worker program after the end of WWII
and how it developed a concept of permanent settlement in the 2004 Immigration Act. I will contrast
this development with the evolution of immigration policies in Japan that have been characterized by
selective opening and the general rejection of permanent settlement despite growing immigrant communities. Second, even though comprehensive immigration reform was ultimately realized in Germany, why was this change only limited? Today, labor immigration possibilities continue to be restrictive for third country nationals, especially if they are not skilled. Moreover, new parties and social
movements criticizing the current policies have developed in reaction to the high influx of EU immigrants and the surging number of asylum applications. In Japan, a thorough discussion of admitting
more immigrants has taken place as well, but had only limited effects on the political level. Thus,
what were the institutional, societal and political constraints in reforming immigration in both countries?
This analysis is written with a central focus on the changes in political coalitions and institutions
relating to the immigration and integration of foreigners in Germany and Japan. As immigration policies are still a national prerogative of nation-states in most aspects even in the context of the EU, I
will focus particularly on the national and sub-national level. My methodology that is described moreclosely in the next chapter is based upon the theory of historical institutionalism and the recent additions by Thelen5 and Slater & Simmons6. Interest groups, parties and political actors can form coalitions and are embedded in a framework of changing political institutions. Depending on the configuration of coalitions and institutional constraints, I hypothesize that policies and institutions can change

Kathleen Thelen, “Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics,” Annual Review of Political Science 2 (1999):
369–404.
6
Dan Slater and Erica Simmons, “Informative Regress: Critical Antecedents in Comparative Politics,” Comparative Political Studies 47, no. 7 (2010): 886–917.
57

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

and adapt over time. Coalitions represent a complex set of interests that can be inconsistent and heterogeneous and is seldom reflected by simple class-coalitions in the Marxian sense. While it is debatable if the changes in Germany can be described as a “paradigm change” or a “critical juncture”, theconcept of “critical antecedents” by Slater and Simmons is useful for our purposes because it teaches
us to focus not only on the structure of coalitions and institutions during a significant policy reformperiod, but also analyze relevant historical aspects that might have led to a diverging development
within a country-pair.
I will thus concentrate both on the post-war divergence in immigration policies and the later divergence in integration policies. After sketching out the story of historical antecedents, I will unfold thestructure of immigration politics and the positions of interest groups before the immigration reformin Germany. I will then disentangle the political processes during the reform of the Citizenship Act(1999), the Green Card Initiative (2000) and the reform of the Immigration Act (2000–2004) by analyzing the interactions between and within political coalitions and institutions. I will then interpret thepolicy-making processes in Japan by following the same methodology and especially focus on the
1990s/2000s in which several incremental policy reforms took place. I hope to find key elements that
help to explain why and how countries with a similar understanding of citizenship and immigration
adapt and change their policies over time. On the flip side, it will be necessary to grasp the institutional
and political factors that inhibit a more consequential change and ultimately prevent “ethnic nationstates” from becoming countries of immigration such as the USA or Canada.
My findings reveal that Germany has initially reacted to foreign pressure from countries on theEuropean periphery that persuaded the German government to initiate a guest worker program under
the assumption of its temporariness – an assumption that was reinforced due to the successful rotationof foreign workers in the 19th century. A second stream of immigration was opened with the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) adhering to the principle of the free movement of people that, until today, opens up almost unlimited immigration possibilities for citizens of
its member countries. After the suspension of the recruitment program, the period from the mid-1970s
to the late 1990s was characterized by the proliferation of positions on immigration by parties andinterest groups. The institutional responsibility for immigration policies shifted from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) to the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the postof the Commissioner for Foreigners was created as an innovative political institution but without any
decision-making power. While the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and moderate elements
within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) could prevent a further tightening of immigration and8Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

integration policies by using their influence in the government coalition, a significant change only
happened after the progressive Green Party joined a coalition with the Social-democratic Party ofGermany (SPD). The proactive establishment of a political commission by the BMI representing all
societal interests forged an elite consensus among unions, employer organizations, immigrant associations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), public welfare organizations and churches toestablish a liberalized immigration regime with far-reaching integrative measures. Change, however,
was limited due to the institutional structure of law-making that depended on the agreement of CDUand CSU-led conservative regional governments who held more conservative positions than the federal CDU and could utilize a skeptical public opinion in order to influence both the processes ofdrafting and ratifying the act.
In Japan, on the other hand, neither an elite nor an institutional consensus could yet be produced on
immigration and integration policies. After WWII and the end of the Japanese colonial empire, colonial Korean and Taiwanese immigrants were deprived of their Japanese citizenship in order to enforce
their repatriation. The lack of normalization and reconciliation with South Korea and China closed
down further immigration possibilities until 1965 and 1972, respectively, unlike in Germany where
both the guest worker program and the German consent to the principle of free movement within the
EU were important foreign policy measures to regain the trust of other countries. Interest groups were
not only fragmented among each other, but also within themselves as in the case of employer organizations, unions and immigrant associations. NGOs have largely operated on a local level without asignificant role in national advocacy. Up until the mid-1990s, all parties besides the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) did not formulate a clear position on issues of immigration and integration. The
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) continues to be internally fragmented until today. Similarly, the ministries have strongly competed with each other for proposals of immigration reform while also suffering from internal fragmentation. Although political coalitions have formed on topics of immigration, they have remained loose and fluid. Even though public opinion has not been consistently negative towards immigration, the lack of not only an elite consensus, but a consensus within coalitions
and within interest groups themselves has narrowed the possibilities for immigration reform. Whenreforms took place, they were usually based upon foreign pressure (reform of the trainee and entertainer visa system), the creation of an ad hoc consensus between the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) andthe governing LDP (nikkeijin visa system) or the strong leadership by the Prime Minister and centralized councils (labor chapter in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with labor-exporting countries).

9Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Thus, in the immediate post-war years, historical pressures to reconcile and integrate with neighboring countries and follow the demands of peripheral countries to accept guest workers have clearly
worked in favor of creating a different baseline of immigration in Germany compared to Japan where
the geographical and historical conditions have not led to the establishment of such a program. The
different baseline has been conditional for the later transformation of Germany’s political institutions
and the significant leap forward in the 2000s while no such urgency existed in Japan. It still seems
puzzling though why Germany was not able to reach a more thorough transformation of its institutions
and why Japan continued to remain restrictive on both aspects of immigration and immigrant incorporation even though it was faced with labor scarcities and a growing number of illegal and “backdoor”
immigrants. This difference can be explained more appropriately by the short-term interactions between political coalitions and institutions that will be analyzed in detail.
A variety of studies of Germany’s immigration history and the structure of immigration and integration policies have been written from various academic perspectives (e.g. socio-economic, party
politics).7 The book from Jan Schneider8 analyzing the role of commissions during the most recent
immigration reform period was especially helpful in following the political process of policy-making
from 1999 to 2004. Various publications that focus on aspects of Japan’s immigration and integration
regime can be found as well although the emphasis is often put more on historical aspects rather than7

See (selection) Thomas K. Bauer, Arbeitsmarkteffekte der Migration und Einwanderungspolitik. Eine Analyse für die
Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Beiträge 158 (Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, 1998). Simon
Green, The politics of exclusion. Institutions and immigration policy in contemporary Germany (Manchester/New York:
Manchester University Press, 2004). Mathias Hell, Einwanderungsland Deutschland? Die Zuwanderungsdiskussion
1998–2002 (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2005). James F. Hollifield, “Immigration Policy in Franceand Germany: Outputs versus Outcomes,“ Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 485 (1986):
113–128. Douglas B. Klusmeyer and Demetrios P. Papademetriou, Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany. Negotiating Membership and Remaking the Nation (New York: Berghahn, 2009). Christina Catherine Krause, Neue
Zuwanderungspolitik? Entwicklungen in der 14. Legislaturperiode in Deutschland, Dissertation (University of Kiel,
2004). Holger Kolb, Einwanderung zwischen wohlverstandenem Eigeninteresse und symbolischer Politik. Das Beispiel
der deutschen „Green Card“, Studien zu Migration und Minderheiten 12 (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2004). Dietrich Thränhardt (Ed.), Einwanderung und Einbürgerung in Deutschland: Jahrbuch Migration (Münster: Lit Verlag, 1998). Hermann
Kurthen, “Germany at the Crossroads: National Identity and the Challenges of Immigration,” International Migration
Review 29, no. 4 (1995), 914–938. Klaudia Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien: Akzeptanz und Abwehrvon Migranten im Widerstreit in der Programmatik von SPD, FDP, den Grünen und CDU/CSU, Studien zu Migration
und Minderheiten 19 (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2008).
8
Jan Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens. Kommissionen und Beratungsregime in der deutschen
Migrationspolitik (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2010).

10Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

on policy analysis.9 David Chiavacci has published a comprehensive book in addition to several articles10 on the political process of immigration policies in Japan that could be used for this paper. Whileacademic comparisons of immigration policies exist for Japan and Korea11, Germany and the USA12,
Germany and Great Britain13, Germany and France14 or Germany and Canada15, there has not yet
been a comprehensive publication systematically comparing Japan and Germany. Moreover, while
the theory of historical institutionalism has selectively been adapted to the field of immigration policies,16 my approach combines a historical analysis of the very long-term developments of German
and Japanese immigration and integration policies with a detailed, short-term view on periods of immigration reform under the perspective of interacting institutions and political coalitions.

See (selection) 依光正哲「日本の移民政策を考える: 人口減少社会の課題」 東京.明石書店, 2008. 井口泰 「外国人労働者新時代」 東京.筑摩書房, 2001. 移民研究会 (編集) 「日本の移民研究:動向と文献目録」 東京.明石書店,
2007. Erin Aeran Chung, Immigration and Citizenship in Japan (Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
David Green and Yoshihiko Kadoya. “English as Gateway? Immigration and Public Opinion in Japan,” The Institute ofSocial and Economic Research (Osaka University) Discussion Paper 883 (2013). Yasushi Iguchi, “What Role Do LowSkilled Migrants Play in the Japanese Labor Market?” American Behavioral Scientist 56, no. 8 (2012): 1029–1057. Hiromi Mori, Immigration Policy and Foreign Workers in Japan (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997). Deborah J.
Milly, New Policies for New Residents. Immigrants, Advocacy, and Governance in Japan and Beyond (Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 2014). Apichai W. Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners. Immigration and Its Impact on Japanese Democracy (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008). Keiko Yamanaka, “New Immigration Policy and Unskilled Foreign Workers in Japan,” Pacific Affairs 66, no. 1 (1993): 72–90.
10David Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik. Ostasiatisches Umfeld, ideelle Diversität und institutionelle
Fragmentierung (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2011). David Chiavacci, “Immigrations- und Ausländerpolitik: Japan auf dem Weg zu einer aktiven Zuwanderungspolitik?” in Japan nach Koizumi: Wandel in Politik,
Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, ed. Michael Behrens and Jochen Legewie (Nomos: Baden-Baden, 2007): 75–86. David
Chiavacci, “Japan als starker und schwacher Immigrationsstaat: Die Diskrepanz zwischen Anspruch und Realität derMigrationspolitik,” in Japan 2004. Politik und Wirtschaft, ed. Manfred Pohl and Iris Wieczorek (Institut für Asienkunde/Hamburg, 2004): 47–84.
11Erin Aeran Chung, “Diverging Patterns of Immigrant Incorporation in Korea and Japan,” Pacific Affairs 83, no. 4(2010): 675–696.
12
Doris Dickel, Einwanderungs- und Asylpolitik der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, Frankreich und derBundesrepublik Deutschland. Eine vergleichende Studie der 1980er und 1990er Jahre (Wiesbaden: Springer, 2002).
13
Helen Marie Williams, Examining the Nature of Policy Change: A New Institutionalist Explanation of Citizenship andNaturalisation Policy in the UK and Germany, 2000–2010, Dissertation (University of Birmingham, 2011).
14
Sebastian Kuschel, Integrationspolitik in Deutschland und Frankreich. Der politische Umgang mit Migranten im
Vergleich (Hamburg: Diplomica, 2012).
15
Ellen Hofmann, Contemporary Immigration Policy in Canada and Germany. A Comparison (Norderstedt: Grin Verlag,2007).
16
Daniel J. Tichenor, Dividing Lines. The Politics of Immigration Control in America (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 2002). Georg Menz, “Changing Patterns and Parameters in EU Immigration Policy,” Paper presented at EUSA
Eight Biennial International Conference, 27th to 29th March 2003, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. André Lecours, “Theorizing Cultural Identities: Historical Institutionalism as a Challenge to the Culturalists,” Canadian Journal of Political Science 33, no. 3 (2000): 499–522.
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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

1. Theories of immigration policy-making and the cases of Germany and Japan
1.1 Theoretical and methodological considerations
1.1.1 Three theory streams of immigration and integration policy-making
While economic and historical immigration theories studying the pull- and push-factors of immigration have been well-developed and systematized, the conceptualization of immigration policies isa rather recent stream with most studies written in the 1990s and 2000s. In general, the theories canbe divided into border control and immigrant integration theories. The former encompasses various
analyses of labor migration, refugee policies, national security implications, welfare politics, the economic interests of disaggregated groups, governmental and legislative politics, the role of courts,
international relations and other relevant aspects that explain why immigration policies would beeither relatively open or restricted. The latter comprises theories related to citizenship and naturalization, the human and civil rights of immigrants in their host country, their integration into the labormarket, the education system and other societal structures, their spatial distribution, and other issues
that concern the inclusive or exclusive treatment of immigrants in host societies. 17
Within these two different groups, three different methodologies can be distinguished: the firstgroup contains economic or political economic theories. A number of neo-classical theories are based
upon the assumed relationship between the openness of immigration regimes and macroeconomic
variables such as the unemployment rate, economic growth or labor demand in different industries.
Other theories consider specific economic interests, especially those of low-skilled workers and unions that are concerned about an increase in unemployment and a negative influence on wages, andthose of employers that lobby for liberalized immigration policies to match labor scarcities. Freeman
argues that employers should be expected to prevail in this conflict due to their higher grade of concentrated interests and political influence.18

For a more comprehensive literature review, see Eytan Meyers, “Theories of International Immigration Policy – A
Comparative Analysis,” International Migration Review 34, no. 4 (2000): 1245–1282. Jeannette Money, “Comparative
Immigration Politics,” Unpublished paper, http://www.isacompss.com/info/samples/comparativeimmigrationpolicy_sample.pdf. Gary Freeman, “Political Science and Comparative Immigration Politics,” in International Migration
Research: Constructions, Omissions and the Promises of Interdisciplinarity, ed. Virginie Guiraudon and Christian Joppke(London: Routledge, 2001).
18
Gary Freeman, “Modes of Immigration Politics in Liberal Democratic States,” International Migration Review 29, no.
4 (1995): 881–902.
17

12

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Marxist theories analyze the political economy of immigration and see migration policies in connection with government-supported capitalism that creates a labor force which is easily exploitable
and highly flexible ultimately leading to a dual labor market – one consisting of unionized and protected natives and the other consisting of exploited foreign workers and illegal immigrants. Immigration is depicted as a means to divide the working class and keep wages from rising. Marxism predicts
that immigration policies become restrictive in times of recession as a means to prevent overproduction that would lead to the predicted crisis of capitalism.19
While these effects might be observable indeed, the theories do not explain the endogenous politicalprocesses that work in favor of or against changing immigration policies under the influence of interest groups. By excluding governmental and party politics from their analyses, economic or Marxist
analyses do not explain why exactly the government chooses a specific lobby over others in implementing a specific policy or why it prioritizes, for example, economic growth before protecting thejobs of low-skilled labor. Moreover, the theories suggest that all interest groups are necessarily homogeneous and consistent actors. Neither neo-classical nor Marxist theories can be applied without
contradictions to the cases of Germany and Japan. In Germany, the guest worker program that led toa high influx of foreign workers was stopped just when the unemployment rate was at a record low. 20
Neither did unions consistently oppose immigration. Instead, they tacitly agreed to the guest worker
program in the 1950s and developed a moderate perspective on immigration until the 2000s. The
creation of a dual labor market was prevented by proactive government policies under union involvement. In Japan, the contradictions to orthodox economic theory are even clearer: even in times of
economic growth and labor scarcities, Tokyo did not reform immigration. A moderate program to
admit foreign labor was instead ratified in 1990 when labor demand was not particularly high. Moreover, major interest groups such as employer organizations and unions were split within themselves
which complicated their advocacy role. Under both non-Marxist and Marxist theories, we would also
generally expect a convergence of immigration policies under similar economic conditions which isManuel Castells, “Immigrant Workers and Class Struggles in Advanced Capitalism: The Western European Experience,”
Politics and Society 5, no. 1 (1975): 33–66. Elizabeth M. Petras: “The Global Labor Market in the Modern World-Economy,” in Global Trends in Migration, ed. Mary Kritz, Charles Keely and Silvano Tomasi (New York: The Center for
Migration Studies of New York): 44–63. Alejandro Portes, “Modes of Structural Incorporation and Present Theories of
Liberal Immigration,” in Global Trends in Migration, 279–297. Stephen Castles and Godula Kosack, Immigrant Workers
and Class Structure in Western Europe (London: Oxford University Press). Michael J. Piore, Birds of Passage: MigrantLabor and Industrial Societies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979).
20
Trading Economics, “Germany Unemployment Rate 1950–2015,” http://www.tradingeconomics.com/germany/unemployment-rate.
19

13

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

highly debatable in Germany and Japan. They also do not offer a suitable explanation for the preference of ethnic Germans and Japanese as immigrants or the evolution of refugee and asylum policies.
A second group of theories could be defined as historical or socio-cultural theories which often use
the assumption that long historical processes and abstract models of citizenship and nationality determine the immigration and integration policies in specific countries. Huntington, for instance, applies
his “clash of civilization“ theory to domestic politics in the US stating that the long-term immigrationof Latin Americans would eventually lead to conflicts between immigrants and US-American citizens
thus triggering more restrictive immigration policies.21 Leitner or Meissner similarly stress the importance of national ideologies and concepts of citizenship that determine a state’s immigration policies.22 Germany’s and Japan’s identities as “belated” nations have influenced theories on the relation
between national identity and immigration policies that traced these identities back until the very
foundations of the nation-states in the 19th century. 23 Both countries share the same characteristics as
ethnic states with (ideally) homogeneous societies and ius sanguinis citizenship policies. Nativist reactions to immigration in these “ethnic nation-states” are often seen as proof for these theories.24
Japanese scholars especially sometimes reinforce the image of Japan as a culturally homogeneous
nation-state by focusing, for instance, on the difficulties of integrating other nationalities into theJapanese culture.25 Contemporary political science theories are especially developed when it comesto the conceptualization of citizenship and “denizenship” regimes as well as immigrant incorporation
measures that are deemed to be dependent on the national self-conception to either exclude, assimilate

Samuel P. Huntington, Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity (New York: Simon & Schuster,2004).
22
Helga Leitner, “International migration and the politics of admission and exclusion in postwar Europe,” Political Geography 14, no. 3 (1995): 259–278. Doris Meissner, “Managing Migrations,” Foreign Policy 86 (1992): 66–83.
23
Rogers Brubaker, Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992).
James F. Hollifield, “Migration, Trade, and the Nation-State: The Myth of Globalization,” UCLA Journal of International
Law and Foreign Affairs 3, no. 2 (1998): 595–636. Hermann Kurthen, “Germany at the Crossroads: National Identity andthe Challenges of Immigration,” International Migration Review 29, no. 4 (1995): 914–938.
24
Meyers, “Theories of International Immigration Polies,” 1523.
25
Takashi Kibe and Dietrich Thränhardt, “Japan: A Non-Immigration Country Discusses Migration,” in National Paradigms of Migration Research, ed. Dietrich Thränhardt and Michael Bommes (Göttingen: V&R unipress, 2010): 233–258,
244.
21

14

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

or accept and embrace immigrants.26 Joppke’s theory of the process of “de-ethnicization” and “reethnicization” in ethnic nation-states is one example for this theory stream.27
While this paper agrees with the basic assumption that Germany and Japan have similar self-conceptions of themselves as “ethnic nation-states”, this conception itself does not answer the question
why both countries – and especially Germany – have changed their immigration and integration policies over time. According to socio-cultural theories, Germany and Japan should be expected to maintain the same policies or at least revert to restrictive policies again after the influx of immigrants hascaused the opposition of nativist elements in society. The theories also have difficulties recognizingthat there have always been competing concepts of national identity that differ across parties, groups
and individuals. They do not explain very well how an abstract concept of national or cultural identity
plays out on the micro-level. Germany’s polity has changed from an exclusionary concept of national
identity defining immigrants as temporary “guests” to notions of inclusiveness that have been expressed, for instance, with former Federal President Wulff’s statement that “Islam is also part of Germany.”28 Japan might be a more significant case for the ethno-cultural theories of immigration, buthere, too, we have seen an extensive debate on admitting more immigrants and making Japan a morediverse society in the 2000s.
Finally, there are institutionalist theories that analyze the influence and role of political or judicial
institutions at the supra-national, national, regional or local level on immigration and integration policies. While there is a variety of topics, one important stream concentrates on the relation between
international or regional regimes and immigration policies with the European Union (EU) as the mostfar-reaching example of a union of states that has enabled the free movement of people within its
borders.29 Other aspects at the supra-national level include the emergence of global human rights

26

See (selection) Stephen Castles and Mark Miller, The Age of Migration (New York: Guilford Press, 2003). Ruud
Koopmans et al., Contested Citizenship: Immigration and Cultural Diversity in Europe (Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 2005). Tomas Hammer, Democracy and the Nation State: Aliens, Denizens, and Citizens in a World ofInternational Migration (Aldershot: Avebury, 1990). Robert Miles and Dietrich Thränhardt, Migration and European
Integration: The Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion (Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1995).
27
Christian Joppke, “Citizenship between De- and Re-Ethnicization,” European Journal of Sociology 44, no. 3 (2003):
429–458.
28
Christian Wulff, Excerpts from the speech at the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of German reunification in Bremen, in Handelsblatt, 3rd October 2010, http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/wulff-rede-im-wortlaut-der-islam-gehoert-zu-deutschland/3553232.html.
29
Andrew Geddes, The Politics of Migration and Immigration in Europe (New York: SAGE, 2003). Elspeth Guild, The
Legal Elements of European Identity: EU Citizenship and Migration Law (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2004).
Andrew Convey and Marek Kupiszewski, “Keeping Up with Schengen: Migration and Policy in the European Union,”International Migration Review 29, no. 4 (1995: 939–963. Rey Koslowski, “EU Migration Regimes: Established andEmergent,” in Challenge to the Nation-State: Immigration in Western Europe and the United States, ed. Christian Joppke(London: Oxford University Press, 1998).

15

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

regimes30 and the effects of globalization restricting the sovereignty of states to autonomously determine immigration and citizenship policies.31 At the state level, Joppke analyzes the role of the constitutional order in liberal democracies and argues that an independent judiciary has a conducive effecton integration since the civic and political rights of immigrants are often recognized by courts. 32 Other
factors assumed to influence the openness of immigration policies include the autonomy of state institutions,33 the design of the welfare state,34 the geographic concentration of immigrants,35 the roleof the executive36 or considerations of national security.37
A different approach focuses on domestic politics, the party system and interest group dynamics.
Rather than an autonomous bureaucracy, the pressure of interest groups determines the policies of thegovernment – sometimes even against the will of the majority. Depending on the structure and relative
pressure of lobbies, immigration policies can change over time.38
Finally, there are analyses of the local level of immigration policies, especially with respect to Japan.
Amongst other topics, they deal with the integration efforts of local communities and NGOs in improving the circumstances for foreigners with respect to education, political participation and theprotection of human rights.39

30

Yasemin N. Soysal, Limits of Citizenship: Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1994).
31
Saskia Sassen, “Beyond Sovereignty: Immigration Policy Making Today,” Social Justice 23, no. 3 (1996): 9–20.
Stephen Castles, “Globalization and Migration: Some Pressing Contradictions,” International Social Science Journal 50,
no. 2 (1998): 179–186.
32
Joppke, “Citizenship between De- and Re-Ethnicization.”
33
Douglas S. Massey, “International Migration at the Dawn of the Twenty First Century: The Role of the State,” Population and Development Review 25, no. 2: 202–322.
34
Michael Bommes and Andrew Geddes, Immigration and Welfare: Challenging the Borders of the Welfare State (Abingdon et al.: Taylor & Francis, 2002).
35
Jeannette Money, “No Vacancy: The Political Geography of Immigration Control in Advanced Industrial Countries,”
International Organization 51, no. 4 (1997): 685–720. Jeannette Money, Fences and Neighbors: The Political Geographyof Immigration Control (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999).
36
Marc R. Rosenblum, “The Political Determinants of Migration Control: A Quantitative Analysis,” Migraciones Internacionales 2, no. 1: 161–170. Reginald Whitaker, Double Standard: The Secret History of Canadian Immigration (Toronto: Lester and Orpen, 1987).
37
Myron Weine (ed.), International Migration and Security (Westview: Boulder, 1993).
38
Hartmut Esser and Hermann Korte, “Federal Republic of Germany,” in European Immigration Policy: A Comparative
Study, ed. Tomas Hammar (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985): 165–205. Vermon M. Briggs, Immigration
Policy and the American Labor Force (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1984). Richard B. Craig, The Bracero
Program: Interest Groups and Foreign Policy (Austin/London: University of Texas Press, 1971).
39
Kibe and Thränhardt, “Japan: A Non-Immigration Country Discusses Migration,” 247ff.

16

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Next to these main categories, there are a variety of case studies and inter-disciplinary studies.40 In
addition, empirical studies and typologies have been created that can be used as a basis for the comparative analysis of immigration and integration policies over a range of countries. 41

Figure 1. Theories of immigration and integration policies (by author)

1.1.2 Theorizing the interactions between political coalitions and institutions in immigration policy-making
In this analysis, I intend to determine which factors determine change and resistance to change incountries that have been termed “ethnic nation-states” by scholars of the second stream of immigration policy theories. In order to achieve this goal, it will be necessary to synthesize the various findings and theoretical considerations into a more comprehensive theory. This theory at least needs tofulfill the following requirements. First, it should be based upon the political process of policy-making instead of assuming abstract principles under which policies are designed. Societal and politicalinterests are channelized in institutional processes that need to be analyzed in greater detail. Second,
it is necessary to bridge the artificial distinction between immigration and integration policies. Bothaspects are usually given the same weight in actual political debates while integration measures are
See Meyers, “Theories of International Immigration Policy.” Money, “Comparative Immigration Politics.”
Han Entzinger, “The dynamics of Integration Policies: A Multidimensional Model,” in Challenging Immigration andEthnic Relations Politics, ed. Ruud Koopmans and Paul Statham (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Marc M.
Howard, The Politics of Citizenship in Europe (Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press, 2009), Andrew Geddes etal., European Civic Citizenship and Inclusion Index (Brussels: British Council Brussels, 2005). Migrant Integration Policy
Index (MIPEX), http://www.mipex.eu.
40
41

17

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

often directly included into immigration laws as it was the case in Germany. Third, the theory should
recognize long-term historical processes and external conditions, but not take an overly deterministic
perspective. Similar to domestic interests, both factors, too, are processed through domestic institutions.
This paper will try to bridge some of the theoretical differences between all three approaches byconsidering both long-term historical and short-term economic and political factors. The historicalconstraints in Germany and Japan after WWII and the incidental evolution of institutions and interest
groups are key components in understanding the trajectories of immigration and integration regimes.
Interest groups and institutions did not always have the same positions, but often shifted and adapted
over time. For instance, there was no involvement of parties and only limited debate between interest
groups when the German government adopted the guest worker program in the 1950s. It took morethan 20 years until first concepts of integration arose and another 25 years until all parties developed
a comprehensive position on immigration. Even though classical Marxism is right in claiming that
there are fundamentally different interests between unions and employers when it comes to immigration, this neither means that the means to realize these interests are always the same nor does it meanthat there is no possibility of a political compromise.
The paper will thus focus on the interactions between political institutions (ministries, parliament,
courts, commissions, etc.) and political coalitions in both Germany and Japan in order to explain
phases of convergence and divergence in immigration policies and study the constraints that limit“ethnic nation-states” from achieving a paradigm change. “Political coalitions” can be defined asloose or tight alliances of interest groups, social movements, individual politicians, political parties
and/or ministries that form in order to advocate for political change in correspondence with theirrespective political interests. Depending on the openness of institutional structures within a specificpolitical system, interest groups can be either more or less successful in pressing for their objectives.42
Such institutional integration can be present in corporatist institutions, advisory and policy commissions or (in-)formal connections between parties, individual politicians, ministries and/or interest
groups. Political coalitions might shift or form newly due to specific institutional decisions that were
made. Immigration dynamics, for instance, can lead to the establishment of immigrant associations
and NGOs that potentially have influence at the level of political decision-making. We can assume ingeneral that strong political coalitions are at least dependent on the size of the coalition, the support
David S. Meyer and Douglas R. Imig, “Political Opportunity and the Rise and Decline of Interest Group Sectors,” TheSocial Science Journal 30, no. 3 (1993): 253–170, 256.
42

18

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroadsof public opinion, the internal cohesion both within and between each coalition group, the level of
their institutional embedment and the autonomy of state institutions. The study of immigration policies offers an interesting case that follows their strategic interactions under different political, historical and institutional conditions.
My approach is also close to the theory of historical institutionalism due to its comparative focus
on the political processes of immigration policy-making and a methodology that aspires “to sort out
the causal mechanisms behind observed empirical patterns”43 as Thelen stated. I will mainly study
the legislative frameworks, policy processes and policy documents of interest groups and parties inorder to give a detailed picture of policy positions among political coalitions. Unlike rational choicetheory claims, I will assume that interests are not exogenously given, but rather created and modified
within a specific historical and institutional context. Neither Germany’s nor Japan’s immigrationrelated institutions have unambiguously corresponded to the assumption that institutions follow a
logic of rational choice. Up until the late 1980s, Germany’s immigration and integration policies were
designed under the assumption that the recruited foreign workers would eventually return to theirhome country even though the trend of family reunification in Germany was already clearly noticeable. The ratification of a comprehensive immigration law has taken five years and was still beyond
expectations. In Japan, institutional deficiencies were even more pronounced: instead of legally regulating low-skilled labor immigration, many immigrants could only work in Japan by exploiting several legal loopholes that remained largely unchanged until foreign (and limited domestic) pressureadvocated for change in accordance with the related issues of human trafficking and illegal immigration. The admission of ethnic Japanese from Latin America then led to the immigration of several
hundred thousand immigrants without any national plan for integration in place. While these institutions might follow a particular logic, it is difficult to argue that they would be “rational”. Instead, theymight reflect the power distribution between political coalitions that becomes the basis for a structure
to which parties and interest groups align themselves to.44 Hence, rather than assuming the rationalityof the immigration system in Germany and Japan, I will also consider the contingencies and unintended consequences of policies that were often designed ad hoc under the conditions of fragmented
institutions and/or political coalitions.
Moreover, Slater and Simmons argued that analyzing the causalities long before a “critical juncture”
took place – the “critical antecedents” – are at least as important as scrutinizing the period of the
43
44

Thelen, “Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics,” 372.
Ibid., 392ff.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

juncture itself in order to explain a long-term divergence between two countries.45 Convergence anddivergence in immigration policies has first been studied by Cornelius and Tsuda who hypothesizedthat immigration policies are converging for countries with a similar history and/or close geographicalproximity while they are diverging due to contradictory state policies that attempt to solve labor scarcities while simultaneously trying to maintain social homogeneity. 46 The case of immigration policies
in Germany and Japan seems more complex since we have to differentiate between various areas ofconvergence and divergence and it has yet to be seen if the divergence in legislative outcomes will
necessarily lead to different long-term trajectories. In this paper I will analyze both the sequence ofhistorical events and political processes47 and the structure of political coalitions and institutions in
the periods before notable changes took place in both countries (1999–2004 in Germany and 1990 in
Japan). By analyzing both aspects, I hope to find the institutional and political causalities that either
conserve a specific set of institutions or lead to its revision in the areas of immigration and immigrantpolicies. For that purpose, both the long-term trajectories (“critical antecedents”) and the short-term,
oftentimes ad hoc formation of political coalitions before a significant juncture have to be investigated.
After outlining the phases of convergence and divergence between Germany and Japan, I will first
analyze the history of immigration policies in Germany up until the late 1990s in order to sketch thedevelopment and continuity of policies until the ratification of the new immigration law. I will particularly focus on the genesis of immigration policies after the founding of the German nation-statein 1871, the introduction of the guest worker program and the ensuing unintended effects of thisprogram on the political landscape (parties, interest groups and institutions). How did parties andinterest groups adapt to the permanent settlement of immigrants? And how did this development influence the new understanding of Germany as a country of immigration and the ratification of a new
Immigration Act? I will then sketch the development of policies in all parties and relevant interest
groups (immigrant associations, employer organizations, unions, churches, public welfare organizations, NGOs) in order to analyze which political coalitions were formed in preparation for the ratification of the 2004 Immigration Act and how these interests were processed or ignored in legislativeand executive institutions. By conducting a detailed qualitative analysis, I will attempt to explain both

Slater and Simmons, “Informative Regress,” 889.
Wayne Cornelius and Takeyuki Tsuda, “Controlling Immigration: The Limits of Government Intervention,” in Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective, ed. Wayne A. Cornelius, Philip L. Martin and James F. Hollifield (Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 2004): 3–50. Keiko Yamanaka, “Civil Society and Social Movements for Immigrant Rights inJapan and South Korea: Convergence and Divergence in Unskilled Immigration Policy,” Korea Observer 41, no. 4 (2010):
615–647.
47
See Thelen, “Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics,” 390.
45
46

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

why a significant change happened and why this change cannot be considered a “paradigm change.”
Using the same approach, I will then analyze Japan’s immigration and integration policies from acomparative perspective in order to receive an additional illuminating perspective on how immigration-averse countries react to immigration pressures and which societal and political factors contribute to or limit change.

1.2 Convergence and divergence in Germany and Japan’s immigration and integration policies
The classification of convergence and divergence in immigration policies depends on the specificaspect that we focus on. In general, Germany and Japan have seen a similar historical developmentof the nation-states and were faced with similar critical junctures. Due to their particular late nationformation, both countries have also relied on strong ethnic notions of political culture and citizenshiplaws defined by blood right. Moreover, they have routinely rejected the assumption that they are“countries of immigration” even when faced with actual immigration and permanent settlement
tendencies. While there is no linear trend of convergence or divergence, a more complex pattern canbe observed indeed.

1.2.1 Late policy divergence1.2.1.1 Citizenship laws
Germany’s and Japan’s citizenship and nationality laws were based upon a patrilinear, ius sanguinis
blood right tradition. Japan’s Nationality Act in 1899 has been drafted on the basis of studying Germany’s Citizenship Act (StAG). However, Germany’s citizenship law has diverged with the ratification of a new law in 1999 that granted ius soli rights for children of foreigners under specific circumstances and introduced the possibility to opt for the respective citizenship when the child reaches theage of 23. No such reform has taken place in Japan where only children of bi-national marriages
received the opportunity to opt for citizenship at the same age. However, a reform of the patrilinear
system of citizenship acquisition has taken place in Japan in accordance with international pressure.
1.2.1.2 Immigrant incorporation
The introduction of legislation targeting the integration of immigrants into society strongly depended on the national government’s perspective on immigration as either temporary or permanent.
In case of Germany, the former view was shared by the government until the early 1980s when adebate around the need to secure the legal status of immigrants and incorporate them into the German

21Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

society was triggered. But the introduction of concrete measures was slow and only the new Immigration Act in 2004 defined a new, comprehensive concept of integration that introduced mandatory
integration classes as well as measures to facilitate naturalization and the integration of the second
immigrant integration in addition to various institutional changes. In Japan, the policies taken towards
first generation Korean and Taiwanese residents after the end of WWII were directed solely at theirrepatriation, similar to Germany’s initial policy design incentivizing foreign workers to return to theirhome country. But while these efforts proved illusionary in both countries, Japan continued to bepassive in integration policies even after the normalization of relations with South Korea. Until today,
only local governments reacted proactively to the exclusion of immigrants from various areas of theJapanese society supported by localized NGOs and immigrant associations. The only significant
measure that was taken by the national government – the abolishment of fingerprinting requirements
for foreign residents – merely removed a restriction instead of improving the living circumstances offoreigners who continue to face discrimination in the labor market, housing market and education
system. Instead, their grievances are heard by courts rather than politics. Policies are still createdunder the assumption that immigrants only stay temporarily in Japan even though the experience with
first generation immigrants from the colonial era has already proven the Japanese government wrong.
1.2.1.3 Asylum policies
Both Japan and Germany were reluctant to take refugees and asylum-seekers and have adapted theirpolicies in accordance with the pressure from refugees and the international community. In Germany
where the number of asylum-seekers was constantly higher than in Japan, the number of asylumseekers peaked in 1992 before it again declined after a political solution to the asylum issue was foundand the war in Yugoslavia ended. From 1990 to 2010, roughly 2.36 million people have sought political asylum in Germany, a majority of them fleeing from European and later from Middle Eastern
and Central Asian countries.48 Immigration policies have restricted the immigration possibilities ofasylum-seekers from the 1980s to the 2000s and the rate of admission ranged from 4 to 9 percent in
the 1990s declining to a low point of 0.8 percent in 2006.49 The number has climbed up again to
202,834 asylum-seekers in 2014.50

BPB, “Zahlen und Fakten: Die soziale Situation in Deutschland – Asyl,” 28th November 2012, http://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61634/asyl.
49
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Migrationsbericht 2013, 108.
50
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Schlüsselzahlen Asyl 2014, http://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Publikationen/Flyer/flyer-schluesselzahlen-asyl-jahr-2014.pdf?blob=publicationFile.
48

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

The new Immigration Act of 2004 has increased the possibilities for refugees and asylum-seekers
to immigrate to Germany and their joint admission rate has accordingly grown from 5.1 percent in2005 to 25.9 percent in 2014, without considering cases of temporary and “tolerated” refugees.51
Japan’s asylum and refugee policies have been restrictive from the beginning of their strikingly lateformulation in 1982. The status quo remains unchanged until today. Although the number of asylumseekers is strikingly lower than in Germany (3,300 new applications in 2013 compared to more than
100,000 in Germany), the approval rate remains minuscule with 0.1 percent in 2013 and even follows
a decreasing trend. The refugee population currently living in Japan stands at 2,584 persons compared
to 187,567 in Germany.52 While these policies follow the pattern of immigration policies in East Asia(with the exception of Australia), they are not in line with the policies of other developed countries
that have the capacity to accept refugees. Japan continues to have the lowest recognition rate among
all developed countries.53

1.2.2 Early policy divergence and late convergence: Labor immigration policies
Germany and Japan were initially countries of emigration rather than of immigration. This is thereason why they have a diaspora in other countries and later implemented immigration policies withpreferential treatment for emigrants. However, the timing of major emigration periods differed significantly. Japan remained a country of emigration for the most part of its pre-war and post-war history while Germany’s main emigration movements happened much earlier, starting from the middleages until the foundation of the German nation-state in 1871. After that, a significant number of labor
immigrants came from neighboring countries and especially from Poland due to the porosity of German borders to the East matching the labor demand in agriculture and the industries even though theGerman state did not have an official immigration policy yet. Immigration policies developed as areaction to these movements and were initially based upon a centralized, highly restrictive and discriminatory recruitment regime that mostly excluded the possibility of permanent settlement, in particular for Polish immigrants. The Japanese government of the Meiji era faced exactly the opposite
problem of having to protect its emigrants from discrimination in other countries. Today, it cannot
look back on an institutional history of immigration unlike Germany whose post-war guest worker

51

Ibid.
The World Bank, Refugee population by country or territory of asylum, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SM.POP.REFG.
53
Gabriel Dominguez, “No country for Refugees? Japan and South Korea’s tough asylum policies,” Deutsche Welle, 4thNovember 2014, http://www.dw.de/no-country-for-refugees-japan-and-south-koreas-tough-asylum-policies/a-18037765.
52

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

program later mirrored the recruitment system of the pre-war era. However, Germany did not recognize itself as a “country of immigration” in the 19th century, but quite the contrary saw immigration
as a threat to the development of its national identity and to public security. In times of war, evidently,
both countries engaged in the recruitment of forced labor, but especially Germany was later overburdened with processing the millions of displaced persons and refugees in the immediate aftermath of
WWII. Thus, even though both states had a similar concept of ethnic identity, a comparable political
history and a generally negative outlook on immigration, Germany reluctantly took up a higher number of immigrants assuming that they would only stay for a limited time.
After the war, the divergence continued as Germany enacted a guest worker program in order toimport low-skilled labor while Japan admitted mainly different categories of skilled and high-skilled
immigrants. Unlike in Germany, however, the settlement of foreign workers was strictly ruled out.
Despite the official rejection of low-skilled immigrants, unqualified labor immigrants could enter
Japan as trainees, entertainers or students. Moreover, a substantial number of colonial zainichi Koreans and Taiwanese had already settled in Japan even though their Japanese citizenship was revoked
after WWII. The most significant change in Japan’s immigration policies happened in 1990 with thereform of the Immigration Control Order that led to the immigration of Latin American nikkeijin. Its
outcomes were structurally similar to those of the guest worker program as the labor demand for lowskilled workers could be matched and an unexpected number of immigrants decided to stay permanently in Japan. By giving immigrants with Japanese ethnicity priority, Japan has also repeated thescheme for German repatriates, although for different reasons and at a much later point in time. Moreover, Japan enacted a small-scale guest worker program for skilled labor within bilateral agreementswith labor-exporting countries that is structurally similar to Germany’s current selective immigration
policies. Thus, similar to Germany, Japan has legislated policies that question its status as a “countryof no immigration” and almost inevitably lead to an increasing gap between the de facto settlementof immigrant communities and a polity that regards immigrants only as temporary guests. Japan tried
to counter this development by instituting exactly the same monetary incentives to incentivize therepatriation of nikkeijin in 2009 after the economic crisis54 that Germany used in the 1980s in orderto decrease the population of guest workers. Germany, however, has recognized itself as a country of
immigration in the last reform period even though the actual change on the policy level was somewhat
limited. Due to the free movement of people within the EU, the extensive legal possibilities of family
54

Jeff Kingston, Contemporary Japan. History, Politics, and Social Change since the 1980s, 2nd edition (John Wiley &Sons, Chichester, 2011), 170.

24

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

reunification and the preferential treatment of high-skilled migrants, it seems that the German government was pushed to prioritize the integration of foreigners into the German society rather thanfurther expanding immigration possibilities. While immigration policies have been diverging for along time, Japan could currently be seen on a path of convergence with Germany due to its similar
implementation of “selective immigration policies.”55
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Germany

2013

2011

2009

2007

2005

2003

2001

1999

1997

1995

1993

1991

1989

1987

1985

1983

1981

1979

1977

1975

1973

1971

1969

1967

0

Japan

Figure 2. Number of foreigners in Germany and Japan. Both countries have historically followed an increasing
trend, but Germany’s stock of immigrants is significantly higher (by author) 56

Ryo Kuboyama, “The Transformation from Restrictive to Selective Immigration Policy in Emerging National Competition State: Case of Japan in Asia-Pacific Region,” Center on Migration, Citizenship and Development Working Papers
61 (2008), 4.
56
Data compiled from Veysal Özcan, “Deutschland. Entwicklung seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg,” in Länderprofile Migration: Daten – Geschichte – Politik (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 1st May 2007, http://www.bpb.-de/gesellschaft/migration/laenderprofile/57543/entwicklung. 社会実情データ図録 「在留外国人（登録外国人）数の推移（毎年
末 現 在 ） 」 http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/1180.html. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development(OECD), “International Migration Database,” in OECD.StatExtracts, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.-aspx?DataSetCode=MIG#.
55

25

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

2. Germany at the cross-roads: Institutional transformation and inertia of areluctant country of immigration
2.1 Institutional and political antecedents in Germany’s contemporary immigration and integration policies
2.1.1 Nation-building and pre-war immigration policies
2.1.1.1 Immigration policies between agrarian interests and nationalism: The institutionalizationof the first national recruitment system"[T]his lack of unity across time, in space, and in the mind is in fact the central problem – or if one wishes,
the central secret – of German history.”57“We could not concede that the need for manpower in the border regions was of greater importance than thepolitical dangers and threat to the state posed by a Polonization of a large segment of the Prussian population. Though recognizing agriculture as the most important of all trades, we deem it as a lesser evil for theindividual regions to suffer from a shortage of manpower than for the state … to suffer any impairment.”(Otto von Bismarck)58

The process of nation-building in Germany happened particularly late in history compared to othercountries in Western Europe although the abstraction of a pre-political, cultural concept of a German
nation can be traced back as far as to the medieval Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.59 The
notion of the nation-state was born among different factions of bourgeois liberals and democrats who
rejected the monarchical order and the fragmented confederation of Prussia, Austria and smaller kingdoms, principalities and cities during the Vormärz era when revolutionary movements in other Western European countries were proliferating. Deutschtum (“Germanness”) and the concept of a Volksgemeinschaft (“people’s community”) emerged and defined an imagined cultural community whose
existence did not correspond to the diffuse political realities.60 The actual political construction of theGerman Empire as a nation-state was the outcome of Bismarck’s authoritarian and hierarchical “bloodand iron” politics after the failure of the German Confederation and the defeat of the French army in
the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. Southern German states allied with Prussia against France and thus

57

Robert Löwenthal, cited in: Dirk Verheyen, The German Question: A Cultural, Historical, and Geopolitical Exploration, 2nd edition (Boulder: Westview Press, 1999), 14.
58
Cited in: Triadafilos Triadafilopoulos, Becoming Multicultural: Immigration and the Politics of Membership in Canada
and Germany (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2012), 38.
59
Ute Planert, “Nation und Nationalismus in der deutschen Geschichte,” Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 39 (2004), 11–
18, 12. Brubaker, Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany, 45.
60
Verheyen, The German Question, 17.

26

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

prepared the political preconditions for unification. As Emperor Wilhelm’s proclamation of the German Empire in Versailles demonstrated, the nation-state was first and foremost born out of a favorable
military position and the necessity to “defend against renewed attacks of France.”61 But the idea ofnationhood still remained apolitical and continued to stay disengaged from Germany’s national territory.62 Bismarck concentrated on the task to establish internal stability in the newly created German
nation-state that incorporated a variety of ethnic divisions (e.g. in Elsaß-Lothringen, Schleswig-Holstein and East Prussia) and the religious fault line between Catholics and Protestants.63 Accordingly,
the Kulturkampf of the 1870s entailed the broad repression of Catholics, Social-democrats and nonGerman minorities as “enemies of the Empire” to protect Germany’s internal stability. 64
In effect, a highly politicized amalgamation of a pre-political, ethno-cultural Volksgemeinschaft, anauthoritarian political culture and an incomplete national unification have shaped the polity of Germany and were ultimately reflected in immigration policies as well.65 Germany was often seen as oneof the prime examples of an “ethno-national community” with a pre-political formation of a cultural
identity that is distinguished from “immigration countries” such as Canada or the US.66 Even though
Prussia and Austria were in fact multi-ethnic states, the emergence of the German nation-state added
a new unifying dimension to this complex reality.
After the establishment of the German Empire, pre-war German immigration were characterized byhigh levels of de facto in-migration and de jure immigration-averse policies. While the period before
1871 was still characterized by net emigration and high labor surpluses, the number of foreigners
grew from 206,775 (0.5 percent of the population) in 1871 to roughly 1.259 million in 1910 (1.9
percent). The most important pull factor in the industrializing and urbanizing Germany of the late 19th
century was an acute labor shortage in mining, heavy industry and agriculture. A majority of foreign
workers worked in industrial occupations (60 percent) while the remaining 40 percent worked inagriculture.67

61

Translated by author. Source: Kaiserproklamation, 1871, in Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert: Entwicklungslinien, ed.
Manfred Görtemaker (Leverkusen: Leske & Budrich, 1989), 253.
62
Brubaker, Citizenship and Nationhood, 46f.
63
Klusmeyer and Papademetriou, Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 40.
64
Ibid, 41.
65
Verheyen, The German Question, 24f.
66
Klusmeyer and Papademetriou, Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 32f.
67
Jochen Oltmer, Migration im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, Enzyklopädie deutscher Geschichte 86 (Munich: Oldenbourg
Wissenschaftsverlag, 2013), 32.

27

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Figure 3. Number of foreigners in Germany 1871–1910 (by author)68

Immigration was the result of seasonal business hiring activities that were initially not accompanied
by proactive immigration policies. Quite the contrary, immigration was linked to ethnic notions of athreatening “polonization (Polanisierung) of the East”69 that is indicative of the sense of vulnerabilityof Germany’s early national identity and the lingering territorial fears of a newly forming Polish nation-state after its quasi-integration into Russia during the Congress of Vienna. 70 Polish labor migration dominated the rural Eastern Prussian provinces such as Posen and was the consequence of theinternal migration of German natives from the East to industrial centers in the West. It was restricted
both spatially to Eastern Prussia and seasonally with a legal employment period that excluded thewinter months in which workers were forced to leave the country.71 Migrants from other countries,
however, were often tolerated and used as cheap labor. In essence, the Prussian government tried tobalance the economic interests of politically powerful agrarian interests with national security concerns and the ethno-cultural endeavor to prevent the concentration of a minority within its borders.
The regulations were aimed at circumventing the permanent settlement of those foreigners that wereperceived as the most threatening for the national unity of the newly founded nation-state. Anti-foreigner rhetoric within the German civil society thus often had expressly nationalistic and racist undercurrents.72

68

Data: Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte der Ausländerpolitik in Deutschland. Saisonarbeiter, Zwangsarbeiter, Gastarbeiter,
Flüchtlinge (Munich: C.H. Beck, 2001), 23.
69
Ibid, 16.
70
Ibid.
71
Jochen Oltmer, “Ausländerbeschäftigung und restriktive Integrationspolitik. Spätes 19. Jahrhundert bis Ende des Ersten
Weltkrieges,” in Grundlagendossier Migration (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 15th March 2005, http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56356/1871-1918.
72
Herbert, Geschichte der Ausländerpolitik in Deutschland, 30.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

The national “shock” of an early influx of foreigners just after the establishment of the nation-state
resulted in the first formalization and institutionalization of immigration policies. Powerful landowners were confronted with a mass of labor immigrants who were surprisingly adept in changing theirworkplace when they were not satisfied with the working conditions. Therefore, in 1907 a state monopoly of recruitment and a system of “compulsory domestic legitimization” were established withthe creation of the Prussian Farm Workers Agency 73 which was renamed the German Workers
Agency (DAZ) in 1911. From then on, foreign workers had to register directly with the DAZ who
was in charge of mediating between migrant workers and one specific legal place of occupation.
These measures aligned the interests of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture tocontrol and monopolize the recruitment of foreigners with the interests of the agrarian lobby to reduce
the labor power of foreign workers. The DAZ cooperated with local police authorities in order toenforce discipline. Social democrats and unions strongly rejected this structure and objected against
it in the parliament, but did not have the political power to enforce changes. 74
The system was based upon a selective regime discriminating among foreigners according to boththeir nationality/ethnicity and their social status. For example, an Italian immigrant who worked in awhite-collar job in Germany did not have to go through any of these procedures that Polish migrant
workers from Russia and Austria-Hungary had to endure.75 In effect, a dual labor market emerged
not only between ethnic Germans and foreigners, but also amongst foreigners themselves, in particular between Polish agricultural workers and other foreigners who benefited from relatively higher
wages in the industry.76
2.1.1.2 The assertion of conservative interests during the reform of the Nationality Act
In 1913, a new nationality law replaced the former act of 1870 (“Gesetz über die Erwerbung undden Verlust der Bundes- und Staatsangehörigkeit”) with the “Reichs- and Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz”(RuStAG) which remained largely unchanged until 1999/2000. German nationality was mainly defined by patrimonial lineage for children of married couples and matrimonial lineage for children of
unmarried couples as the rather exceptional case (art. 4). Naturalization was made legally possible
for wives of German nationals (art. 6) and foreigners that had accommodation and full-time occupation in Germany (art. 8) under the premise that federal, state and municipal representatives agree (art.

73

Ibid, 35.
Ibid, 37.
75
Ibid.
76
Oltmer, Migration im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, 38.
74

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

8–9). The wife and children of the naturalized person were automatically naturalized as well after thehusband was granted this legal status.77
The RuStAG was initiated by a group of parliamentarians of the National-Liberal Party, the governing party and the Conservative Party and supported by nationalistic interest groups, most importantly
the Pan-German League.78 One of the initiators, Ernst Hasse, reasoned that there is a necessity to
defend the homogeneity of the German people against the mixing with other nationalities (especiallyfrom Eastern Europe).79 The state secretary of the Ministry of the Interior Delbrück also stated the
purpose of the law in ensuring “[…] that we do not lose our qualities as Germans that were given to
us by birth, no matter where we were born.”80 The law was aimed at privileging ethnically Germans
in foreign countries, thereby increasing the administrative control of the German state over its citizens
on a global scale while limiting the settlement of non-ethnic Germans. It made it more difficult forGermans to lose their citizenship when living abroad – which was the case after a residence period
abroad of ten years – and facilitated their re-naturalization.81 Social-democrats and left-liberals opposed most patriarchal, ethnic and racial undertones of the law supporting instead a “right of naturalization” for foreign nationals after a residence period of two years.82 Regional interests also diverged
strongly from each other, with the Elsaß-Lothringen region speaking out in favor of ius soli nationality
rules in order to increase the number of ethnically French conscripts in the army and Eastern Prussian
provinces claiming adverse effects due to the presence of allegedly disloyal Polish (and Jewish) immigrants.83
2.1.1.3 Immigration policies during the World Wars: Continuity and rupture
During the First World War, the DAZ was elevated to a public agency and assisted in the recruitmentof forced labor among prisoners of war and laborers in occupied countries which raised the total

77

Das Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz für das Deutsche Reich vom 22. Juli 1913, http://justitia-deutschland.org/R/RuStAG-1913.htm.
78
Dieter Gosewinkel, Einbürgern und Ausschließen. Die Nationalisierung der Staatsangehörigkeit vom Deutschen Bund
bis zur Bundesrepublik (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001), 278.
79
Ibid, 280.
80
Georg Hansen, Die Deutschmachung. Ethnizität und Ethnisierung im Prozess von Ein- und Ausgrenzung, Lernen fürEuropa 7 (Münster et al.: Waxmann, 2001), 97f.
81
Gosewinkel, Einbürgern und Ausschließen. 281. Karl Thedieck, Deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit im Bund und in den
Ländern. Genese und Grundlagen der Staatsangehörigkeit in deutschlandrechtlicher Perspektive (Berlin: Duncker &Humblot, 1989), 23, 43.
82
Ingo von Münch, Die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit: Vergangenheit – Gegenwart – Zukunft (Hamburg: De Gruyter:Hamburg, 2007), 29f.
83
Gosewinkel, Einbürgern und Ausschließen. 289ff.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

number of foreign workers to roughly 2.5 million people by 1918. 84 The trend of relatively high immigration reversed after the war with the number of employed foreigners shrinking to roughly
300,000 in the 1920s and further down to 100,000 during the world economic crisis in the 1930s after
a ban on immigration was enforced in 1932. Less favorable economic times and the growing politicalvoice of the German labor movement during the Weimar Republic gave rise to more protectionist
labor policies in which jobs were allocated to German nationals before foreigners could be considered.85 This development happened in conjunction with the evolution of the welfare state in Germany.
The labor movement also contributed to the dismantlement of the dual labor market by lobbying forthe harmonization of wages between nationals and foreigners, even against the interests of the strong
agricultural lobby.86 The recruitment system was reformed and further centralized in the 1920s dividing the labor between the DAZ and the Federal Agency for Employment Services (RFA) that hadregional branches authorized to distribute work permits.87 Immigrants with German ethnicity received
special treatment: they were exempt from quota allocations and were accommodated in a more cooperative way by the RFA.88
Migration during the period of the Third Reich was mainly characterized by the large-scale emigration of Jews and other persecuted strata of society, in addition to migration movements of war refugees, forced labor and displaced persons.89 Immigration policies were discretely remodeled in orderto fulfill Adolf Hitler’s plans of an Eastern Expansion of the German territory and almost exclusively
aimed towards the establishment of an unprecedented system of forced labor, especially in agriculture
and mining in which the share of foreign labor reached shares of 46 and 34 percent, respectively, in
1944. As a radicalization of the ethnic model of the German nation-state, the Nazi state encouraged
or forced the displacement of German nationals into newly conquered territories of the Reich.90
The Reichsbürgergesetz of 1935 granted only those Germans who were ethnically and “racially”
German full citizenship rights, discriminating between ordinary state residents (Staatsbürger) and

Ulrich Herbert, “Zwangsarbeit als Lernprozess. Zur Beschäftigung ausländischer Arbeiter in der westdeutschen Industrie im ersten Weltkrieg,” Archiv für Sozialgeschichte 24 (1984): 286–304, 288ff.
85
Jochen Oltmer, “Flucht- und Zwangswanderungen in der Zwischenkriegszeit,“ Grundlagendossier Migration (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 15th March 2005, http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56357/zwischenkriegszeit?p=all.
86
Jochen Oltmer, Migration und Politik in der Weimarer Republik (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2005), 86.
87
Ibid, 345ff., 360.
88
Ibid, 386.
89
Jochen Oltmer, “Migration und Zwangsbewegungen im Nationalsozialismus,“ Grundlagendossier Migration (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 15th March 2005, http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56358/nationalsozialismus.
90
Ibid.
84

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Reich citizens (Reichsbürger) with “German or racially related blood.”91 The law formalized a systemof racial segregation and persecution in which citizenship could be granted and deprived arbitrarily.92
In the twelfth revision of 1943, citizenship was fragmented into four categories including “state residents until revoked” and “state residents under protection”, but neither Jewish nor Sinti people were
included into any of these categories.93 Furthermore, the Foreigner Policy Regulation (APVO) of
1938 gave the bureaucracy the right to judge on the admission of immigrants according to the immigrants’ “personality and purpose of their stay” (art. 1).94
While the emergence of the Third Reich was indeed a historical rupture of the democratic practicesof the Weimar Republic and the constitutional monarchy under Emperor Wilhelm I, the transformation of Germany’s immigration policy can also be interpreted as an adaption of the previous institutional environment and migration experiences to the new demands of a war economy and a racial
ideology. They were in line with pan-German ethnic notions that characterized German nationalism
after the failure of the 1848 revolution and the German defeat in the First World War.95 The Weimar
government also actively supported the German diaspora.96 In the NS era, however, German citizenship was now based on both subjective elements in the form of an almost religious commitment to
the German nation and the objective necessity of being of German descent.
In sum, pre-war immigration policies were characterized by early attempts to regulate and monopolize the various streams of immigrants. There was considerable tension between business interests
faced with labor shortages and the state interest of securing Germany’s volatile borders and asserting
nationalism. A compromise was found by the development of a set of centralized and restrictive recruitment institutions that bound foreign workers to one specific place of occupation. Immigration
policies became more complex with the growth of the labor movement and the two World Wars thatwere both based on the acute recruitment of forced labor. There was yet no concept of actively integrating immigrants into society who were essentially expected to assimilate or remain a separate en-

Reichsbürgergesetz und Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre (“Nürnberger Gesetze”), 15.
September 1935, und die beiden ersten Ausführungsbestimmungen, 14 November 1935, http://www.1000dokumente.de/index.html?c=dokument_de&dokument=0007_nue&object=translation&st=&l=d.
92
Münch, Die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit, 68.
93
Ibid, 73.
94
Ausländerpolizeiverordnung vom 22. August 1938, http://www.zaoerv.de/08_1938/8_1938_1_b_793_799_1.pdf.
95
Anthony Komjathy and Rebecca Stockwell, German Minorities and the Third Reich: Ethnic Germans of East Central
Europe between the Wars (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1980), 1f.
96
Ibid, 5.
91

32

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroadstity. Under the NS regime, ethnic notions of nationality were radicalized, but the defeat of NS Germany also meant that there would be a new opportunity for a fresh start in redefining the German
nation-state and its immigration regime.

2.1.2 The guest worker program as a critical antecedent: Germany’s immigration policies from 1945 to 1998
2.1.2.1 Immigration policies under Allied occupation: Processing the migratory consequences in
the aftermath of the war
The immediate post-war policies were mainly aimed at processing the consequences of the war,
especially the repatriation of millions of Displaced Persons (DPs) into their home countries and theintake of German refugees from former German settlements in Eastern Europe who became a welcome source of labor in the fast-growing economy. 97 The Allied Control Council abolished the discriminatory citizenship laws enacted under the Nazi regime and was responsible for managing theurgent migration issues after the war.98 At the “hour zero”, the German government evidently could
not autonomously enact immigration policies that were instead drafted by the Allied powers and managed by the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. As DPs within German borders were handled in a demeaning and objectifying way by both the Allied power’s administration and the German
population, Germany’s first post-war experiences in managing a large number of foreigners within
its own borders were quite catastrophic.99
Germany’s partition into four occupation zones that ultimately led to the division into West and East
Germany further complicated notions of German citizenship and was one of the reasons why no law
could immediately replace the obsolete RuStAG of 1913. Immigration policies differed between theFederal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR). There
was limited immigration of low-skilled foreign laborers to East Germany that added up to roughly
one percent of the working population.100
97

Oltmer, Migration im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, 48–51.
Jochen Oltmer, “Zwangswanderungen nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg,“ Grundlagendossier Migration (Bundeszentrale
für politische Bildung), 15th March 2005, http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56359/nach-dem2-weltkrieg.
99
Der Spiegel, “Behandelt wie ein drittklassiges Pack,” 8 th August 1983, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d14019660.html. Wolfgang Jacobmeyer, Vom Zwangsarbeiter zum heimatlosen Ausländer: Die Displaced Persons in
Westdeutschland, 1945-1951, Kritische Studien zur Geschichtswissenschaft 65 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,1985).
100
Klaus Bade and Jochen Oltmer, “Migration, Ausländerbeschäftigung und Asylpolitik in der DDR,” Grundlagendossier
Migration (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 15th March 2005. http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossiermigration/56368/migrationspolitik-in-der-ddr?p=all. Rita Chin, The Guest Worker Question in Postwar Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 34.
98

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

The basis of West Germany’s post-war immigration and citizenship policies is defined in the Basic
Law (GG). While article 16 defines the right of asylum as a basic right, article 116 states that being a
German is equal to having the German citizenship. In line with the ius sanguinis principle and Germany’s responsibility for WWII, it automatically grants all ethnically Germans who were expelledfrom the former Reich territory German citizenship.
2.1.2.2 Executive dominance and the primacy of foreign policy: The initiation of the guest
worker program
Similar to other Western and Northern European countries, the German government designed aguest worker program by recruiting temporary labor from Italy (1955), Spain and Greece (1960),
Turkey (1961), Morocco (1963), Portugal (1964), Tunisia (1965) and Yugoslavia (1968) to alleviatelabor shortages in construction, mining and the metal industries. The impulse for the initiation of the
program originally came from the Italian government that suffered from high unemployment and aforeign trade deficit. The German government concluded the first recruitment agreement with Italy
in December 1955 as a result of a successful alliance between the Ministry of the Economy (BMW),
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (AA) and the Minister for Special Tasks against the BMAS and anegative public opinion.101 It was established relatively ad hoc and was enforced against the strong
concerns of the BMAS, thus showing the primacy of foreign policies in the early post-war period.102
Foreign pressure continued to dominate the following agreements, especially when NATO member
Turkey demanded to be included into the program after Greece has been admitted as well.103
The program was established with little public debate, without the involvement of the parliamentand under the expectation of its limited duration which thus made it unnecessary to design social
policies targeting the social integration of immigrants.104 Employers and industrialists were fully supportive of the system as they could utilize a highly flexible workforce.105 Although the German Trade
Union Federation (DGB) was concerned that the wages of domestic workers could decline due to the
influx of cheap labor, unions ultimately agreed to the program due to the estimated effects on Germany’s growth rate and after the German government pledged to regulate the wages of foreign laborat the same level as those of domestic labor. The system operated through foreign branches of the
Heike Knortz, Diplomatische Tauschgeschäfte. “Gastarbeiter” in der westdeutschen Diplomatie und Beschäftigungspolitik 1953–1973 (Cologne: Böhlau Verlag, 2008), 68–75.
102
Ibid, 80.
103
Johannes-Dieter Steinert, Migration und Politik. Westdeutschland – Europa – Übersee 1945–1961 (Osnabrück: Secolo,1995), 307.
104
Chin, The Guest Worker Question in Postwar Germany, 47.
105
Ibid, 45.
101

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Federal Office for Labor Recruitment and Unemployment Insurance (BAA) that recruited laborers
for a limited period.106 It was structurally not unlike the pre-war recruitment of foreign labor, but thistime responded not to domestic, but to foreign pressure when Germany was seeking to regain international trust. The introduction of the “guest worker” category suggested that low-qualified foreigners
could be used temporarily to match the labor demand in Germany. Just as before, foreigners were
only accepted for jobs for which employers could not find any domestic labor, and only after passing
relatively rigorous administrative procedures.107
In addition, the free movement of workers from the ECSC and later European Community (EC) was
fully allowed with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which severely limited the legislative leeway of theGerman government related to the movement of EC citizens to Germany. The influx of EC workers
into Germany became one of the most important source of unregulated immigration until today while
national laws may only limit the immigration of non-EC citizens.
In 1965, the new Alien Act (AuslG)108 replaced the 1938 APVO of the NS state that was reactivatedin 1951 as the legal basis for post-war immigration policies.109 It was drafted by the administrationand established without any significant debate in the Parliament.110 Although it was praised as an“expression of the open-minded foreigner politics of the Federal Republic”111, it gave the state defacto substantial legal authority over foreign workers including the possibility to deport them forpartly vague reasons (art. 10), with some critics going so far as comparing it to laws of the Third
Reich.112 Foreigners were granted a residence permit only when the “presence of the foreigner [did]not interfere with German interests” (art. 2) comprising political, economic, labor market or “other”
aspects.113 Similarly, the Work Promotion Law (AFG) of 1969 made the issuing of work permits
dependent on the “situation and development of the labor market”114 (art. 19). While these formulations replaced the even vaguer language of the APVO that accepted immigrants only when they are

106

Ibid, 38f., 49.
Jutta Höhne et al, “Die Gastarbeiter. Geschichte und aktuelle soziale Lage,” Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches
Institut (Hans Böckler Foundation) Report 16 (2004), 4.
108
Das Ausländergesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland vom 28. April 1965, http://www.zaoerv.de/25_1965/25_1965_3_b_499_515.pdf.
109
Stefan Luft, Staat und Migration. Zur Steuerbarkeit von Zuwanderung und Integration (Frankfurt am Main: Campus
Verlag, 200), 36.
110
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 118.
111
Dietrich Rollmann, cited in: Chin, The Guest Worker Question in Postwar Germany, 51.
112
Luft, Staat und Migration, 62.
113
Gianni D’Amato, Vom Ausländer zum Bürger. Der Streit um die politische Integration von Einwanderern in Deutschland, Frankreich und der Schweiz, 3rd edition (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2005), 89.
114
Arbeitsförderungsgesetz (AFG) vom 25. Juni 1969, in Bundesgesetzblatt 51, 28. Juni 1969.
107

35

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads“worthy of German hospitality”115, receiving or renewing the right of residence still seemed like an
act of mercy in which the Foreigner Agency ultimately retained the right to reject any application
with full discretion.116 Since foreigners were distinguished from German citizens who stood in a “fiduciary and legal relation with the state”117, they could be deprived of several basic rights that German
citizens were guaranteed such as the right to vote and the right of free movement. Indeed, the Länder
and municipal administrations utilized their large scope of discretion in order to assert a very restrictive interpretation of the law. 118 While the parliament remained relatively silent, opposition wasformed among the politicized civil society of the 1960s, but the voices of unions, churches, welfareorganizations, lawyers and scientists remained unheard, especially in the recessionary economic climate of 1967.119
2.1.2.3 Policy stagnation, party polarization and interest alignment: Germany’s consolidation asa “de facto country of immigration”
In contrast to the expectation that foreigners would stay temporarily in Germany, only 11 million
out of 14 million foreign workers went back to their home countries between 1953 and 1973.120 Unlike in the pre-war period, the rotation of foreign workers could not be implemented against the resistance of industrial interests that would have faced high training costs for new recruits and lose thebenefits of experienced foreign workers. Nevertheless, they did not favor the permanent settlementof foreigners and their families either since they still planned to dismiss them eventually in case oflabor surpluses. Considerations of foreign policy also played an important role as there was no way
to legitimize the deportation of millions of foreigners. For instance, the Fourth Protocol of the European Human Rights Convention explicitly prohibited collective deportations.121 Accordingly, work
permits were distributed without limitation122 and the share of permanent foreign residents grew from
1.2 percent in 1960 to 4.9 percent in 1970 corresponding to roughly 2.6 million foreign workers. Most

115

Ausländerpolizeiverordnung vom 22. August 1938.
Ibid, 90. Christian Joppke, “The Domestic Legal Sources of Immigrant Rights: The United States, Germany, and theEuropean Union,” European University Intsitute Working Paper SPS 99, no. 3 (1999), 21.
117
Erhard Schüler, Die Ermessensentscheidung der Ausländerbehörde, erörtert anhand der Verwaltungspraxis in Berlin,
Schritenreihe zur Rechtssoziologie und Rechtstatsachenforschung 32 (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1974), 17.
118
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 131.
119
Ibid, 120.
120
Klaus J. Bade, “Ausländer und Asylpolitik in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Grundprobleme und Entwicklungslinien,” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Digitale Bibliothek, http://library.fes.de/fulltext/asfo/01011002.htm.
121
Luft, Staat und Migration, 56f.
122
Ibid, 70.
116

36

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroadsof them were of Turkish or Yugoslavian origin, while Italians tended to return to their home country.123
After the oil crisis, the guest worker program was halted in 1973. But as subsequently more andmore foreign workers sent their families to Germany, the development towards a country of immigration seemed already irreversible. In 1976, 80 percent of newly arriving immigrants were unemployed family members.124 Although Germany attempted to regulate the re-integration of immigrants
into their home countries by cooperating with the sending countries’ governments, the number ofreturning workers was almost matched by the number of immigrants that arrived newly.125 In theworsening domestic and global economic environment, unemployment among foreign workers increased disproportionally in line with the previous announcements of employers whereas unemployment among domestic workers decreased only slightly. 126
Although the German government temporarily tried to restrict family reunification in several Länder
between 1975 and 1977 and banned family members from working, the constitutional protection of
marriage made it impossible to completely limit this legal option.127 Germany thus had to face thesocial reality of a growing foreign population on its territory that became partly dependent on stateservices and, in particular, education for the growing second-generation immigrants. A special BundLänder commission consisting of representatives of both the federal state and the Länder was foundedin order to suggest a new comprehensive labor market policy for foreigners in the post-guest worker
environment. In order to improve the legal status of the former guest workers, art. 8 of the AuslG wasamended in 1978 stating that after five years of residence the permanent right of residence could be
granted.128
Next to continuing attempts to promote the repatriation of immigrants, a first concept for their longterm settlement was developed in 1979 under the SPD-FDP (Free Democratic Party) coalition by the
first government Commissioner for Foreign Employees and their Families, the social-democrat Heinz
Kühn who drafted the far-reaching Kühn memorandum called “State and development of the integration of foreign employees and their families in the Federal Republic of Germany.” This surprising

Höhne et al, “Die Gastarbeiter. Geschichte und aktuelle soziale Lage,” 6.
Luft, Staat und Migration, 69.
125
Ibid, 56.
126
Höhne et al, “Die Gastarbeiter. Geschichte und aktuelle soziale Lage,” 9.
127
D’Amato, Vom Ausländer zum Bürger, 93.
128
Klusmeyer and Papademetriou, Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 100.
123
124

37

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

initiative triggered the first societal debate on the meaning of integration and assimilation.129 In thememorandum, Germany was described as a de facto country of immigration in need of a comprehensive concept of integrating immigrants instead of an uncoordinated series of ad hoc measures. The
document promoted an inclusive concept of integration including the municipal right to vote, liberalized naturalization requirements and proactive integrative measures. 130 Kühn emphasizes thesemeasures while rejecting additional immigration into Germany that could overburden the state. For
the first time, a politician recognized the practical necessity to develop comprehensive policies for
those foreigners who had come to Germany due to the myopic immigration policies of the past CDUled governments.
However, strong opposition came from a number of right-wing professors in the controversial “Heidelberg Manifesto” of 1982 who used ethnic and racial overtones in favor of programs to send backforeigners to their home countries. Moreover, a significant part of public opinion and especially conservative CDU and CSU voters were still skeptical if the integration of foreigners was feasible. The
failed attempts to integrate children of foreigners into the school system and the rising number of
unemployed people among foreigners as Germany continued to deindustrialize are named as important reasons why public opinion remained negative towards foreigners in the 1980s.131
The SPD-led government rejected most proposals for a more far-reaching reform and instead further
restricted immigration while staying passive on integration.132 This is especially surprising because
the SPD-Chancellor Schmidt has previously pledged to abolish the “dogma” that Germany is not acountry of immigration.133 But incremental reform measures were decided in the BMAS without consulting Kühn and suggestions were almost exclusively limited to the second generation of immigrants
who were legally given priority in receiving the opportunity to obtain the German citizenship under
the condition of renouncing the citizenship of their home country. 134 Hence, the BMAS still relied
upon the assumption that foreign workers could potentially return to their home countries which madeKarin Hunn, ‘Nächstes Jahr kehren wir zurück…’: die Geschichte der türkischen “Gastarbeiter” in der Bundesrepublik (Göttingen: Wallstein, 2005), 402f.
130
Heinz Kühn, “Stand und Weiterentwicklung der Integration der ausländischen Arbeitnehmer und ihrer Familien in der
Bundesrepublik Deutschland,” Memorandum des Beauftragten der Bundesregierung, September 1979, 4f.
131
Klusmeyer and Papademetriou, Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 104.
132
Ibid.
133
Hunn, ‘Nächstes Jahr kehren wir zurück…’, 405.
134
Ibid, 286.
129

38

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

the societal integration of foreigners merely a temporary necessity. Accordingly, the German government again announced plans to increase its assistance to re-integrate foreign workers into the labormarket of their home countries.135
The change of government in 1982 consolidated the status quo that “Germany is not a country of
immigration” as stated in the coalition agreement between the CDU and the FDP under Chancellor
Helmut Kohl.136 In general, it continued the somewhat contradictory understanding that Germany
should assist in the integration of those foreigners who were already living in Germany while both
limiting the immigration of new foreigners and promoting the return of foreign workers. In line withthe surging public debate, immigration policies received special attention in a “priority program”.
Furthermore, in accordance with the end of the guest worker program, the jurisdiction for immigration
policy shifted from the BMAS to the BMI.137
The government initially did not make any significant initiatives to reduce the inherent contradictions in this concept although it promised to introduce a new comprehensive alien act. Instead, in ahighly politicized environment with a generally negative public opinion towards foreigners (especially with respect to asylum-seekers), a new act in 1983 that had already been prepared in the lastyears of the previous government promoted the re-migration of foreigners into their home countries
with financial support of the German government. A sum of 10,500 Deutsche Mark (DM) (roughly
6000 US-dollar) plus 1,500 DM (860 US-dollar) per child was granted in case an unemployed immigrant decided to repatriate to his or her home country within one year.138 The replacement of theformerly FDP-led BMI with the conservative CDU politician Friedrich Zimmermann confirmed thisrestrictive orientation of the Bundesregierung139 but also unsheathed the divisions within the CDU
and the coalition.140 The internal division on foreigner and migration issues became especially visible
between Zimmermann and Liselotte Funcke, the newly appointed government Commissioner for Foreigners from the FDP who opposed Zimmermann’s plans to restrict family reunification and reduce

Martin Ohlert, Zwischen ‘Multikulturalismus’ und ‘Leitkultur’: Integrationsleitbild und –politik der im 17. Deutschen
Bundestag vertretenen Parteien (Wiesbaden: Springer, 2014), 285.
136
Ohlert, 174.
137
Bade, “Ausländer und Asylpolitik in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.”
138
Gesetz zur Förderung der Rückkehrbereitschaft von Ausländern, in Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung,
Chronik der Arbeitsmarktpolitik, http://doku.iab.de/chronik/31/1983_12_01_31_gese.pdf.
139
Ohlert, Zwischen ‘Multikulturalismus’ und ‘Leitkultur’, 176f.
140
Green, The politics of exclusion, 51.
135

39

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

the competences of her post.141 Zimmermann’s suggestions that he drafted in his own BMI commission were ultimately rejected in another commission on foreigner policy in 1983 that prepared therevision of the AuslG in 1990. The failure of Zimmermann’s proposals to create a consensus within
the CDU/CSU, the Cabinet and the BMI itself demonstrates the increasing involvement of other political actors in matters of immigration who did not leave immigration and integration policies to thesole decision-making power of the executive anymore.
The neglect of the German government to come to terms with the reality of two generations offoreigners, coupled with the lack of success in actually limiting immigration, also expressed itself inincreasing vote shares for far-right parties such as the Republikaner and the National-democratic
Party of Germany (NPD) in the municipal and Länder elections of 1986 and 1989.142 This was anotherproof for the polarization of immigration and immigrant policies between far-right, conservative, liberal, social-democratic and leftist positions in the German party system. Unlike in the previous 30 to
40 years, there was neither a unitary executive that could easily agree on one position nor a tacitagreement of all parties in the Bundestag on the proposals of the government. Another veto player
during this period emerged with the German Federal Court (BVerfG) that ruled against Kühn’s proposal to give foreigners municipal voting rights after the state governments in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein legislated in favor of such a possibility in 1989. By referring to GG, art. 20, sec. 2 that“all state authority is derived from the people” and art. 116 (1) that “a German […] is a person who
possesses German citizenship”, the BVerfG argued that only residents with German citizenship had
the right to vote.143
The historical year 1990 did not only mark the reunification of Germany, but also the ratification ofa new Alien Act that concluded a decade of debates on immigration and further formalized the legal
status of immigrants without, however, introducing more substantial change as promoted by the SPD
and Greens. 144 After Zimmermann was replaced with Wolfgang Schäuble, the law was ratified
quickly just before the Bundesregierung lost its majority in the Bundesrat in the following regional
elections thus preventing the politicization of migration issues for electoral purposes.145 Schäuble was

Bade, “Ausländer und Asylpolitik in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.” Der Spiegel, “Ausländer: Recht absonderlich,”
2nd May 1988, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13527177.html.
142
Green, The politics of exclusion, 56.
143
BVerfGE 83, 37, Ausländerwahlrecht I, 31st October 1990, http://www.servat.unibe.ch/dfr/bv083037.html.
144
D’Amato, Vom Ausländer zum Bürger, 92.
145
Simon Green, “Zwischen Kontinuität und Wandel: Migrations und Staatsangehörigkeitspolitik,” in Regieren in der
Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Innen- und Außenpolitik seit 1949, ed. Manfred G. Schmidt and Reimut Zohlnhöfer (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2006): 113–136, 124.
141

40

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

also able to consult with other parties (most importantly the FDP), churches, welfare organizations
and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in order to form a consensus on
the most urgent issues that were addressed within the new law.146
The new law replaced both the 1965 Alien Act and the Asylum Process Law (AsylVFG) of 1982.
Much more comprehensive than the former versions, it comprised new paragraphs addressing theimmigration status of second-generation immigrants and facilitated their naturalization by, for instance, dropping the requirement for long-term residence while demanding sufficient knowledge ofthe German language (art. 85f.). Dual citizenship was tolerated for the first time if the foreigner encountered major difficulties in renouncing his original citizenship (art. 87). Moreover, the new AuslG
specified and formalized the conditions for the issuing of residence permits (Aufenthaltserlaubnis)(art. 3–17), permanent residence permits (art. 24–26), the unlimited leave to remain (Aufenthaltsberechtigung) (art. 27), the temporary residence permit for specific purposes (Aufenthaltsbewilligung)(art. 28f.) and the residence permit for humanitarian reasons (Aufenthaltsbefugnis) (art. 30–35), regulated family reunification according to the financial circumstances of the residing foreigner (art. 18–
22, 27a, 29), expanded the legal reasons for deportation (art. 42–57) and elaborated the institutionalsetting of immigration policies while enlarging the authority of the Foreigner Agency (art. 63–65).147
While the 1965 version gave the Foreigner Agency substantial leeway in deciding on the status offoreigners according to national “interests,” the ratification of the new law significantly improved thelegal protection of foreigners and their families.148 It also facilitated the naturalization of long-term
foreign residents and young foreigners. On the other hand, it generally continued the tradition of
making alien instead of minority or immigrant policies.149 In line with the aims to limit immigration,
residence permits were still almost exclusively issued for the purpose of family reunification.150 Indeed, the Commissioner for Foreigners later criticized that integration issues still remained unresolved in several areas.151 The act also remained controversial with respect to its general constitutionality. Rittstieg, for instance, criticizes that residents with foreign citizenship continue to be treated as

146

Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 138.
Gesetz über die Enreise und den Aufenthalt von Ausländern im Bundesgebiet (Ausländergesetz – AuslG) vom 9. Juli
1990, http://www.info4alien.de/auslg.htm.
148
Christine Langenfeld and Stine Waibel, “Von der Begrenzung zur Steuerung: Deutschlands Abkehr vom“widerstrebenden” Einwanderungsland,” in Grenzüberschreitendes Recht – Crossing Frontiers. Festschrift für Kay Hailbronner, ed. Georg Jochum, Wolfgang Fritzemeyer and Marcel Kau (Heidelberg et al.: C.F. Müller, 2013): 185–200,
185f.
149
D’Amato, Vom Ausländer zum Bürger, 92.
150
Ibid, 93.
151
Ibid, 94.
147

41

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

a potential danger for society and are to be held under special governmental supervision.152
The German government also again initiated a limited recruitment program with Eastern European
countries in which a strictly regulated residence for work purposes not exceeding three years (or threemonths in specific “seasonal employee agreements”) was allowed for each foreign worker, not surpassing the maximum number of 100,000 employees per year.153 In contrast to the guest worker program of the 1950s, the agreements did not leave any room for family reunification or long-term settlement thus once again avoiding to increase unwanted immigration.154 The regulation was passed
without any significant public debate and was a clear result of the lobbying efforts of different industries (e.g. the German Restaurant and Hotel Federation) that were dependent on a certain seasonal
influx of foreign workers. The regulation also enabled other selective immigration such as in temporary vocational training programs.155
2.1.2.4 Germany as a country of asylum? New immigration streams and post-unification immigration policies
Since citizenship rules remained unaltered and the second-generation immigrants still faced hurdles
in the process of naturalization, Germany continued to have a large foreign population in its territory.
As a result of the remaining issues in integrating foreign citizens into the German society and thesurging influx of asylum-seekers after the end of the Cold War, right-wing violence against foreigners
proliferated in 1991 and 1992 while public opinion became critical of the alleged “exploitation” of
the right to asylum by rent-seeking foreigners. In addition, a large number of ethnically German repatriates from Eastern Europe that faced discrimination or other disadvantages after the end of WWII
and were hindered from going to Germany due to administrative restrictions of the communistic regimes arrived between 1988 and 1992.156 Since legal immigration to Germany from non-EU countries
was generally limited and mainly feasible via the way of family reunification, attempts to seek asylumin Germany remained as one possible legal loophole. The ensuing debate on the right to asylum andHelmut Rittstieg, “Das neue Ausländergesetz. Verbesserungen und neue Probleme,” in Das neue Ausländerrecht,
Klaus Barwig, Berthold Huber and Klaus Löcher (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1994): 23–32.
153
Peyman Javaher Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag – Interkulturelle
Verantwortung der Gewerkschaften im Betrieb, Dissertation (University of Hannover, 2000), 41.
154
Joppke, “The Domestic Legal Sources of Immigrant Rights,” 22.
155
Alexander C. Caviedes, Prying Open Fortress Europe: The Turn to Sectoral Labor Migration (Plymouth: Lexington
Books, 2010), 79.
156
Green, “Zwischen Kontinuität und Wandel,” 125. Wolfgang Seifert, “Geschichte der Zuwanderung nach Deutschlandnach 1950,” Dossier Deutsche Verhältnisse. Eine Sozialkunde (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 31st May 2012,
http://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/deutsche-verhaeltnisse-eine-sozialkunde/138012/geschichte-der-zuwanderungnach-deutschland-nach-1950?p=all.
152

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

its possible exploitation by rent-seeking immigrants dominated the agenda in the 1990s, deflectingfrom the unresolved long-term issues of immigration. Although the Green party and even a governmental working group strongly recommended viewing immigration and asylum issues holistically,
the CDU/CSU led by conservatives from Bavaria single-mindedly focused on the “exploitation of
asylum” that dominated the public agenda.157
In the controversial “asylum compromise” of 1993, the polarized German parties agreed to limit theright to asylum to countries that do not fall in the categories of “safe countries” of origin or transit
and accelerated the bureaucratic procedures related to the application for asylum. The right to asylum
was newly defined in GG, art. 16a in line with these principles. The compromise was the result of along deliberation between the parties without including interest groups to any significant extent. Unlike what its name might suggest, it was not only a compromise related to the right of asylum but also
included other incremental changes in migration policy such as facilitating the naturalization of settled foreigners and granting them a legal claim to naturalization under certain conditions.158 Indeed,as the graph below shows, the change was very effective in increasing the naturalization rate. At thesame time, the immigration of ethnically German repatriates from Eastern Europe was regulated aswell – even though with limited practical consequences – while war refugees received a new, special
status in distinction to the asylum process.159 The immigration of ethnically Germans is still feasible
today if significant knowledge of the German language is proven. The legislative change was prepared by bargaining processes and significant internal changes within the SPD (the so-called Petersberger Turn) and the FDP. 160 However, the demand of the social-democrats to reform the 1913
RuStAG that became obsolete after German unification was deferred.161

157

Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 155.
Ibid, 159f.
159
Stefan Luft and Peter Schimany, “Asylpolitik im Wandel,” in 20 Jahre Asylkomptromiss. Bilanz und Perspektiven, ed.
Stefan Luft and Peter Schimany (Bielfeld: transcript Verlag, 2014): 11–32, 13.
160John Kannankulam, “Kräfteverhältnisse in der bundesdeutschen Migrationspolitik,” in Kämpfe und Migrationspolitik.
Theorie, Methode und Analysen kritischer Europaforschung, ed. Forschungsgruppe “Staatsprojekt Europa” (Bielefeld:transcript Verlag, 2014): 93–112, 108.
161
Green, “Zwischen Kontinuität und Wandel,” 124f.
158

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Figure 4. Number of naturalized persons in Germany 1990–2011162

In the 1990s, incremental changes in immigration and integration policies were thus realized without
recognizing Germany as a country of immigration even though the number of immigrants surged up
to 5.582 million (4.7 percent) in 1990. The challenge of designing a new comprehensive immigrationand integration regime could be further deferred after the number of immigrants slowly declined in
the mid-1990s, reaching levels of negative net migration in 1997 and 1998. 163 At the same time, thesocietal and scientific debate on immigration reform continued in reaction to the recent hostility towards foreigners. For instance, in the “Manifesto of the 60”, scientists argued for improved integration policies and a reform of the citizenship law. Moreover, the SPD and Green party continued tosuggest reform proposals in the Bundestag. Even the coalition partner FDP proposed a new immigration law in 1997, but was largely ignored by the CDU. 164
The Alien Act was again reformed incrementally in 1997 in the “Act to Change Foreigner- andAsylum-Related Regulations” in order to further facilitate naturalization and family reunification
while also adding more legal reasons for deportation. Moreover, it added a definition of the tasks andduties of the Commissioner for Foreigner Issues (art. 91).165 The outcome of the mediation processof the Bundesrat, it was the result of a compromise between the federal state and the individual state
governments dominated by the SPD and Green Party.166
Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (BPB), “Zahlen und Fakten: Die soziale Situation in Deutschland – Eingebürgerte Personen,” 28th November 2012, http://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61637/einbuergerung.
163
Seifert, “Geschichte der Zuwanderung nach Deutschland nach 1950.”
164
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 159f.
165
Gesetz zur Änderung ausländer- und asylverfahrensrechtlicher Vorschriften vom 29. Oktober 1997, in Bundesgesetzblatt 72 (1997).
166
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 162.
162

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

In sum, post-war immigration policies were characterized by efforts to process the unexpected societal and political consequences of the guest worker program that led to the presence of a substantial
foreign population on German territory. The fact that in 2008 roughly 15.5 million people had a “migration history” (indicating that their parents or grandparents came to Germany as foreigners after
1949) demonstrates that Germany has truly became a country of immigration – although reluctantly.167 Unlike in the pre-war period, the guest worker program was ignited by foreign pressure
rather than domestic coalitions although the latter became more important during the consolidation
period. How exactly they have aligned themselves to the new conditions will be studied in more detailbelow. Due to the favorable economic circumstances, a sizeable number of immigrants – especiallyfrom Turkey – decided to stay in Germany and use the legal possibilities to reunite with their families.
Accordingly, immigration policies shifted substantially from being mainly concerned with the shortterm employment of foreigners to broader social issues of immigrant integration in concurrence withthe shift from the BMAS to the BMI. Even though the right to asylum was restricted, an even more
restrictive orientation could be prevented due to the veto pressures within the German political system.
The immigration from EC/EU member states added a new stream of unregulated immigration andthe legal status of EC/EU immigrant workers was consistently improved over time. In general, EC/EU
immigrants have had a relatively shorter total residence period in Germany,168 and thus their integration had not been a major priority. The limited legal possibilities of regulating the stay of EC/EU
immigrants had the effect that the immigration of non-EU citizens was designed more restrictive,
especially for the case of “unwanted” low-qualified labor.
After the recruitment program was halted, the social-liberal German government from 1974 to 1982
led by Chancellor Schmidt and the conservative-liberal coalition of Chancellor Kohl from 1982 to1998 began to enact cautious policies aiming to increase the naturalization rate and make the residence
status of immigrants more secure. Although there were political proposals for more far-reaching reforms in the 1980s (such as in the Kühn memorandum), all incremental changes were based upon therejection of the image that Germany has become a country of immigration. In that sense, a great lineof continuity can be drawn from the beginnings of the German nation-state until the late 1990s as
Germany continued an immigration policy based partly on ethnic differentiation and immigration

167

Eugen Ehmann and Heinz Stark, Deutsches Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht, 8th edition (Heidelberg et al.: Hütig Jehle Rehm,
2010), 42.
168
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Migrationsbericht 2013 (Berlin: BMI, 2013), 211.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

restrictions with the main difference arising out of the new primacy of foreign policy that made thecollective deportation of foreign workers impossible and led to the process of European integration.

2.2 The reform of the Immigration Act 2000/2004: Critical juncture or incremental change?
2.2.1 The structure of institutions and political coalitions in immigration policy-making
before the reform period
2.2.1.1 Institutions: Administration, legislation and judicial review
The governmental competence for administrating immigration policies shifted from the BMAS to
the BMI after the suspension of the guest worker program. The relation of both ministries was tense,
especially if they had been led by ministers of different parties with divergent policy proposals. The
local BAAs under the BMAS had the task to distribute work permits to foreigners, but became lessimportant after the active recruitment of foreigners was stopped. While the guest worker program waslargely implemented without recognizing public opinion or the parliament in the early years of the
FRG under Chancellor Adenauer, this dominance of the executive could not be maintained in the longterm.
The BMI has a history of regarding immigration from a security viewpoint and being averse to any
far-reaching demands for integration even though its orientation was dependent on the respective
leading minister.169 It stands in close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice (BMJ) and the Ministryof Finance (BMF) that check and supervise the judicial and financial conditions of immigration reform. Its special authority is defined in art. 65 of the AuslG in which it is given the right to interferewith the process of issuing visas in order to “protect the political interests” of Germany and the rightto order directives and guidance in case the security or other substantial interests of Germany is endangered. Another important ministry is the AA that supervises German embassies abroad. It was
highly influential in the 1950s in arguing in favor of the initiation of the guest worker program thatwas opposed by the BAMS and the BMI.170
The structure of ministries is replicated at the level of the 16 individual states and city-states withslight variations and particularities. The Länder have their own autonomous administration and exclusive legislative competencies in specific areas (e.g. education, culture, broadcasting etc.) according
to art. 70 (GG). Although these competencies have been significantly reduced in the last reforms of
169
170

Luft, Staat und Migration, 71.
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 120.

46

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

federalism, the Länder governments remain key actors in migration policy-making as they hold administrative responsibility for the execution of the federal alien law according to art. 84 (GG). Accordingly, they have significant leeway in designing the specific structures and procedures within theForeigner and Naturalization Agencies. Due to this indispensable role, it is obligatory for the federal
government to consult with representatives of the state governments in order to deliberate legislative
proposals and ensure their ratification as well as their successful implementation. Both the federal
and state ministries are coordinated by inter-ministerial working groups that are established ad hoc
for specific issues (e.g. for the question of asylum in 1984). These working groups are crucial fora
for intra-governmental deliberation, bargaining and consensus-finding. They also often include representatives of the municipal governments who are organized in City and Municipality Associations
and manage the practical and urban consequences of immigration. In particular, they have a vested
interest in negotiating the financial burden on municipalities in relation to that of Länder and thefederal government.
Central in Germany to the practical tasks of enforcing the AuslG are the Foreigner Agencies(Ausländerbehörde) that implement federal law at both a regional and local level by, most importantly,
issuing the different types of residence permits. The specific tasks of the Foreigner Agencies are listed
in art. 63–84 of the AuslG and include all major administrative tasks concerning the admission ordeportation of foreigners. The Foreigner Agency cooperates with other public agencies (e.g. the Residents’ Registration Office or the Custom Office), courts, police agencies and (in special cases) evendoctors in determining the presence of illegal immigrants, violations of the AuslG and other reasonsfor deportation. A separate agency, the Naturalization Agency, exists on a municipal level to manage
all matters related to naturalization. It cooperates with the Citizenship Agency that is authorized toissue citizenship certificates and related documents. At the federal level, another agency, the Federal
Agency for the Recognition of Refugees processes the asylum applications of refugees. It cooperates
with the Commissioner for Asylum Issues who is authorized to decide on the recognition of refugees
and asylum seekers.171 The agency was renamed and significantly enhanced in its range of tasks inthe 2004 reform of the AuslG. All data related to foreign residents is saved and administered in theRegistration Agency. The agencies are assisted by the Federal Police at German airports and at theborders of Germany who are authorized to issue visas and arrange the return of foreigners to their

BMI, “Bundesbeauftragter für Asylgelegenheiten (BBfA),” http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Standardartikel/DE/Ministerium/Beauftragte/beauftr_asyl.html.
17147

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

home countries in case of non-admission (AuslG, art. 63). According to art. 64a, the German embassies cooperate with German security, police and intelligence agencies in order to determine thegrounds for denying approval. For other cases related to foreigners such as the enforcement of deportations, the local police will be notified by the Foreigner Agency. Foreigners can protest the refusalof a visa at administrative courts, but these possibilities are limited and do not usually disrupt theprocess of deportation according to art. 70–73.
The Commissioner for Foreigners takes on a special role within this governance structure and has
been introduced to institute a form of governmental representation for foreign residents and advancetheir integration into the German society. The Commissioner is appointed by the German government
after the election of the Bundestag. Although the function was established under the jurisdiction of
the BMAS, it is largely independent and has its own staff (art. 91a). Its functions include assisting thegovernment in the development of integration policies, supporting the mutual understanding and harmonious coexistence between natives and foreigners, counteracting discrimination against foreigners,
helping foreigners in representing their interests and protecting the right of free movement for EU
citizens (art. 92b). It supports the Bundesregierung in immigration reform undertakings by writing
proposals and comments. Every two years, it reports on the current state of foreigners in Germany to
the Bundestag. Most importantly, it can force other agencies to comment on possible violations offoreigners’ rights (art. 91c). There are Commissioners at both a federal and state level.
The legislative process of immigration policy-making is quite unique in Germany with the Bundesrat and the BVerfG as two key veto players that often counteract the legislative plans of the federal
government. First, even in the case where the Bundesregierung has a stable majority within the Parliament, decisions relating to immigration policy usually activate the Bundesrat as a federal representation of Länder governmental interests. Since the ratification of a federal law affects and alters theadministrative procedures within individual states, the Bundesrat has the right to veto bills of theBundestag. The latter can then consider proposals of state governments in order to find a consensus.
In case no agreement is found directly, a mediating committee is created between Bundestag and
Bundesrat members who deliberate a possible solution. The number of votes in the Bundesrat is distributed proportionally according to the population size of one of the 16 states and city-states. The
Bundesrat is not elected but consists of representatives of the corresponding (coalition) governments.
Each government then has to agree upon a unitary vote in the chamber. In the history of the FRG, it
has been very common that the majority within the Bundesrat did not correspond to the majority in48

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

the Bundestag, thus creating a powerful veto player that can counteract federal projects and use federal issues to attract voters during state elections. While a final consensus is found in most cases,
especially after the mediation procedure is initiated, the result can deviate strongly from the original
formulation. In the area of immigration policy, the mediation process has been initiated frequently
starting with the AuslG of 1965.172 Moreover, the Bundesrat initiated own legislative proposals regarding immigration policies in the 1960s and 1970s in contrast to the rather passive Bundestag.173
Second, the BVerfG can be called upon by other governmental institutions including groups within
the Bundestag and Bundesrat. Problematically, it is sometimes used as a political tool to retroactively
suspend laws. On the one hand, the BVerfG protects the rights of labor migrants to reunify with theirfamilies and protect them from expulsion.174 In its interpretation of the GG, it states that migrants
enjoy higher constitutional protection in accordance with the length of their stay. Even though the
AuslG made the renewal of residence permits dependent on the decision-making of the Foreigner
Agency, the BVerfG argued in favor of automatically renewing residence permits in cases where theforeigner had already stayed in Germany for a long time. 175 On the other hand, the BVerfG has otherwise demonstrated a rather rigid interpretation of the GG excluding, for instance, local voting rights
for foreigners. Similarly, it has ruled against the objection of a Turkish citizen who lost his German
citizenship after he reclaimed his Turkish citizenship even though he had naturalized as a German.
According to the judges, legislatively ruling out dual citizenship is not in contradiction to the GG.176
Thus, it generally held an ambiguous position limiting the influence of the government on the individual rights of immigrants while defending the principles of nationality in the GG.
Just as important as the process of ratifying and reviewing immigration laws is the process of preparing these laws. Chancellor Schmidt introduced the format of commissions in the 1970s to deliberate proposals among different levels of government and societal groups. This measure marked theshift from executive dominance to the increasing, although still limited, coordination of political andsocietal interests. In 1965, the “Social-political Talk Forum” at the Ministry of Labor and the “Interministerial Committee for Foreigner Policy” prepared these more inclusive forms of governance that
initially coordinated different ministerial interests to facilitate the ratification and implementation of172

Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 118.
Ibid, 131.
174
Joppke, “The Domestic Legal Sources of Immigrant Rights,” 20.
175
Ibid, 21.
176
Handelsblatt, “Verbot doppelter Staatsangehörigkeit ist rechtens,” 10 th January 2007, www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/bundesverfassungsgerichts-urteil-verbot-doppelter-staatsangehoerigkeit-ist-rechtens/2754090.html.
173

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

policy proposals.177 The first commission was formed in 1976 to debate employment issues of foreigners and consisted of representatives of both the federal and the Länder governments. Unions andemployer associations were consulted while the BMAS worked on the formulations of concrete legislative proposals. It was open to ideas from civil society groups that were active in drafting their own
propositions, but generally recognized the compromise of the 1970s that combined restrictive immigration policies with selective initiatives for the integration of second-generation immigrants. 178
However, it competed with the Kühn commission whose demands were much more far-reaching. In
the Kohl era, another commission was created under Zimmermann and for the first time also included
representatives of the municipal governments. 179 It was formed with the expectation of introducing
new restrictions and included neither civil society groups nor scientific expertise who were involved
only at a later point within the regular legislation process. 180 The role of commissions was thus
strongly determined by the intentions of political decision-makers. The format was replicated several
times for different legislative projects, for instance in a working group in preparation of asylum law
reforms in 1980 and 1991.181
Moreover, since 1971, foreigners and naturalized German nationals can be elected and appointed to“Foreigner Councils” (Ausländerbeirat) at a municipal level to draft proposals for immigrant integration as a measure to increase their political representation. The councils are organized in working
groups at a regional and federal level with 400 of municipal councils united in the Federal Immigration and Integration Council (BZI). Their competencies, however, are severely limited as most decision-making in immigration policy is made on the federal level. 182 They are also not sufficiently integrated within the municipal government structures and were only selectively asked for advice.183
The (simplified) structure of immigration policy-making in Germany is summed up in the graphbelow. The somewhat crowded picture reveals the multiple interactions between institutions that exist
on different governmental levels and leave several participatory possibilities open to civil society.

177

Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 122, 125.
Ibid, 125f
179
Ibid, 132.
180
Ibid, 133f.
181
Ibid, 147.
182
Roland Roth, “Integration durch politische Partizipation und bürgerschaftliches Engagement,” in Lokale Integrationspolitik in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft. Migration und Integration als Herausforderung von Kommunen, ed. Frank
Gesemann and Roland Roth (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2009): 195–216, 201f.
183
Vera Gerling, Soziale Dienste für zugewanderte Senioren/Innen. Erfahrungen aus Deutschland und Großbritannien
und ein Vergleich kommunaler Praxis der Partnerstädte Dortmund und Leeds, Dissertation (University of Dortmund,2001), 76.
178

50

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Figure 5. Structure of immigration policy-making in Germany (by author)

2.2.1.2 Party positions
After the suspension of the recruitment program in the 1970s, parties became increasingly polarizedaround issues of immigration – in particular naturalization requirements, the integration of secondgeneration immigrants, family reunification and the right to asylum. Especially in the 1980s, immigration became highly politicized as the number of asylum-seekers surged. While the recruitment
phase was dominated by the primacy of foreign policy and inter-ministerial bargaining under the
expectation that immigration is merely a temporary phenomenon, political parties developed moredifferentiable positions when immigration issues became relevant for attracting votes.

Social-democratic Party of Germany (SPD)Since the beginning of the guest worker program, the SPD stressed the importance of protecting theinterests of domestic workers threatened by the influx of cheap labor. The SPD would only agree tothe program if the wages of domestic workers remained stable and there were no negative effects on
housing prices or the workers’ job security.184 With this impulse to not re-create the dual labor marketof the pre-war period, coupled with an internationalist ideology, the SPD quickly began to demand184

Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien, 32f.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

an equal status for foreign workers with respect to their protection from exploitation and discrimination, and objected to the idea of rotating them between their home country and Germany. It was thus
an early advocate of the concept of immigrant integration in line with the idea of preventing theirsocial descent and exclusion from the German labor market and society which would ultimately affectthe wages and job security of low-skilled native workers as well. It was clearly at the forefront ofproposing various inclusive measures.185 Issues related to immigration were discussed more controversially within the different state branches of the SPD. The Bundestag group, for instance, did not
oppose the restrictive immigration policies of the government since the more acute task of integrating
foreigners into the German society would be at risk with an even higher number of immigrants.186 In
addition, party members and officials were split between those who wanted to protect the interests ofdomestic workers against asylum-seekers who came to Germany for economic motives and those
who supported the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers unconditionally.187 The controversy was
ultimately resolved in favor of more restrictive measures in the asylum compromise.188 During thefinal years of the social-liberal coalition, it was one of the first political voices to demand the overdue
reform of the citizenship law of 1913 that would include the right for children of immigrants to receive
the German citizenship under specific conditions.189
In the 1990s, the SPD encouraged the debate on a new immigration law and for the first time promoted a proactive immigration policy to counteract the adverse effects of demographic change. The
paper “Guidance for modern integration policy” of 1995 defined Germany as a country of immigration for the first time.190 The proposal opted for quotas for new immigrants who may work in Germany under specific conditions while keeping the path for family reunification fully open. Integration
was to be further advanced by facilitating naturalization and granting ius soli rights for children of
foreigners with the possibility of dual citizenship under exceptional circumstances.191 In its program
for the elections in 1998, the SPD affirmed its views of regulating immigration and ratifying a new
citizenship law that would benefit second- and third-generation immigrants in Germany.192

185

Ibid, 38ff, 46.
Ibid, 32–36.
187
Ibid, 55–57.
188
Ibid, 64.
189
Ibid, 47.
190
Ibid, 79.
191
Ibid, 65ff.
192
SPD, Arbeit, Innovation und Gerechtigkeit. SPD-Programm für die Bundestagswahl 1998 (Bonn, 1998), 44.
186

52

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Among the constituents of the SPD, a disproportionate number come from West Germany, are middle-aged (between 25 and 54), and are Protestant or without religious denomination. The “typical”
SPD voter has a relatively low education and is traditionally related to the working class. Voterscomprise a large number of skilled workers and employees from the lower and mid-career level.193
Increasingly, voters were also recruited among academics, employees and civil servants. 194

Christian-Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Christian-Social Union (CSU)
The CDU/CSU has traditionally been skeptical of immigration although it was the party responsiblefor initiating the guest worker program in the 1950s. While it was generally in favor of the idea ofusing foreign employees as a reserve pool of labor during phases of economic growth, it did not havepositive views on the long-term settlement of foreigners from non-European countries in the FRG.195
This clearly reflected the CDU/CSU’s conservative skepticism of multi-cultural coexistence in theGerman society.196 However, there was never a full consensus on immigration and integration issues
in the party union. First, the independent CSU of Bavaria held consistently more conservative positions than the CDU. The branches in Baden-Württemberg and Hessen generally seconded these views.
Second, the federal CDU itself was split between conservatives and modernizers such as Heiner
Geißler who led the faction of the Christian-Democratic Employees (CDA) who were open to discuss
the social issues that the guest worker program entailed and showed a more proactive approach towards integration.197 Third, this division also expressed itself in a sporadic splits between the parliamentary CDU/CSU group and the government. For instance, a (rejected) bill for a new citizenshiplaw was introduced in 1994 that would give children of foreigners ius soli citizenship rights and theoption to decide their citizenship at the age of 23. A very similar model was later introduced by thesocial-democratic-Green coalition of 1998.198
Under Chancellor Kohl, the CDU enacted largely restrictive measures related to immigration andintroduced only incremental measures for integration. Key positions such as the chairman of the party

Isabell Thaidigsmann, “Sozialstruktur und Wählerverhalten. Das Ende einer alten Beziehung?” Konrad-AdenauerStiftung Working Paper 126 (2004), 26f.
194
Martin Mertens, “Wählerschaft und Mitglieder,” Dossier Parteien in Deutschland (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 22nd February 2010, https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/42093/waehlerschaft-undmitglieder.
195
Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien, 153f.
196
Ibid, 158f.
197
Ibid, 161.
198
Green, The politics of exclusion, 93.
193

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

or the leading minister of the BMI were filled with conservative figures that clashed with the modernizers in the party and were largely unsuccessful in asserting their legislative proposals.199 Until theratification of the 1990 AuslG, however, the CDU began to promote the idea that foreign residents
may live according to their “own cultural ideas” while respecting Germany’s laws and traditions rather than demanding their full assimilation.200 The facilitation of naturalization requirements was explicitly seen as a measure to incentivize their allegiance to the German state.201 The election programin 1998 accordingly argued for a restrictive immigration policy coupled to the advancement of integrative measures. Further immigration in the “densely populated country” would “endanger the inner
peace” of Germany. The program praised the zero tolerance policy of the former CDU/CSU government related to illegal immigration and the exploitation of the right to asylum. In the area of immigrant
integration, the CDU pledged to reform the citizenship law and further facilitate naturalization while
demanding from foreigners to adapt themselves to the basic values of Germany and renounce theirformer citizenship in case they decide to naturalize.202
Among the constituents of the CDU/CSU, a disproportionate number come from West Germany, iscatholic, have relatively low education, are relatively old (60 or more) and/or have relatively highincome. A high number of occupations of CDU/CSU constituents are in self-employed occupations
and farming.203

Free Democratic Party (FDP)
The liberals have been key junior partners for both the SPD and the CDU and thus represent the
party with the longest time of direct governing responsibility. As the weaker coalition partner, the
FDP was only selectively successful in asserting liberal immigration and integration policies against
the more skeptical SPD and CDU. Instead, the party was split between those who wanted to accommodate and compromise with the larger party and those voices insisting on modern and liberal policies comprising the right of dual citizenship and the regulated entry of foreign workers. 204 Until theelections in 1998, it occupied many important ministerial positions, most frequently in the AA, theBMJ, the BMI and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMW). During the period of the SPD199

Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien, 175.
Ibid, 187.
201
Ibid, 189.
202
CDU/CSU, Wahlplattform von CDU und CSU 1998–2002 (Bonn, 1998), 31ff.
203
Thaidigsmann, "Sozialstruktur und Wählerverhalten,” 25. Martin Mertens, “Wählerschaft und Mitglieder,” DossierParteien in Deutschland (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 22nd February 2010, https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/42068/waehlerschaft-und-mitglieder.
204
Migration News (University of California, Davis), “Germany: Bosnians, Immigration Policy,” Migration News 4, no.
5 (1997), https://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=1229.
200

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

FDP coalition, it developed its own perspective on issues of immigration and integration after thesuspension of the recruitment program when Minister of Foreign Affairs Genscher from the FDP
recognized Germany as a country of immigration (although not one of permanent settlement) anddemanded a more committed integration policy that improved the civil rights of foreign residents andgranted them equal opportunities. The FDP strongly supported the legal right of naturalization forsecond-generation immigrants and further improvements in facilitating naturalization.205
In the CDU-FDP coalition, it rejected Zimmermann’s proposal of reducing the maximum legal age
at which children of foreign workers were allowed to reunite with their guest workers parents inGermany from 16 to 6 years.206 Similarly, with respect to the right of asylum, the FDP defended thestatus quo of the GG similar to the opinions of the SPD and the Greens, again distinguishing itself
from the CDU.207 In 1993, it was the first party that demanded to allow for the regulated immigrationof foreign workers in order to alleviate the adverse consequences of the ageing German society.208 It
also called for the toleration of dual citizenship and the introduction of ius soli rights for children of
foreigners.209 During the discussions on the new immigration law in the 1990s, it supported the Optionsmodell – proposed by parts of the CDU – that gives children of foreigners a choice to choose
their citizenship when they reach a specific age. Integration was defined as a process that needs boththe efforts of the immigrants to integrate into society as well as the societal conditions to accept andwelcome immigrants.210 In the 1998 program for the elections, the FDP accordingly advocated thereform of the citizenship law to include the Optionsmodell, to introduce the voting right for foreign
residents in municipal elections and to ratify a new immigration law that regulates the new entry andsocietal integration of foreign workers. 211
Among FDP voters, a disproportionate number are male and from the upper and middle classes. It
is popular among the self-employed, but there is no clear religious demographic anymore although
the FDP was traditionally related to the Protestant middle-class in Germany.212
205

Ibid, 378f.
Bernd Geiß, “Die Ausländerbeauftragten der Bundesregierung in der ausländerpolitischen Diskussion,” in Deutschland – ein Einwanderungsland? Rückblick, Bilanz und neue Fragen, ed. Edda Currle and Tanja Wunderlich (Stuttgart:
Lucius & Lucius, 2001): 127–140, 129–133,
207
Ohlert, Zwischen ‘Multikulturalismus’ und ‘Leitkultur’, 388.
208
Ibid, 392.
209
Ibid, 393.
210
Ibid, 399ff.
211
FDP, Wahlprogramm zur Bundestagswahl 1998 der Freien Demokratischen Partei: “Es ist ihre Wahl,” in Archiv desLiberalismus, 2nd May 2008, http://www.freiheit.org/files/288/1998_Bundestagswahlprogramm.pdf, 57f.
212
Thaidigsmann, "Sozialstruktur und Wählerverhalten,” 27. Martin Mertens, “Wählerschaft und Mitglieder,” DossierParteien in Deutschland (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 22nd February 2010, https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/42105/fdp.
206

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Alliance ‘90/The Greens
The Green party evolved out of the new social movements of the 1970s, in particular the environmental movement, and was officially founded in 1980. It was elected into the Bundestag for the firsttime in 1983. It began as a left-wing, progressive force that focused primarily on environmental issues,
but quickly adopted a variety of other issues similar to the main parties. In their first general programof 1980 they demanded full civil rights for foreigners and their families, equal rights and opportunities
in the workplace, the discontinuity of deporting politically persecuted foreigners, the municipal andnational right of voting, the right of dual citizenship and the right for children of foreigners to naturalize.213 These far-reaching demands that sharply criticized the status quo of immigration and integration policies corresponded to the Greens’ ideal of a multi-cultural society and their goal to end all
discrimination against minorities. In the election program of 1987 they also targeted the issues ofimmigrant women whose resident statuses were still dependent on their husbands’. Divorce thus
sometimes entailed deportation from Germany. Moreover, they demanded the possibility of unrestricted family reunification and the establishment of special consultation centers for foreign
women.214 The Greens depicted themselves as lawyers for the millions of immigrants and criticizedthe various forms of hostility and discrimination against foreigners in Germany and demanded theintroduction of legislative anti-discrimination measures and the unconfined right of asylum. 215 Assimilation and even the necessity to learn the German language in order to naturalize were rejected. 216
A draft of a new immigration law in 1991 mentioned a point system in which points are distributed
according to the specific reasons of residence in Germany with the highest number of points given
for an immigrant who has been hired.217
The program for the federal elections in 1998 was characterized by a pledge to reform the citizenshiplaw and change its traditional ius sanguinis orientation in order to introduce a new act that gives
immigrants from non-EU countries who have stayed at least three years in Germany the same legal
rights as immigrants from EU countries. The Greens also demanded to grant foreigners municipal
voting rights, provide an independent residence title for the spouses of foreigners, grant children of213

Die Grünen, Das Bundesprogramm (1980), http://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/assets/boell.de/images/download_de/publikationen/1980_001_Grundsatzprogramm_Die_Gruenen.pdf, 38. Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen
Parteien, 156.
214
Die Grünen, Bundestagswahl Programm 1987, http://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/assets/boell.de/images/download_de/publikationen/1987_Wahlprogramm_Bundestagswahl.pdf, 20.
215
Ibid, 8f.
216
Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien, 161.
217
Ibid, 169f.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

foreigners ius soli citizenship, recognize dual citizenship, abolish the practice of eviction, and re-open
Germany to immigration.218
The Green party has been traditionally voted for by the younger generation and middle-aged to older(especially female) persons from 40 to 54 with a high formal education working in middle-class or
upper-class jobs.219

Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)The PDS is the successional party of the GDR’s former leading Socialist Unity Party of Germany(SED). It was transformed and newly founded in both West and East Germany after Germany’s unification, but mostly derived its votes in the 1990s from East Germany. It was elected into the united
Bundestag in 1990. With respect to immigration policy, it was one of the fiercest critics of the asylum
compromise and strongly defended the rights of refugees as well as the need for strict anti-discrimination measures. It rejected the ethnic-nationalistic origins of the citizenship law and promoted thelegalization of dual citizenship and the education of immigrant children in their native tongue. 220
This view was reaffirmed in the election program of 1998 in which the PDS committed to the aimsof creating a multicultural society with equal civic and political rights of immigrants including theright to vote for foreign residents who have lived in Germany for at least five years and equal opportunities in the education system and labor market. Moreover, the party demanded the introduction of
a comprehensive anti-discrimination law and an individual right of permanent residence (independentof the spouse). Similar to the Greens, it aimed to return to an unrestricted right of asylum instead ofa currently “humiliating” legislation.221
The PDS has strong support among younger voters in East Germany with high formal education,
without religious denomination and occupations as qualified employees.222

218

Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Programm zur Bundestagswahl 98. Grün ist der Wechsel (Bonn, 1998), 120ff.
Thaidigsmann, "Sozialstruktur und Wählerverhalten, 28. Martin Mertens, “Wählerschaft und Mitglieder,” DossierParteien in Deutschland (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 22nd February 2010, http://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/42159/waehlerschaft-und-mitglieder.
220
PDS, Opposition gegen Sozialabbau und Rechtsruck. Wahlprogramm der PDS 1994 (Bonn, 1994), 22.
221
PDS, Programm der PDS zur Bundestagswahl 1998. Für den politischen Richtungswechsel! Sozial und solidarisch –für eine gerechte Republik!, 28ff.
222
Martin Mertens, “Wählerschaft und Mitglieder,” Dossier Parteien in Deutschland (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), 22nd February 2010, http://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/42138/waehlerschaft-undmitglieder.
219

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Right-wing, anti-immigrant and nativist parties
Nationalist parties in Germany include the Republicans (Republikaner, founded in 1983) who received 1.8 percent of federal votes in the 1998 federal election, the German People’s Union (DVU,
founded in 1971) with 1.2 percent of votes, and the NPD (founded in 1964) with 0.25 percent of votes.
The NPD holds strongly nationalist and partly anti-Semitic views glorifying Germany’s nationalsocialistic past. It has organized hostile citizen initiatives against foreigners in the 1980s and rejects
both immigration and integration as a “genocide” on the German people. Similar to the DVU, it agitated against multi-culturalism in favor of a model of ethnic and racial nationalism not unlike the biopolitical concepts of the NSDAP. It also argued for a revision of the German borders to those before
WWII.223 In general, the NPD and DVU associated immigration with criminality and the loss of German identity.224 In its 1998 electoral program, the DVU formulated its aims to prioritize Germans
before foreigners in the labor market, reduce the financing for diversity projects, fight against foreigner criminality and severely restrict further immigration.225
The parties are also associated with non-party right-wing groups of so-called “comradeships”, informally organized small groups that participate in demonstrations and sometimes violent agitations.226 An upsurge in violence against asylum-seekers by these groups took place particularly in theearly 1990s.227 The Republicans who do not hold any revisionist views of the past can be rather seen
as a populist-conservative party that focused on the criminality of foreigners and advocated an assimilationist societal view on their integration.228 Right-wing parties generally target low-income men

Albert Scharenberg, “Brücke zum Mainstaem – Mainstream als Brücke. Europäische Rechtsparteien und ihre Politik
gegen Einwanderung,” in Globalisierter Rechtsextremismus? Die extremistische Rechte in der Ära er Globalisierung(Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2006): 70–111, 86f.
224
Martin Langebach and Jan Raabe, “Die Genese einer extreme rechten Jugendkultur,” in Autonome Nationalisten. Neonazismus in Bewegung, ed. Jan Schedler and Alexander Häusler (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften,
2011): 36–53, 28.
225
Richard Stöss, “Rechtsextremismus in West- und Ostdeutschland,” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Digitale Bibliothek,
http://library.fes.de/fulltext/asfo/00659003.htm.
226
Gudrun Heinrich, “Akzeptanzprobleme der Migration in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,” in Abwanderung und Migrationin Mecklenburg und Vorpommern (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2004): 279–294, 286.
227
Ibid, 288.
228
Coerw Krüger, “Der REP-Bundestagswahlkampf 1994,” in Rechtsextremismus in Parlamenten. Forschungsstand,Fallstudien, Gegenstrategien, ed. Christoph Butterwegge et al. (Opladen: Leske & Budrich, 1997): 243–266, 257.
223

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

that are disadvantaged from immigration. Accordingly, in the 1990s, voters with low formal education, those with manual labor jobs and the unemployed were overrepresented according to different
studies. Citizens in East Germany have higher vote shares than those in West Germany.229
Summary of party positions
The illustration below shows the positioning of the main parties in the FRG around the year 1998 a
few years before the ground-breaking citizenship and immigration law was passed. The two axes are
the immigration axis and the integration axis. A restrictive view on immigration is indicated by policies that limit the right of asylum and minimize immigration streams while more open immigration
policies include measures to re-open the borders for new streams of foreign workers or asylum-seekers by using, for instance, a point system or quotas. The second dimension differentiates between the
different principles of societally integrating foreigners. While the assimilationist view calls for theimmigrant’s adjustment to German values and traditions, the multi-cultural view embraces the differences between cultures and concedes the right of cultural independence for immigrant communities
on the condition that the German legal order is observed.
What becomes apparent is that while there is a general consensus on intensifying measures to integrate immigrants into society – especially the second generation – and raise the naturalization rate,
opinions differ if and how new immigration should be allowed again and what the appropriate guiding
principle for integration should be. Indeed, there was a trend towards granting immigrants the rightto protect their own culture in the German society. Even the CDU has recognized this right although
it also emphasized the necessity for immigrants to adjust to German values. The PDS and the Greensmost distinctively embraced the idea of a multi-cultural society and completely rejected the traditional
notion of an ethnic German nation-state with the Green party even going so far as to waive German
language skills as requirements for naturalization. The SPD and FDP, too, supported various policies
that correspond to a multi-cultural society such as the right to vote in municipal elections or limited
ius soli rights. In the FDP, however, some critical voices against multi-culturalism were present as
well.230 With respect to the immigration dimension, the CDU/CSU unambiguously rejected new immigration. The Green party developed the most far-reaching concept of admitting labor immigrants
while the PDS mostly concentrated on the asylum issue. The FDP, too, formulated cautious notions

229

Urban Kaiser, Wer wählt rechts und warum? Eine Analyse der Wähler der Republikaner und deren Wahlmotivation.
Die baden-württembergischen Landtagswahlen 1992 bis 2001 (Norderstedt: Grin, 2005), 5. Sven Eichstädt, “Rechtsextreme Wähler sind männlich, arm, arbeitslos,” Die Welt, 6th December 2011, http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article13754021/Rechtsextreme-Waehler-sind-maennlich-arm-arbeitslos.html.
230
Ohlert, Zwischen ‘Multikulturalismus’ und ‘Leitkultur’, 396.

59Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

to increase immigration in order to alleviate the economic consequences of the ageing German society
while the SPD, which openly supported restricting immigration for many decades, also slowly favored a new system of regulated immigration. Finally, the far right-wing parties Republicans, NPD
and DVU held an extremely assimilationist (or rather: exclusionist) view on integration and wanted
to restrict immigration completely.

Figure 6. Summary of party positions in 1998 depicted on an immigration and an integration axis (by author)

2.2.1.3 Societal coalitions and interest groups
2.2.1.3.1

Immigrant associations

In accordance with the immigration history in Germany, there are different types of organized andunorganized immigrants that each hold particular interests. In general, most foreign residents in Germany have stayed in the FRG for a significantly long time period – the majority between 10 and 15
years.231 In particular, immigrants from Turkey, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Spain andPortugal have on average stayed in Germany for a long period of time (20 years or more).232 The legal
claim to naturalization is redeemed mostly by Turkish immigrants, followed by Polish and Ukrainian
immigrants.233 Problematically, the education level of immigrants and Germans with a migration history (second- and third-generation immigrants) is still significantly lower compared with natives, in
BPB, “Zahlen und Fakten: Die soziale Situation in Deutschland – Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Aufenthaltsdauer.”
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Migrationsbericht 2013, 211.
233
Ibid, 217.
231
232

60

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

addition to issues of labor market integration. The majority of citizens without a formal educational
degree consists of citizens with a migration history.234

Figure 7. Distribution of immigrants’ years of residence in Germany (2011)235

Immigrants from EU member states
After the ratification of the Schengen agreement in 1985, the key division in German immigration
law has been that between immigrants from EU member-states who automatically receive the rightof residence and may work in Germany and non-EU immigrants without these privileges. Integrative
measures such as integration classes, naturalization requirements or citizenship rules, however, generally relate to both types of immigration. EU citizens are allowed to remain in Germany for either
up to three months or for more than three months in order to find employment if they can financethemselves or for the purpose of family reunification.236 They are not registered at the local Foreigner
Agencies and their legal status is determined by EU law. In 2013, 3.37 million of a total of 7.63
million foreign residents immigrated from EU countries which is a share of 44.1 percent.237 Only asmall percentage of roughly 15.7 percent out of these EU citizens decided to take the step of naturalization until 2011.238
BPB, “Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund II” Zahlen und Fakten. Die soziale Situation in Deutschland, 28 th November 2012, http://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61649/migrationshintergrund-ii.
235
BPB, “Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Aufenthaltsdauer.”
236
BMI, “Häufig gestellten Fragen zum Thema: Freizügigkeit,” http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/FAQs/DE/Themen/Migration/Freizuegigkeit/Freizuegigkeit_1.html.
237
Statistisches Bundesamt, “Ausländische Bevölkerung,” https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/Bevoelkerung/MigrationIntegration/AuslaendischeBevolkerung/Tabellen/Geburtsort.html;jsessionid=74491EDB4F4AE2C5BE711E9DAD17621C.cae1.
238
BPB, “Zahlen und Fakten: Die soziale Situation in Deutschland – Eingebürgerte Personen Zahlen und Fakten.”
234

61

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Ethnic German repatriates (Aussiedler and Spätaussiedler)
Former emigrants of German decent (or with former German citizenship) are a another important
stream of immigrants, but their number declined exponentially from 397,073 new arrivals in 1990 tomerely 2,427 in 2013 as can be seen in the graph below.239 From 1990 to 2011, most of these immigrants came from Kazakhstan, Russia, Poland and Romania. Aussiedler do not only enjoy full residence and citizenship rights, but are highly organized and linked especially to the CDU. For instance,
there are strong networks between the CDU and the conservative Federation of Expellees and associated regional groups (Landsmannschaften) that have branches for each nation of origin. They also
enjoy strong support from churches and welfare organizations. Other parties are generally supportive
as well although the Greens and the PDS reject the ethnic implications of the immigration and citizenship laws.

Figure 8. Number of Aussiedler and Spätaussiedler and their families over time 240

Guest workers and their families
Most of the post-war immigration is based upon the guest worker program and the related family
reunification. Over the course of the years, immigrants became increasingly organized, especiallyamong the dominant group of the Turks who created a network of thousands of social, religious and239 Bundesverwaltungsamt, Spätaussiedler und ihre Angehörigen. Jahresstatistik 2013, http://www.bva.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/BVA/Staatsangeh%C3%B6rigkeit/Aussiedler/Statistik/J_Jahresstatistik2013.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3. BPB. “Zahlen und Fakten: Die soziale Situation in Deutschland – (Spät-)Aussiedler,” 28th November 2012,
http://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61-643/aussiedler.
240
BPB, “(Spät-)Aussiedler” Zahlen und Fakten. Die soziale Situation in Deutschland.”62

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

political organizations which became important pressure groups. Next to Turkish umbrella organizations that will be analyzed here, other immigrant groups are usually organized in similar types oforganizations that are structured along ethnic lines (91 percent in 1999).241
Turkish associations typically remain in contact with their home country while being embedded into
German politics and society, which they try to influence through publicity campaigns, advisory activities and involvement in German parties and institutions.242 In the 1960s and 1970s, there was alarge number of Turkish labor groups that advocated for their interests, for example the “Associationof Turkish employees in Cologne and surroundings” or “Türk Danis,” which was founded by thepowerful welfare organization Workers’ Welfare (AWO). Later, the groups became more diverse andbegan to represent the societal interests and religious practices of long-term immigrants and theirfamilies in the German society. 243
The groups range in their orientation from apolitical to nationalistic and Islamist. Local mosquesand so-called “cultural centers” are key forums for self-organization and the planning of various religious and non-religious activities, but remain somewhat distant from German politics and society.
The first party that explicitly represents the interests of Turkish and Muslim immigrants was foundedin 2010 under the name of the “Federation for Innovation and Justice” (BIG) while other fragmented
political organizations often reproduced the different political views of Turkey and remained somewhat marginal in the German political system. These groups comprise Turkish and Kurdish nationalistic groups (e.g. the far-right Turkish Grey Wolfs), moderate groups (e.g. the Federation of Socialdemocratic Associations of Turkey in Europe that is associated with the SPD), religious groups (e.g.
the secularist Turkish-Islamic Union of the Religious Institutions DITIB and the Islamist Mili Görüs)and leftist groups (e.g. the Federation of Immigrant Associations of Turkey). Some organizations
such as Mili Görüs or the Organization of Islamic Associations and Communities Cologne (ICCB)
are monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).244 Parties, too, created or assisted the creation of their own groups such as the Liberal-Turkish-German Association

241

Patrick Richard Ireland, Becoming Europe: Immigration, Integration, and the Welfare State (Pittsburgh: University ofPittsburgh, 2004), 49.
242
Canan Atilgan, “Türkische politische Organisationen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland,” Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung,Kommunalpolitik, Materalien für die Arbeit vor Ort 9, 3f.
243
Handan Çetinkaya, “Türkische Selbstorganisationen in Deutschland: neuer Pragmatismus nach der ideologischen
Selbstzerfleischung,” in Einwanderer-Netzwerke und ihre Integrationsqualität in Deutschland und Israel, ed. Dietrich
Thränhardt and Uwe Hunger (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2000): 83–110, 84.
244
Atilgan, “Türkische politische Organisationen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland,” 11f.

63

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads(LTD) of the FDP or the German-Turkish Union (DTU) of the CDU in order to increase the participation of immigrants in the political process.245
The most important organizations that demanded broad rights and opportunities for the Turkish
minority formed regionally in Berlin in the 1980s as the “Turkish Community of Berlin” and the“Federation of Turkish Immigrants” in Hamburg. These groups became the foundation for the creation of the federal umbrella organization of the “Turkish Community” (Türkische Gemeinde) in 1995
that currently comprises roughly 200 individual associations. The Turkish Community has created acommittee for dialogue between Germany and Turkey and often acted as a proxy for the interests ofTurkey, but has recently begun to distance itself more and more from Turkish politics.246 The organization competes and coordinates with the “Council of Citizens of Turkish Descent” whose politicaldemands include the introduction of dual citizenship, the enforcement of anti-discrimination measuresand the improvement of conditions of migrants in various areas of society.247 Both organizations are
not very coherent as they represent a broad variety of different political views and orientations oflocal associations. Muslims are represented by (at least) two Islamic umbrella organizations, the “Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany” and the “Central Council of Muslims in Germany,” which organizes mostly non-Turkish Muslims. Key demands include the introduction of Islamic religious classes at school and the permission to slaughter animals according to ritual rites.248
Finally, there are also social organizations founded by both German citizens and Turkish migrantsthat aim to establish full social and legal equality of immigrants such as the German-Turkish Foundation, the Turkish-German Health Foundation in Gießen or the Association for the Promotion of aModern Way of Living.249 Other associations that remained unmentioned include Turkish organizations of scholars and entrepreneurs.250

Asylum-seekers, refugees, and others
Asylum-seekers and refugees do not have any direct forms of self-organization, but find a reliable
political lobby in left-wing parties, unions and civil society groups such as Pro Asyl (and associatedgroups) and receive support and advice from international organizations such as the UNHCR, NGOs
such as the International Organization for Migration in Germany as well as churches and welfare
245

Ibid, 7f.
Ibid, 22.
247
Ibid, 20248
Zentralrat der Muslime in Deutschland, “Islamischer Religionsunterricht, Statements zu dem Lehrplan,” 26 th April
1999, http://zentralrat.de/14594.php. Çetinkaya, “Türkische Selbstorganisationen in Deutschland,” 90.
249
Ibid, 104ff.
250
Ibid, 102f.
246

64

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

organizations. Civil society groups are cross-linked in so-called “refugee councils” that work in all
16 individual states. These refugee councils reach out to inform the public and defend the rights ofrefugees and asylum-seekers, and lobby for these rights in front of agencies, parties and individual
politicians.251
Other purposes of residence in Germany include educational (university studies, language classes,
other training), occupational and other purposes such as the return of German citizens from abroad.
These forms of immigration, however, are usually not organized.

Trade unions
Although the degree of unionization is not particularly high in Germany (roughly 18 percent),252
unions and their umbrella organizations take a systemic role in various corporatist arrangements withthe government (e.g. in the coordinating group for foreign workers at the BMAS), representing theinterests of domestic workers.253 Unions have been key actors in demanding protection against theadverse effects of labor immigration such as pressure on domestic wages and worsening job security.
Foreign workers directly competed with low-skilled Germans who consequently developed hostile
attitudes against the guest worker program. In manufacturing, for instance, the number of German
employees decreased by 870,000 while the number of guest workers increased by 1.1 million people.
Moreover, the growth of real wages began to stagnate because of the increase in labor supply. 254
Unions initially followed the consensus that guest workers would only stay temporarily showing arather passive attitude as long as full employment was realized. 255 Over time, however, they developed an institutional interest in adding foreign workers as union members in order to gain a more
powerful position in wage negotiations, increase their mobilization potential, and avoid repeating themistakes of the pre-war era when minority unions were created due to the lack of inclusion by German
unions.256 Another conducive effect was that immigration supported the unions’ objectives to lower
the total working hours in Germany.257

Flüchtlingsrat Berlin, “Unsere Arbeit,” http://www.fluechtlingsrat-berlin.de/unserearbeit.php.
Worker-participation.eu, “Gewerkschaften,” http://de.worker-participation.eu/Nationale-Arbeitsbeziehungen/Querdurch-Europa/Gewerkschaften.
253
Peter Kühne, “The Federal Republic of Germany: Ambivalent Promotion of Immigrants’ Interests,” in Trade Unions,Immigration and Immigrants in Europe 1960–1993, ed. Rinus Pennix and Judith Roosblad (New York City/Oxford:
Berghahn Books): 39–64, 39f.
254
Luft, Staat und Migration, 42f.
255
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 21f
256
Kühne, “The Federal Republic of Germany, 54.
257
Ulrich Herbert and Karin Hunn, “Guest Workers and Policy on Guest Workers in the Federal Republic: From the
Beginning of Recruitment in 1955 until its Halt in 1973,” in The Miracle Years: A Cultural History of West Germany,
1949–1968, ed. Hanna Schissler (Princeton: Princteon University Press, 2001): 187–218, 196.
251
252

65

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

The DGB pledged in 1971 to represent foreign workers to the same degree as domestic workers.
The latter made its support largely dependent on the domestic economic situation that affected theirwages and employment situation.258 Unions organized special training for foreign workers and improved their participatory possibilities in union activities by granting them the active and passive
voting right for work councils.259 The main industrial umbrella organizations also set up specific departments and sections that dealt with issues of foreign workers in unions.260 Still, as the recession
endangered German jobs, they still backed the political consensus on discontinuing the recruitment
program and sending the guest workers home – if necessary by deporting them – while restricting
further immigration and giving priority to German nationals in hiring decisions. 261 But after this expectation did not come true and migrants instead began to organize themselves demanding a more
adequate representation, the unions’ alien policies became somewhat contradictory. On the one hand,unions pioneered in the demand for improved integrative policies that guaranteed the rights of residence and political participation. But these measures were not necessarily in the interests of domestic
workers, who remained skeptical.262 Therefore, the DGB also continued to support the principle thatwork permits are distributed according to the employment situation and rejected local voting rights
for foreign residents.263
Until the 1980s, unions generally did not oppose the official government policies although cautious
proposals to improve the residence status for foreigners were formulated. During the 1980s, however,the distance to the Bundesregierung became significantly wider. For example, several large unions
now supported the reform of the AFG to dissolve the link between the issuing of work permits andthe development of the labor market, introduce municipal voting rights for foreigners (IG Metall),dismantle the disadvantages of foreign residents in the education and job training system (IG ChemiePapier-Keramik) and promote full equality between domestic and foreign workers (DGB). 264 The expulsion of foreigners should be made more difficult in contrast with the plans of the federal government to broaden the causes for deportation.265 Furthermore, the unions’ concept of society becamePeter Kühne, “Gewerkschaftliche Asyl- und Einwanderungspolitik. Auf dem Weg zu neuen Konzepten?” Gewerkschaftliche Monatshefte 2 (1992): 108–117, 108.
259
Nihat Öztürk, “Partizipation von Migranten und Einwanderern in Betrieben und den Gewerkschaften – Das Beispiel
der IG Metall,” in Wohfahrtsstaat, Einwanderung und ethnische Minderheiten: Probleme, Entwicklungen, Perspektiven,
ed. Andreas Treichler, (Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, 2002): 295–312, 296.
260
Kühne, “The Federal Republic of Germany,” 58.
261
Ibid, 46.
262
Kühne, “Gewerkschaftliche Asyl- und Einwanderungspolitik,” 109.
263
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 30.
264
Ibid, 43.
265
Kühne, “The Federal Republic of Germany,” 48.
258

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

clearly more multi-cultural and expressly anti-assimilationist.266 As a consequence, they began tosupport the idea of legalizing dual citizenship.267 Reasons for this transformation can be identified in
the increasing degree of organization of foreigners within the unions and the inauguration of the conservative CDU/FDP coalition government that lacked linkages to unions. In 1983, the IG Metall (thelargest umbrella organization in Germany) gave immigrant workers the right to organize themselvesin committees, host conferences (most importantly the National Foreigner Conferences) and write
proposals for the union’s own alien policies. From 1973 to 2000, IG Metall increased the degree ofunionization of immigrants from 28.2 to 54 percent although their participation in work councils andother leadership positions remained low.268 According to a survey in 1995, roughly 70 percent offoreign workers felt represented by work councils compared to only 35 percent in 1985.269
Another important form of union activity is the creation and enforcement of various anti-discrimination measures in the workplace. Unions fight against the structural discrimination of immigrants infinding employment, that is assumed to be one of the reasons for the high unemployment rate of
migrants in addition to the lack of qualifications.270 They campaign for mutual understanding andinter-cultural awareness in firms and in the general public271 and sanction racist behavior by using
warnings, monetary penalties or even dismissals. Executives have to join special training programs
to establish an open and inclusive work culture.272 Unions also expanded their political pressure toother issues of immigration that did not necessarily fall into their area of interest, such as the right toasylum and the various new restrictions of the 1980s and 1990s. However, issues of representing
foreign workers’ interests remained as unions lowered the priority for foreign worker issues (e.g. theDGB by closing the Foreign Workers department) or failed to implement the policies that were agreed
upon by the decision-making bodies.273
In order to give their demands more legitimacy, unions stood in close contact with churches, foreigner organizations, NGOs such as Pro Asyl and Amnesty International, and welfare organizations,while using their contacts and linkages with political parties (especially the SPD, the Greens and thePDS) in order to initiate legislative change and receive direct information from the highest levels of266

Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 44.
Kühne, “The Federal Republic of Germany,” 50.
268Öztürk, “Partizipation von Migranten und Einwanderern in Betrieben und den Gewerkschaften,” 299.
269
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 152, 183.
270
Öztürk, “Partizipation von Migranten und Einwanderern in Betrieben und den Gewerkschaften,” 303.
271
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 46.
272Öztürk, “Partizipation von Migranten und Einwanderern in Betrieben und den Gewerkschaften,” 307.
273
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 185, 188f.
267

67

.

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

politics.274 The proposals of the IG Metall in 1991 to reform the immigration law towards a quota
system, the specific of which were to be discussed in a broad forum involving both societal and political actors, were similar to those of the Greens. 275 Moreover, unions were leading in drafting proposals for anti-discrimination legislation.276 Next to their mobilization capacities, unions used theirown publications and conferences in order to reach out to the public.
2.2.1.3.2

Employer organizations

The employer organizations, most importantly the Federation of German Employers (BDA), theAssociation of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the Federation of the German Industry (BDI) were among the strongest supporters of the guest worker program in the 1950s
and continue to be in favor of matching labor demand with selective immigration from abroad. They
directly participated in the recruitment program and the hiring of foreign workers by forwarding their
specific labor demand to the German government.277 In times of labor shortages, they could thus reap
the benefits of an expanding pool of low-skilled labor and stagnating real wages.278 Instead of making
manual labor jobs more attractive by increasing wages or investing in mechanization, employers
could defer these costly decisions and use imported labor instead.279 Moreover, pressure on company
pension schemes was relieved due to the favorable age structure of foreign workers. 280 Employer
associations also lobbied successfully against introducing the principle of rotating foreigners in order
to benefit from their experience and to avoid the high costs of training new employees.281
On the other hand, employer associations were in accordance with the view that the guest worker
program was only temporary and generally favored the idea that foreign workers could be sent homedependent on the decision of the employer, for example in periods of unemployment, although theyrealized that this might be difficult to realize. 282 Accordingly, they did not resist the halt of the recruitment program in 1973 as labor demand decreased significantly, and began to favor attempts toKühne, “Gewerkschaftliche Asyl- und Einwanderungspolitik,” 110f.
Ibid, 114.
276
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 47
277
Luft, Staat und Migration, 46f.
278
Herbert and Hunn, “Guest Workers and Policy on Guest Workers in the Federal Republic,” 196
279
Luft, Staat und Migration, 43.
280
Ibid, 46.
281
Silke Hans, Assimilation oder Segregation? Anpassungsprozesse von Einwanderern in Deutschland (Wiesbaden: VS
Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2010), 29.
282
Herbert and Hunn, “Guest Workers and Policy on Guest Workers in the Federal Republic,” 195. Luft, Staat und Migration, 48.
274
275

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

restrict the residence period of foreign workers and their families instead. In case of permanent settlement, any promised advantages of a “mobile” labor force would vanish. 283 Employers also observed the increasing self-organization and unionization of foreign workers with skepticism and especially criticized the readiness of immigrants to strike.284
While unions significantly transformed their political views in the 1980s in opposition to the Bundesregierung, the same was not true for employers associations whose position was strongly dependent on the particular labor demand. They thus did not oppose the restrictive immigration policy of the
CDU/FDP coalition.285 When labor became scarce, such as in the 1990s, employers began to lobby
again for selectively increasing immigration.
2.2.1.3.3

Churches and welfare organizations

The Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany are important actors in Germany’s immigration
policy-making as they finance and organize powerful welfare organizations and represent a humanitarian perspective on immigration issues that falls outside of economic cost-benefit analyses.
Churches directly support immigrants, especially political or religious refugees, by offering different
advisory services and support. Their humanitarian work for migrants is a result of their religious
conviction and self-conception based on the biblical experiences of migrations and expulsions thatthey interpret as a duty to show solidarity with migrants. 286
Originally, the role of the churches was restricted to pastoral activities and counseling. 287 But together with unions and welfare organizations, they later formulated the early realization that the guest
worker program had already led to the long-term settlement of a significant number of foreigners,
thus rejecting the dogma that Germany was not a country of immigration.288 Measures such as theright to vote in municipal elections were discussed openly and generally supported. 289 Churches werepolitically activated after the CDU-led government in the 1980s initiated a restrictive alien policy anddiscussed limiting the right of asylum in the 1980s and 1990s. In this era, churches campaigned

283

Ibid, 57.
Haghighi, Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Diskriminierung im betrieblichen Alltag, 40.
285
Jan Motte, “Nicht Ausländer-, sondern Strukturpolitik: Die bundesdeutsche Praxis der Rückkehrförderung in den 80er
Jahren,” Einwanderung im Spiegel sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung, ed. Bernhardt Santel and Hermann Schock (Wiesbaden: Springer, 2000): 55–72, 58.
286
Andreas Blätte, Einwandererverbände in der Migrations- und Integrationspolitik 1998–2006 (Wiesbaden: Springer
VS, 2014), 201.
287
Ibid.
288
Wolf-Dieter Just, “Der Islam und die Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. 'Klarheit und gute Nachbarschaft'?”, inIslamfeindlichkeit: Wenn die Grenzen der Kritik verschwimmen, 2nd edition, ed. Thorsten Gerald Schneiders (Wiesbaden:
VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften): 391–402, 396.
289
D’Amato, Vom Ausländer zum Bürger, 113.
284

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

against the view that asylum-seekers came to Germany merely to improve their economic situation
and used the institution of church asylum since 1983 to help refugees that were threatened with deportation.290 The use of this officially illegal measure was strongly opposed by the CDU, while theGreens and parts of the SPD expressed their support.291 The churches continued to put political pressure on the German government throughout the 1980s and 1990s, stressing the universality of humanrights and the necessity to improve the legal protection of foreign residents.292
An important statement of the ecumenical cooperation between churches and their joint work to
advocate for the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers was the “Shared Word” of 1997 in which bothProtestant and Catholic church formulated their view on migration issues in Germany. They stressed
the indivisibility of human rights that should be central for any discussions around immigration andrefugee policies.293 The paper sharply criticized the hostility towards foreigners in the 1990s and instead promoted a broad societal consensus on immigration based on “multi-cultural and poly-ethnicalcoexistence in cultural tolerance and social peace.”294 Using both political and theological arguments,
it demanded to develop a common European refugee policy within the EU. Moreover, it advocatedfor the unconditional right of asylum, participatory rights for migrants in the political, economic andsocial sphere, improved integrative measures, the development of a comprehensive migration concept
in Germany, and the reform of the citizenship law.295 Both churches cautiously formulated positive
views in favor of a quota system of immigration.296 With respect to their own role, they saw themselves as lawyers for “ethical principles” within the political and societal dialogue on immigrationand integration.297 In particular, they pledged to integrate Christian foreigners into the churches, work
together with Christian communities of foreigners and engage in the inter-religious and inter-culturaldialogue with other religions.298 To achieve these objectives, they organized language exchange programs, youth exchanges, meeting places for young foreigners, counselling, events targeting the improvement of inter-cultural understanding and, most importantly, the institution of church asylum. 299
290

Hans, Assimilation oder Segregation?, 119f.
Ibid, 124.
292
Harald Bauer, Immigration Dialectic: Imagining Community, Economy, and Nation (Toronto et al.: University of Toronto Press, 2011), 187.
293
Kirchenamt der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland and Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, “'...und derFremdling der in deinen Toren ist…' Gemeinsames Wort der Kirchen zu den Herausforderungen durch Migration und
Flucht,” Gemeinsame Texte 12 (1997), 8.
294
Ibid, 29.
295
Ibid, 35, 55f, 58, 61, 65, 67ff, 69ff, 79f.
296
Ibid, 71.
297
Ibid, 59.
298
Ibid, 86f, 89.
299
Ibid, 97f, 102.
291

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

A more ambiguous attitude, however, became visible in discussions on the role of Islam. Catholic
conservatives such as Cardinal Lehman spoke out against the judicial equality of Christian and nonChristian religions in Germany. Similarly, the building of a mosque in Cologne was strongly opposedby Cardinal Meisner.300 Protestant churches, on the other hand, held more accommodating and pragmatic views towards Islam, as illustrated in the 2000 leaflet of the umbrella association Evangelical
Church in Germany (EKD) with the topic entitled “Living together with Muslims in Germany”. Bothchurches, however, either implicitly or explicitly criticized the lack of modernization in the Islamic
world, which would obstruct the integration of Muslim immigrants, and desired a “domesticated”
Islam that is embedded into the German society.301
Welfare organizations in Germany take a key role in providing social and welfare services such as
counselling, elderly care, training, food services, family counseling, youth services, homeless shelters,
hospitals, nursery homes or psychiatric clinics. They also offer services for foreigners such as language and integration classes, migration counseling,302 educational services and sometimes their own
asylum shelters in which refugees are allowed to stay with their families until the final decision on
their residence status has been made.303 Although these non-profit, public-law associations are for themost part financed by public funds, the Caritas (Catholic) and Diakonie (Protestant) organizations
are partly owned by churches and have an expressly religious mission that is influenced by the directives of the church leadership. Other organizations have humanitarian or political missions. The AWO,
for instance, is associated with unions and the ideals of democratic socialism. The German Paritatic
Welfare Association (DPWV) was founded in the 1920s for humanitarian purposes. All organizations
hold humanitarian views and try to take influence on political decision-making. They have an institutional interest in adding immigrants to their services in order to receive more public funds andlegitimize their expansion.304
Originally, the Caritas concentrated on services (especially job training and technical counseling)
for Catholic immigrants (Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Yugoslavs) while the Diakonie took

Just, “Der Islam und die Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland,” 400. Kirchenamt der Evangelischen Kirche in
Deutschland and Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, “'...und der Fremdling der in deinen Toren ist…',” 80ff.
301
Frank Heiner Bölts, Die Wahrnehmung des Islam in Deutschland. Eine Diskursanalyse des Jugendmagazins der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Berlin: epubli, 2015), 109.
302
Arbeitskreis Ethnologie und Migration, Migration – Bürokratie – Alltag. Ethnographische Studien im Kontext vonInstitutionen und Einwanderung, EuroMed Studien zur Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie des eudomediterranen Raumes
7 (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2011), 78f.
303
Doreen Müller, Flucht und Asyl in europäischen Migrationsregimen. Metamorphosen einer umkämpften Kategorieam Beispiel der EU, Deutschlands und Polens (Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 2010), 148.
304
Ireland, Becoming Europe, 35.
300

71Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

care of non-Catholic Christians (Greeks and Serbs), and the AWO provided services for non-Christianimmigrants such as Turkish, Tunisian and Moroccan foreign residents.305 Due to the tendency of
Turkish immigrants to settle in Germany, the AWO effectually took over responsibility for a majorityof immigrants. While welfare organizations were in favor of increasing immigration, critics of thesystem stressed that they merely used foreigners for their own institutional interests by creating a“cliental relationship” of dependency instead of giving them participatory opportunities or proactively
collaborating with foreigner associations. According to these critics, their services discouraged theformation of self-organized associations among foreigners. Moreover, they have fortified ethnic segregation among immigrants due to their exclusionary treatment of immigrant groups. 306
In the 1980s, the paradigm of welfare provision in Germany was under threat as grassroots self-helporganizations flourished and began to compete with larger welfare organizations. As a result, Caritas,
Diakonie and AWO changed to a more political role and became active in defending the civil andpolitical rights of immigrants. The welfare system for foreign residents diversified and included immigrant self-help organizations as intermediaries while the ethno-national segregation between thewelfare organizations dissolved.307 In addition, after German unification in the 1990s, many immigrant organizations that were associated with the Caritas and Diakonie changed their affiliation to the
non-religious DPWV in order to distance themselves from their paternalism.308 All welfare organizations generally follow the same positive outlook on immigration. Caritas and Diakonie cooperate
immediately with the churches in organizing projects and events aiming to increase the mutual understanding between foreigners and Germans.309 In particular the AWO also often cooperates with
unions and the DGB as one political coalition to increase financial resources in order to improve its
service provision.310
2.2.1.3.4

Civil society groups and NGOs

Finally, a network of civil society groups, neighborhood initiatives and NGOs exist that are partly
embedded in political institutions. Unlike in other areas, there is no competition between the NGOs

305

Ibid, 35f.
Ibid, 34–37.
307
Ibid, 42.
308
Ibid, 48.
309
Just, "Der Islam und die Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland,” 396.
310
Sabine Dreher, “Citizenship and Migration in Germany and the United States,” in Globalising Interests. PressureGroups and Denationalization, ed. Michael Zürn (New York: State University of New York Press, 2005): 125–186, 183.
Steffen Angenendt, “Einwanderungspolitik und Einwanderungsgesetzgebung in Deutschland 2000–2001,” in Migrationsreport 2002. Fakten – Analysen – Perspektiven, ed. Klaus J. Bade and Rainer Münz (Frankfurt am Main: Campus
Verlag, 2002): 31–60, 53.
306

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

in fulfilling their tasks. Pro Asyl is the largest humanitarian lobby for refugees, asylum-seekers andillegal immigrants in Germany. Founded in 1986, Pro Asyl fights for the human rights of refugees
and against racism in society by informing the public about the fate of individual refugees, financing
and assisting in lawsuits of refugees and publishing documentation. It also acts as a hub for the interactions between churches, welfare organizations, human rights organizations and members of refugeecouncils.311 Amnesty international is another example of an NGO that promotes human rights forrefugees and asylum-seekers as one area of its work, especially for cases when asylum-seekers aredeported back to countries where the protection of their human rights is endangered.312 Medical organizations such as medico international, Doctors without Borders and the German Doctors Chamber
are also involved in lobbying in favor of refugees. The German Doctors Chamber, for example, refused to follow its legal obligation to share information with the Foreigner Agencies whenever theytreat illegal immigrants.313 Other groups in this complex network include local initiatives to welcome
refugees, independent counseling, education and training centers targeting a specific group of refugees, lawyer groups that offer help for lawsuits, information webpages, anti-racism projects andgroups, academic initiatives and various campaigns with specific objectives (e.g. lobbies for Roma
refugees of Yugoslavia, lobbies criticizing the imprisonment of asylum-seekers or lobbies for refugee
children).314

2.2.2 Analyzing the reform period from 1999 to 2004: Elite consensus and regional dissent
2.2.2.1 Legislative changes

Reform of the Citizenship Act (Staatsangehörigkeitgesetz) in 1999315
The new Citizenship Act ratified in 1999 significantly altered the conditions under which citizenshipcould be attained. In essence, it modified the original ius sanguinis concept by adding a ius soli provision that gives children of foreigners the option to obtain the German citizenship. As long as one ofthe parents had German citizenship, the child would be granted the German citizenship as well (art.
4). If none of the parents were German but one of the parents had lived at least 8 years in Germany

Pro Asyl, “Über uns,” http://www.proasyl.de/de/ueber-uns/. Kerstin Seifer, Governance als Einfluss-System. Der
politische Einfluss von NGOs in asymmetrisch strukturierten Interaktionsarrangements (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2009), 137.
312
Ibid.
313
Müller, Flucht und Asyl in europäischen Migrationsregimen, 148.
314
Flüchtlingsrat Berlin, “Links,” http://www.fluechtlingsrat-berlin.de/links.php.
315
Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/rustag/BJNR005830913.html.
31173

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

and had the permanent right of residence, the child would be granted the German citizenship andgiven the option to decide for or against it when he or she turned 23 (Optionsmodell) according to art.
29. The child then has to prove that it rejected his or her other citizenship.
The law also removed the possibilities to be naturalized by serving in the German government or in
the army. Instead, it added provisions for citizens of German descent (Spätaussiedler) to attain German citizenship (in accordance with the Federal Exiles Act) (art. 7). The general naturalization requirements were comprehensively specified and included, amongst others, sufficient financial means(art. 8) and knowledge of the German language (art. 9). Foreign residents also received a legal claim
to naturalization after eight years and under the condition that they pledged allegiance to the democratic order in Germany, rejected their former citizenship, could support themselves and their family
financially, had not been convicted for a serious criminal act, and proved knowledge of the German
language and the judicial and social order in Germany. Spouses and children also had the right tonaturalize even if they had not resided in Germany for eight years. In general, the successful passingof a naturalization test was obligatory to fulfill the naturalization requirements (art. 10).
Although dual citizenship was generally ruled out, the legal possibility was granted in case the former citizenship could not be rejected or only rejected under highly difficult conditions (art. 12). Since
this is very difficult or impossible for Turkish or Iranian nationality, for example, people from thesenations had the de facto possibility to hold two or more nationalities. The reform thus formalized thefact that 1.4 million people were already living in Germany with multiple citizenship in 1994. 316
Moreover, dual citizenship was legalized for EU citizens.
The cautious introduction of ius soli elements is a paradigm change that contrasts strongly with the19th century conception of an ethnic German community and its privileging of ethnic Germans while
limiting immigration and restricting the participatory rights of foreigners. Granting children of foreigners the German citizenship under specific circumstances was an important symbol of Germany’s
willingness to integrate foreigners by giving their children equal opportunities in Germany’s politicaland social system.

316

Ingo von Münch, Rechtspolitik und Rechtskultur. Kommentare zum Zustand der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Berlin:
Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2011), 87.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Reform of the Immigration Act (Zuwanderungsgesetz) in 2004317
The new Immigration Act (“Law for the Regulation and Limitation of Immigration and the Regulation of the Residence and Integration of Union Citizens and Aliens”) ratified in 2004 replaced the1990 AuslG and comprehensively reformed Germany’s alien and asylum legislation. As in 1990, its
jurisdiction only relates to foreigners from non-EU countries. The first and main part is called the
Residence Act (“Law for the Residence, Employment and Integration of Foreigners in the Federal
Territory”) while the second part specifies the free movement of EU citizens and the third partchanges various laws.
First, the new law simplified the complex system of residence permits and reduced their number tothree “residence titles” (art. 4) comprising the Schengen visa, a residence permission and a (permanent) settlement permission. The permission to work could be issued together with the residence title
or later at the Employment Agency (BA). The settlement permission included the unrestricted rightto work and could be issued after a foreigner held a residence permission for five years, could financehim- or herself, has been a member of a health insurance organization for at least 60 months, has notbeen convicted for a serious crime, had sufficient knowledge of the German language and the German
legal and social order and had sufficient living space for him-/herself and his/her family (art. 9).
Second, for the first time the Immigration Act comprehensively regulated the possibilities of immigration and the conditions under which a residence permit may be granted. These rules represented aclear improvement in comparison with the 1990 AuslG in which the admission requirements werementioned only abstractly, giving the Foreigner Agency significant power of discretion. According
to the new act, residence permits could be distributed for (1) educational purposes (university studies,
language classes, school education) (art. 16), (2) job training purposes (art. 17), (3) work purposes(art. 18–21), (4) humanitarian and political purposes (art. 22–26), (5) family reunification purposes(art. 27–36) and (6) other, special purposes (art. 37–38).
With respect to work purposes, the immigration of low-skilled labor continued to be restricted. The
Federal Agency for Employment is authorized to distribute working permissions by considering theemployment situation in Germany and apply preferential treatment for Germans and EU citizens (art.
38). It also has to check if the alien is employed under the same conditions and received the wages asa German employee.

317

Gesetz zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthalts und der Integration vonUnionsbürgern und Ausländern, vom 30. Juli 2004, http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Gesetzestexte/DE/Zuwanderungsgesetz.pdf?__blob=publicationFile.

75

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

An important innovation was introduced for high-qualified immigrants (scientists, scholars andother specialists). Such an immigrant was advantaged not just in receiving a residence permit, but inspecific conditions – when the BA consents, the foreigner can finance himself without problems, andhis integration into German society does not pose any major difficulties (art. 19) – could also receive
a settlement permission. Furthermore, self-employed persons can receive a residence permission if
their contribution to the German economy is proven (art. 21).
Third, the Residence Act improved the status of asylum-seekers and refugees in Germany in accordance with the Geneva Convention and EU law. Non-state and gender-related persecution were added
as legitimate reasons for the granting of an asylum status (art. 60). Moreover, the residence status ofasylum-seekers that received an “exceptional leave to remain” (Duldung) because they could not be
expelled to their home countries (e.g. due to war or a worsening health condition) was improved andthey now had the possibility to receive a residence permission if they could not be deported for atleast 18 months.318
Fourth, integrative measures were intensified and expanded. Special integration classes financed by
the federal government with a focus on language training and the teaching of Germany’s history,
culture and judicial order were offered to foreign residents (art. 43). Immigrants coming to Germany
for work, family reunification or humanitarian reasons, or immigrants who had received a settlement
permission, were allowed to join these classes (art. 44). Among these, those who did not have conversational German skills or who were selected by the Foreigner Agency to join these classes (e.g.
because they receive financial assistance from the government) were mandated to participate in integration classes (art. 44a).
Fifth, once again reasons for deporting foreigners were newly structured, specified and expanded.
The Residence Act now distinguished between “compulsory deportation” (art. 53), “deportation as arule” (art. 54) and “deportation due to discretionary decision” (art. 55) for lesser crimes or usage ofgovernment financial assistance. After the 9/11 attacks, the new law offered more legal possibilities
to evict foreigners if a connection to terrorist or radical Islamist groups is presumed. It also centralized
the decision-making authority in the BMI. For the inspection of foreigners, the data exchange with
the BfV became obligatory.

Jan Schneider, “Rückblick: Zuwanderungsgesetz 2005,” Grundlagendossier Migration (Bundeszentrale für politische
Bildung), 15th May 2007, http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56351/zuwanderungsgesetz2005?p=all.
318

76

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Sixth, the institutional setting of migration policy changed as well. Most importantly, the Federal
Agency for the Recognition of Refugees was transformed into the Federal Agency for Migration andRefugees (BAMF). The agency’s functions were expanded and its main role now lay in coordinating
integration measures with other agencies and the federal government and in conducting scientificresearch that can be used for the regulation of immigration (art. 75). Every year it published the Migration Report with comprehensive research on the status and development of immigration and integration. Further, it organized the integration classes and delegated its execution to local carriers. It
cooperated with the Goethe Institute and universities in order to develop the course contents. 319 A
second institutional innovation was the abolition of the Commissioner for Asylum Issues that was
criticized by groups such as Pro Asyl as an “institutionalized obstacle” for the asylum procedure.320
Another institutional innovation was the introduction of optional “hardship case commissions” at
the Länder level in which a commission decides on single cases of foreigners (especially asylumseekers) who did not receive a residence permit through the usual legal path but had urgent humanitarian or personal reasons to not be deported from Germany (art. 23a). The commission itself had tofind such cases while the foreigner did not have a right to call for its involvement. The organizationand composition of these commissions varied depending on the stipulations of Länder governments.
They could include representatives of the ministries, agencies, churches, Muslim communities, welfare organizations, municipal organizations, refugee organizations, members of the state parliaments,
the state Commissioner for Foreigners and/or medical organizations. Their role was to deliberate arecommendation for the state Ministry of the Interior, but not grant the residence status themselves.
The illustration below shows the structure of immigration law in Germany.

319

Goethe-Institut, BMI and BAMF, Rahmencurriculum für Integrationskurse, Deutsch als Zweitsprache, http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/daz/pro/Rahmencurriculum_online_final_Version5.pdf.
320
Pro Asyl (Bundesweite Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Flüchtlinge), “Stellungnahme zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Reglung des Aufenthalts und der Integration von Unionsbürgern undAusländern,” 10th January 2002.

77

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Figure 9. Structure of immigration law in Germany (by author)

2.2.2.2 Political coalitions and institutions of the Citizenship Act and the Immigration Act

The Citizenship Act and the debate on dual citizenship: Political coalitions
What originally triggered the new debate on reforming the citizenship law was the success of the
SPD and the Green party in the federal elections of 1998. They formed a coalition government for the
first time under Chancellor Schröder and remained in power until 2005. The coalition agreement
between SPD and the Greens contained the pledge to reform the citizenship law in order to grant theius soli birth right for children if at least one parent had been born in Germany or immigrated as achild prior to the age of 14. Moreover, it included the plan to give foreigners a legal claim for naturalization after eight years of residence (or less under specific conditions) instead of 15 years, themunicipal right to vote and improvements in the rights of foreign spouses and asylum-seekers.321
Importantly, the agreement also includes the recognition that Germany has irreversibly become acountry of immigration. Later, the first draft of the law also incorporated the controversial right ofdual citizenship.322

SPD and Die Grünen, Aufbruch und Erneuerung – Deutschlands Weg ins 21. Jahrhundt. Koalitionsvereinbarungzwischen der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands und Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Bonn, 20 th October 1998, 31f.
322
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 165.
321

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

The main fault line between the parties emerged on the issue of dual citizenship, with the SPD andGreens on the one side and the CDU/CSU on the other side, while the FDP took a mediating positionand suggested the Optionsmodell as a compromise distancing itself from its previous approval of dual
citizenship. The Green party generally favored the suggestions of the SPD, but pushed for more initiatives in the area of naturalization, especially for refugees and immigrants dependent on government
benefits, while attempting to lower the language requirements for naturalization. Its main demand
was to alter the ius sanguinis stipulations of the citizenship law to the ius soli birth right. 323
The CDU/CSU used the state election campaign in Hessen in 1999 in order to collect the signaturesof roughly 300.000 citizens who opposed dual citizenship, seeing it as an obstacle to integrate foreigners.324 This strategy was actually a typical instrument of new social movements and was usedsuccessfully by the conservatives for the first time. The CDU/CSU argued that dual citizenship could
not ensure the loyalty of immigrants to the German state and would instead endanger Germany’s
domestic security.325 A similar, but more hostile campaign was created by the far-right NPD while
the CDU itself received unwelcome support from the DVU and Republicans. These parties used thestate elections to stress their positioning against dual citizenship which was regarded a symbol for thedevelopment towards a multi-cultural society.326 Politicians of other parties and even parts of the
CDU itself criticized the CDU/CSU campaign as populist and reactionary. 327 The success of the campaign expressed itself not only in the high number of signatures, but also in the fact that the CDU
surprisingly won the Länder elections in Hessen in 1999.328
The debate formed supportive political coalitions in favor of dual citizenship around the governing
parties of the SPD and Green party, parts of the FDP and the CDU (especially representatives of the
CDA, but also the Commissioner for Foreigners in Berlin), the Federal Foreigner Council, foreigner
associations (e.g. the Turkish Community in Germany), Christians (e.g. the Representative of Bavarian Catholics) and unions (e.g. the Union for Education and Science).329 These opinions are generally

323

Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien, 159.
Wolfgang Gieler and Supriyo Bhattacharya, Deutsche Migrationspolitik – Die Standpunkte und Strategien politischer
Parteien im Vergleich, Politikwissenschaft 196 (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2013), 19.
325
Christian Hoffmann, Integrationspolitik in Deutschland nach 1998. Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht, Green Card und Zuwanderungsgesetz (Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag, 2009), 52f. Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Neuregelung des Staatsangehörigkeitsrechts. Die Eckwerte des Unions-Entwurfs, in CDU-Dokumentation 9 (1999).
326
Henrik Steglich, Rechtsaußenparteien in Deutschland. Bedingungen ihres Erfolgs und Scheiterns (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2010), 316.
327
Rhein-Zeitung, “Ausländerpolitik: Union im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik,” 5th January 1999, http://archiv.rheinzeitung.de/on/99/01/05/topnews/staatsbuerger.html.
328
Münch, Rechtspolitik und Rechtskultur 88.
329
Rhein-Zeitung, “Ausländerpolitik: Union im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik.”324

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

as expected. One of the central demands of foreigner groups has been the introduction of dual citizenship to facilitate the decision of their members to naturalize in Germany and they thus supported
the policies of the SPD-Green coalition. In fact, according to surveys in 1999, 2001 and 2002, 60
percent of naturalized Turkish immigrants voted SPD, stating that they would never vote for the
CDU/CSU. Increasing the naturalization rate would thus be in the electoral interest of the SPD.330
After the 1980s, unions, too, became friendly towards measures that are supposed to have positiveeffects on integration. Together with the associated welfare organizations, churches in particular criticized the hostility towards foreigners that was stimulated by the campaign favoring an unconditionalright for dual citizenship in order to formalize the fact that a high share of immigrants already had
dual citizenship due to the legal exceptions.
Although these groups and parties lobbied against the CDU/CSU initiative, its undeniable success(and the gains for the Republicans) proved that at least in Hessen the median voter was rather skeptical
towards granting foreigners dual citizenship. This was confirmed by a survey in 1996 in which 52
percent of respondents in West Germany and 59 percent in East Germany generally rejected thispossibility. These numbers of rejection were higher than those for the municipal right to vote andequal possibilities to receive access to social benefits.331 This rejection was especially developedaround conservative voters who were mobilized in the signature campaign and had a stronghold in
the CDU branch of Hessen. The initiative was backed by a majority of the conservative Bavarian
CSU whose chairman Stoiber was highly influential in federal politics and had designed the proposal
for the campaign together with executives of the federal CDU.332 This development thus exemplifies
for the influence of the CSU on federal politics and the success of an innovative, emotional campaignthat captured the general public’s skepticism of dual citizenship. The fact that state elections can be
exploited for federal topics such as immigration policy was very apparent in the case of Hessen.

The Citizenship Act and the debate on dual citizenship: Institutional setting
The immediate institutional effect of the transformed regional political landscape after the stateelections was a change in the composition of the Bundesrat which was involved in the legislative
process of ratifying the StAG. The election of a conservative-liberal government in Hessen replaced

Andreas M. Wüst, “Das Wahlverhalten eingebürgerter Personen in Deutschland,” Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 52(2003).
331
Andrea Herrmann, Ursachen des Ethnozentrismus in Deutschland. Zwischen Gesellschaft und Individuum (Opladen:
Leske & Budrich, 2001), 53.
332
Andreas Kießling, Die CSU. Machterhalt und Machterneurung (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften,
2004), 300.
33080

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroadsa previous SPD-Greens coalition which thus gave the federal government a severe disadvantage inpassing the citizenship law as it lost its majority in the Bundesrat. As a result, the government coalition essentially became dependent on the consent of the FDP who participated in several coalitions
with the SPD in Länder governments and hence had the power to reject any proposal of the rulingparties by refusing to consent in the Bundesrat. Since the casting of votes in the Bundesrat had to beunanimous for each state government, a disagreement between two governing parties would result in
the abstention from voting. Hence the FDP who was in the powerful position to be able to coalescewith both the CDU and SPD received enough leverage to realize its legislative goals of introducing
the Optionsmodell as an alternative to full dual citizenship rights.
Instead of the government, the draft law was brought in by a group of parliamentarians of the SPD,the Green party and the FDP, and was passed with 365 yes-votes (including 23 deviating CDU votes)
and 182 no-votes in the Bundestag. Neither the majority of the CDU/CSU nor the more idealist voicesof the SPD, Greens and the PDS were satisfied with the compromise.333 The statements of 40 parliamentarians of the SPD and all delegates of the Green party reveal the satisfaction with the introductionof cautious ius soli elements, as well as the disappointment that the legal possibility of dual citizenshipwas excluded in the final version of the law.334
The hurdle of the Bundesrat is not the only point in the legislative process where regional politicalinterests alter the conditions in which federal political coalitions can interact with each other in legislative projects. In addition, as federal laws exert an immediate effect on the administrative level ofstates, the BMI also had to negotiate with Länder governments on the implementation of the Citizenship Act. Accordingly, the Bavarian government was able to sharpen parts of the naturalization conditions (e.g. the time periods after which discretionary naturalization was possible) and language requirements.335 Finally, when it came to the implementation of citizenship policies in the individualstates, the agencies still had significant leeway to shape the local immigration regime in a stricter ormore lenient way.

Henning Storz, “Einwanderungsland Deutschland,” in Staatsbürgerschaft im Einwanderungsland Deutschland. Handbuch für die interkulturelle Praxis in der Sozialen Arbeit, im Bildungsbereich, im Stadtteil (Opladen: Leske & Budrich,2002): 21–52, 22f.
334
Ibid, 24.
335
Heike Hagedorn, “Föderalismus und die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit: die Einbürgerungspolitik der Bundesländer,”in Integrationspolitik in föderalistischen Systemen, Studien zu Migration und Minderheiten 10, ed. Lale Akgün and Dietrich Thränhardt (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2001): 91–117, 99f.
333

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

In effect, the system of German federalism has severely skewed the decision-making process on thefederal level and restricted a more significant change in citizenship policies. Due to the unique German political system, parties such as the FDP that had a higher degree of freedom to coalesce witheither major party received disproportionate power whenever the Bundesrat majorities change. Twostates with a conservative majority could severely alter the process of law formulation at the federal
level. While it is true that public opinion largely supported these conservative views, the same did not
hold true for the level of political and societal elites who were largely favorable towards a moresignificant change.

The Immigration Law: Political coalitions and party positions
What triggered the new debate on a comprehensive reform of immigration law was not the initialagenda-setting of the government coalition as in the case of the citizenship law. In 2000, Chancellor
Schröder still rejected a new immigration law in response to public opinion whereby the majority of
all constituents’ parties showed negative views towards opening up the country again for immigration.336 Instead, the debate was provoked by acute labor demand and the pressure of IT businesses
and their umbrella organizations in times of extraordinary growth rates of the sector (9 percent per
year on average between 1997 and 2000).337 The IT employer organization Federal Association ofInformation Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), various scholars, major
businesses such as IBM and Siemens338 and the association Initiative D21 strongly lobbied for the
opening of Germany’s labor market for highly qualified immigrants in the IT sector in order to increase Germany’s international competitiveness,339 which was already lagging behind other countries.340
According to BITKOM, there was a scarcity of labor of roughly 75,000 work places in the year
2000341 (previous calculations stated even higher numbers) 342 as the number of users of high-speed
internet and mobile phone owners surged.343 BITKOM also published several studies, surveys andKlaudia Tietze, “Migration von Hochqualifizierten im Kontext der Entwicklung der Einwanderungskonzepte
deutscher Parteien,” in Migrations- und Integrationsprozesse in Europa. Vergemeinschaftung oder nationalstaatliche Lösungswege?, ed. Uwe Hunger et al. (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2008): 35–50, 41.
337
Ralph Greifenstein, Die Green Card: Ambitionen, Fakten und Zukunftsaussichten des deutschen Modellversuchs(Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2001), 9.
338
Heike Pethe, Internationale Migration hoch qualifizierter Arbeitskräfte. Die Greencard-Regelung in Deutschland(Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag, 2006), 10.
339
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 167.
340
Greifenstein, Die Green Card, 8.
341
BITKOM, “IT-Fachkräfte: 10 Jahre Greencard für IT-Experten,” 5th March 2010, http://www.bitkom.org/de/markt_statistik/64054_62675.aspx.
342
Greifenstein, Die Green Card, 13.
343
Ibid, 7.
336

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reports specifying the necessary means that the German government had to take towards realizing thegoal of an “information/IT society”. In particular, immigration of highly qualified IT specialists
would benefit small businesses that did not have access to large internal labor markets like multinational businesses do.344 Initiative 21 supported these goals as a powerful network of 200 businessesof not only the information- and communication technology sector, but also of consulting firms, media businesses, the banking sector, health care and market research firms. Government institutions
and parties were involved in the association as well, striving to increase the growth of the IT sector
and the digitalization of the German society by financing both commercial and non-commercial projects. Due to the unique public-private partnership, the initiative had unprecedented access to government channels and could communicate directly with Chancellor Schröder.345
The government projects by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) “Forum Info2000” and “Innovations and Jobs in the IT Society of the 21st century” were generally in line withthese lobby demands and financed various related education, infrastructure and labor market projects,
among these also the Initiative 21.346 The BMAS and the BAA cooperated in these domestic initiatives that primarily aimed to increase the employment of IT specialists.347 The idea of the Green Cardevolved in an innovative corporatist forum founded in 1998 by Schröder that included representativesof the government, unions and employer associations. The forum “Union for Labor, Education andCompetitiveness” was founded to deliberate measures to decrease unemployment in Germany, andincluded a working group that dealt with labor scarcities in the IT sector. Immigration of highly qualified foreigners was not considered very controversial since most prejudices and negative attitudes
towards foreigners in Germany generally targeted low-skilled immigrants.348 A leading voice in thedesign of the program was the BMBF, which coordinated its proposals with the Chancellery and theInitiative 21. The program was announced with high publicity at the computer trade show CEBIT in
Hannover.349
The initiative included a new and limited labor recruitment program for a maximum of 20,000 immigrants over the course of five years in the areas of informatics and applied IT jobs – a total of four
344

Caviedes, Prying Open Fortress Europe, 71.
Der Spiegel, “Green-Card-Initiative: Schröder bevorzugt nahes Ausland,” 13th March 2000, http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/green-card-initiative-schroeder-bevorzugt-nahes-ausland-a-68920.html.
346
Dirk Hyner, Survival of the Most Flexible? Analyse der Entwicklung des sozio-technischen Systems Btx/T-Online ineiner revolutionär veränderten Umwelt, Diploma Thesis (University of Konstanz, 2000), 35. Greifenstein, Die Green
Card, 17.
347
Ibid, 18f.
348
Ibid, 21.
349
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 167f.
345

83Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

different job categories. It was initiated as a simple regulation by the BMAS without the participationof the parliament and came into effect quickly in August 2000 with the name “Regulation on residence
permits for highly qualified foreign specialists in information- and communication technologies” (ITArGV). The applicant either had to prove that he had a degree in IT-related fields or had to earn atleast 51,000 Euro per year at his German employer – the latter provision was criticized strongly bysmall business owners.350 The residence permits were limited to a five year period351 and the workers
could bring their immediate families to Germany as well. Spouses received a work permit after a
waiting period of one year.352 Until 2004, 17,931 specialists immigrated into Germany, a majority(31 percent) from India, followed by Eastern Europe and Romania.353
What is puzzling about the Green Card is that it was not particularly ground-breaking since the“Recruitment Stop Exception Regulation” of 1990 already formulated the possibilities for a temporary occupation of foreign workers in specified job categories. But the regulation only allowed for
either seasonal workers for a maximum of three months (art. 4) and service contract employees (art.
3) who were officially employed in the foreign headquarters of the sending country. It also establishedrules on the distribution of work permits for various other purposes such as training, research, au-pair(art. 2) and other special purposes (art. 5). These contracts were limited mainly to countries for whichgovernment agreements existed.354 A simple revision of the regulation would still have been sufficient
to include the recruitment of IT specialists according to art. 5, sec. 2.355
Instead, it seems likely that the Green Card Initiative was particularly intended to trigger a publicdebate and influence the negative opinion on immigration both among the general public and SPD
voters whose image of the “typical” foreign resident was largely that of the unemployed or low-skilled
and unintegrated former industrial worker that is more of a burden than a benefit for society. Using
the zeitgeist of the New Economy and the broad consensus among economic associations as a trigger,
Schröder put the topic of immigration back on the political agenda, but this time within the positive
350

Caviedes, Prying Open Fortress Europe, 72.
Verordnung über die Arbeitsgenehmigung für hoch qualifizierte ausländische Fachkräfte der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie (IT-ArGV), 11th September 2000.
352
Holger Kolb, “Die deutsche ‘Green Card’,” Focus Migration, http://focus-migration.hwwi.de/Die_Deutsche_Green_C.1198.0.html.
353
Sven Astheimer, “Geburtsstunde der Greencard: Als Einwanderung wieder als Gewinn galt,” Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung, 1st March 2010, http://www.faz.net/aktuell/technik-motor/cebit-2010/geburtsstunde-der-greencard-als-einwanderung-wieder-als-gewinn-galt-1941918.html.
354
Elmar Hönekopp, Ost-West-Wanderungen: Die neuen Migrationsbewegungen,” Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Digitale
Bibliothek, http://library.fes.de/fulltext/asfo/01007001.htm.
355
Annette Treibel, “Von der Anwerbestoppausnahme-Verordnung zur Green Card,” in Deutschland – ein Einwanderungsland? Rückblick, Bilanz und neue Fragen, ed. Edda Currle and Tanja Wunderlich (Stuttgart: Lucius & Lucius, 2001):
113–126, 116.
351

84

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

context of investing in the future of the German economy. The discussions encouraged societal interest groups and parties to comment and form opinions on immigration reform for which many draft
laws of parties in the Bundestag still existed. This interpretation is supported by the chairman of theInitiative 21 communications board stating that “for us more important than the number of Green
Cards is the change in thinking.”356
Accordingly, the approval of the program entailed further expectations of allowing for the systematic immigration of other foreign workers to match the labor demand in specific industries. The BDA
criticized the relatively low quota and demanded to open up the labor market for qualified immigrants.
The BDA, BDI and DIHT called for a more flexible and un-bureaucratic solution to recruit immigrants and a liberalized distribution of work permits to family members of immigrants. Other sectors
such as machine engineering also asked for an expansion of the program to reduce labor scarcity inthese sectors.357 As an employer of nursing staff, the welfare organization Caritas also hoped for its
own Green Card program.358 Initiating the legislative process to design a comprehensive immigration
law was named as the next logical step by the president of the Industry and Trade Chamber. 359
These economic perspectives were generally supported by the FDP, which also argued in favor of aliberalized immigration law in accordance with the labor demand in Germany. 360 Churches in general
focused on the hostility towards foreigners triggered by conservative campaigns, but did not makeany direct political suggestions. 361 Immigrant associations such as the Turkish Community also saw
the regulation as a trigger to discuss an overdue reform of the immigration law.362 Human rights andrefugee organizations such as Pro Asyl used the debate in order to demand the recognition of therights of refugees that had been largely neglected in the debate on the Green Card with some proposalsof the CDU/CSU going so far as to trade off limited immigration possibilities for highly qualified

Norbert Eder, “Dokumentation der Initiative D21,” in Deutschland online. Standortwettbewerb im Informationszeitalter. Projekte und Strategien für den Sprung an die Spitze, ed. Erwin Staudt (Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, 2002): 217–
238, 225.
357
Greifenstein, Die Green Card, 23f.
358
Ibid, 24.
359
Claus Hipp, “Green Card reicht nicht,” Welt am Sonntag, 11th March 2001, http://www.welt.de/print-wams/article610060/Green-Card-reicht-nicht.html.
360
Die Welt, “CSU und FDP kritisieren Green-Card-Regeulung,” 1st August 2000, http://www.welt.de/print-welt/article525945/CSU-und-FDP-kritisieren-Green-Card-Regelung.html.
361
Berliner Zeitung, “Schröder will Gesetz zur Einwanderung,” 2 nd May 2000, http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/kirchen-kritisieren-kampagne-gegen-green-card-schroeder-will-kein-gesetz-zur-einwanderung,10810590,9795470.html.
362
Türkische Gemeinde in Deutschland, “Green Card und Einwanderungsgesetz: TGD begrüßt die Anerkennung der faktischen Einwanderung,” Press release, 7th March 2000, http://www.tgd.de/2000/03/07/green-card-und-einwanderungsgesetz-tgd-begrust-die-anerkennung-der-faktischen-einwanderung/.
356

85

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

immigrants with more restrictions for the immigration of asylum-seekers.363 Finally, scientists – especially the Council for Migration – had already stressed Germany’s demographic problem before
the debate and supported the arguments in favor of admitting more immigrants.364
Unions argued that instead of importing labor, the German state should rather invest in the trainingof unemployed computer specialists and incentivize the education of high school graduates in ITrelated fields. This opinion was expressed by the chairman of the DGB365 and supported by training
and education providers.366 But their opinions on the program varied and were not consistent overtime. One the one hand, the main influential umbrella organizations viewed the immigration of qualified immigrants rather skeptical and as a measure of last resort, while priority should be given todeveloping the German labor market. The DGB stated the objection that German IT companies could
be incentivized to disinvest in the education and training of German employees if the import of foreignlabor was cheaper. Similar to the discussions in the 1950s on the guest worker program, unions apprehended that employers could pay foreign workers less than domestic workers, which would resultin a downward pressure on domestic wages. Umbrella organizations and other major unions in the IT
sector thus made their consent on the program dependent on its actual design, its temporariness andfurther investments into the training and education system. Most of these concerns were recognizedby the federal government.367 On the other hand, unions were not generally opposed to immigrationeven though the IG Metall used a particularly emotional campaign against the Green Card regulation.
But the DGB, ÖTV (for employees in the public sector) and the DAG (union for employees) were infavor of participating in developing a comprehensive immigration concept.368
The CDU/CSU, too, did not show a unitary opinion towards the Green Card regulation. In NorthRhine Westphalia, the CDU began a strong campaign against the Green Card in preparation for thestate elections. It criticized the fact that the import of labor was prioritized above educating and training Germans in IT-related fields and in addition intended to restrict other measures introduced by the

Elisabeth Zimmermann, “Die Debatte um die Green Card. Große Koalition will Asylrecht kippen,” World Socialist
Web Site, 4th April 2000, https://www.wsws.org/de/articles/2000/04/gree-a04.html. Sigrid Averesch, “Pro Asyl fordert
Konzept für Einwanderung,” Berliner Zeitung, 3rd May 2000, http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/verbindung-mit-integration-pro-asyl-fordert-konzept-fuer-einwanderung,10810590,9795840.html.
364
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 169f.
365
Der Spiegel, “Green-Card-Initiative: Schröder bevorzugt nahes Ausland.”
366
Caviedes, Prying Open Fortress Europe, 71, 73.
367
See for instance Antje Scheidler, “Deutschland: Green Card-Debatte weitet sich aus,” Migration & Bevölkerung, 3rdApril 2000, http://www.migration-info.de/artikel/2000-04-03/deutschland-green-card-debatte-weitet-sich-aus.
368
Greifenstein, Die Green Card, 24–28. Alexander Häusler, “Multikulturalismus als Bedrohung deutscher Identität. Migration und Integration in Medien der extremen Rechten,” in Themen der Rechten – Themen der Mitte. Zuwanderung,demografischer Wandel und Nationalbewusstsein (Opladen, Leske & Budrich, 2008): 67–94, 55.
363

86Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

former SPD-led government such as offering classes in the native languages for children of foreign
residents.369 Using populist slogans such as “Children instead of Indians” (“Kinder statt Inder” inGerman), the main candidate Rüttgers tried to use the hostile popular sentiments towards foreigners
for electoral purposes. Tellingly, the slogan was later re-used by the right-wing Republicans.370 The
campaign was reprehended by the SPD, the Greens, the FDP, unions, businesses and churches.371
But in the end, the CDU in NRW lost 0.7 percent points since the previous elections and remainedin the opposition. Both the federal CDU and most other Länder branches did not approve of the campaign. Although the federal CDU initially expressed the same opinion of prioritizing the education ofGerman children,372 Rüttgers’ attempts to principally reject immigration of highly qualified computer
experts encountered the clear opposition of parliamentarians and state ministers specialized in economic areas.373 The disunity within the CDU was striking,374 but finally led to a debate on the advantages and disadvantages of immigration whose outcomes had to be dealt with in a new immigration law. While the Green Card initiative was criticized, the CSU in Bavaria countered with its own
initiative of a Blue Card that also targeted IT specialists but kept the option open to include other job
categories. Moreover, it coupled the residence permit to the respective employment period instead of
regulating it legally.375 It was later extended to other states such as Hessen as well.376 Hence, the
CDU/CSU was open to reform immigration law as long as immigration were to be directed strictly
towards economic necessities.
The regional attempts to utilize popular sentiments against foreigners for electoral purposes were
not successful for the case of highly qualified immigrants, as Germans were not very familiar withthis type of foreigner. The temporariness of the program also reduced the resistance of unions that
did not form an unlikely political coalition with the conservative parts of the CDU/CSU. Framing theimmigration debate in the context of economic growth and the New Economy opened up politics and

Der Spiegel, “’Kinder statt Inder’: Rüttgers verteidigt verbalen Ausrutscher,” 9 th March 2000, http://www.-spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/kinder-statt-inder-ruettgers-verteidigt-verbalen-ausrutscher-a-68369.html.
370
Gitte Halder, Demographischer Wandel und politische Antworten in Deutschland. Eine Simulationsstudie im Rahmeneines allgemeinen Gleichgewichtsmodell (Frankfurt am Main: Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2008), 148.
371
RP Online, “Debatte um CDU-Green-Card-Aktion verschärft sich: Özdemir vergleicht Rüttgers mit Haider,” 2nd April
2000, http://www.rp-online.de/politik/oezdemir-vergleicht-ruettgers-mit-haider-aid-1.2264507.
372
Der Spiegel, “Green-Card-Initiative: Schröder bevorzugt nahes Ausland.”373
Die Welt, “Streit in der CDU um Green Card als Wahlkampfthema,” 31st March 2000, http://www.welt.de/printwelt/article509729/Streit-in-der-CDU-um-Green-Card-als-Wahlkampfthema.html.
374
Die Welt, “Hamburgs CDU lehnt Green Card nicht völllig ab,” 17 th March 2000, http://www.welt.de/print-welt/article507608/Hamburgs-CDU-lehnt-Green-Card-nicht-voellig-ab.html.
375
Der Spiegel, “Einwanderung à la Bayern: Blue Card statt Green Card,” 3 rd July 2000, http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/einwanderung-a-la-bayern-blue-card-statt-green-card-a-83683.html. Greifenstein, Die Green Card, 40f.
376
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 168.
369

87

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

society for a new discussion on partly easing the requirements for immigration. The change in societal
sentiments was also depicted in the “Berlin Speech” of the Federal President Rau in 2000 who traditionally acted as an integrative and independent political voice. Rau praised the contribution of immigrants to the German society, defended the right to asylum and further encouraged the debate bystating that Germany needs “a broad consensus on integration and immigration.”377
Even though the SPD was initially split between the pragmatic and leftist parts of the party and theGreen Card was initially only seen as a temporary measure born out of necessity, the SPD parliamentarians soon pushed forward and formulated their first concept for a “new migration policy” in 2000
that broke with the paradigm of merely restricting immigration, and created a comprehensive concept
coordinating societal and economic interests.378 It intended to both improve humanitarian immigration and create new possibilities for skilled labor migration in jobs for which German employees
could not be found and thus was in keeping with the classical union view to prioritize German nationals in the labor market.379 It also proposed a point system with quotas similar to classical immigration countries in which education, work experience, age and language skills are considered, anddefined intensified integration measures especially in the areas of language education, job training
and general education that should be guided by respect for different cultures and traditions.380 The
right of asylum and the rights of asylum-seekers were defended against their critics.381 This conceptof the SPD parliamentarians, however, was not necessarily congruent with the concept of the SPDled BMI.382
The Green party defined its concept of immigration and integration with the ideal of a “multi-cultural democracy” in line with its previous demands.383 Its proposals for a new immigration law called
for unrestricted family reunification and a system of flexible quotas for labor migrants in sectors thatshould be specified with the participation of the Bundestag. The concept was based upon three pillars

Johannes Rau, Berliner Rede 2000 von Bundespräsident Johannes Rau, “One Angst und ohne Träumereien: Gemeinsam in Deutschland leben,” 12th May 2000, http://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Reden/DE/JohannesRau/Reden/2000/05/20000512_Rede2.html.
378
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 197.
379
SPD-Bundestagsfraktion (Querschnittsarbeitsgruppe Integration und Zuwanderung), Die neue Politik der Zuwanderung. Steuerung, Integration, innerer Friede. Die Eckpunkte der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion, 1f, 5.
380
Ibif, 9ff.
381
Ibid, 14ff.
382
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 228f.
383
Michaela Frost, Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Zuwanderungsdebatte. Das Zuwanderungsgesetz und die
Konzepte der Bundestagsparteien im Einwanderungsland Deutschland, Diploma Thesis (University of Potsdam, 2005),
73.
377

88

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

consisting of 1) quotas to match the labor demand in Germany by using foreign workers, 2) the regulated acceptance of immigrants due to political and humanitarian reasons as well as the granting ofa legal residence status for illegal immigrants, and 3) the acceptance of immigrants with legitimate
claims (e.g. asylum, refugees, family reunification).384 The right of asylum was supported unconditionally while the position related to the integration of immigrants did not differ substantially fromthat of the SPD.385
In the political opposition, the CDU showed continuity with previous resolutions and still did notrecognize Germany as a country of immigration.386 However, it set up a relatively moderate commission on immigration issues in 2000 to counter the initiative of the Bundesregierung and inadvertently
polarized the party into more restrictive positions taken by the CSU and the leadership of the Bundestag faction and more liberal positions represented in the commission and by more economicallyoriented politicians such as Merkel and Merz. 387 The resolution of the Federal Committee of the CDU
in 2001 summarizes its somewhat torn position within the immigration debate. In the preamble, it
defined its basic position as a “cosmopolitan patriotism” based on the German and European identity
and the values of Christianity. 388 As four main objectives, it advocated 1) limiting immigration, 2)
recognizing Germany’s humanitarian duties, 3) regulating immigration according to German interests,
and 4) integrating immigrants into the German society. 389 Next to the predictable claims to restrict
the right of asylum due to the high number of exploitation cases, the CDU for the first time reflected
upon the possibility to selectively reopen the labor market system for qualified and highly qualified
immigrants in view of the demographic transformation. It was thus strictly oriented along the needsof the German economy while labor migration for low-qualified sectors was ruled out.390 Labor migration and family reunification was to be generally regulated with quotas and a point system (similar
to the proposal of the SPD) according to German interests.391 This point system, however, was highly
controversial within the CDU itself and was later removed in favor of the status quo.392 As anotherrestrictive measure, the maximum age for children of immigrants to reunify with their families in384

Tietze, Einwanderung und die deutschen Parteien, 172.
Frost, Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Zuwanderungsdebatte. 74–77.
386
Ibid, 80.
387
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 224.
388
Bundesausschuss der CDU Deutschland, Zuwanderung steuern und begrenzen. Integration fördern, 7th June 2001, 1.
389
Ibid, 2.
390
Ibid, 5f.
391
Ibid, 8f.
392
Frost, Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Zuwanderungsdebatte. 83.
385

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Germany should be reduced to six or ten years.393 The CDU claimed that integration would generally
be easier for those immigrants that share the German cultural order and have a higher educational
level.394 As specific measures of integration, integration classes, language classes, training and education measures, and individual integration “contracts” with immigrants were proposed. 395
As another opposition party, the FDP already developed an early migration concept that would allow
immigration in accordance with the interest of Germany and the humanitarian rights of refugees. In
sectors with high labor demand, the immigration would be largely liberalized. 396 This rule would
pertain to both jobs that do and those that do not require qualifications under the condition that noGerman applicant can be found. A point system would only be introduced for the immigration ofyounger workers who are needed for demographic reasons.397 Its views on asylum largely corresponded to those of the Green party with a similar liberal design and the abolishment of the ban towork for recognized refugees. In the area of integration, too, it supported the consensus of introducing
integration classes and intensifying measures to promote the language education of immigrants.398 Its
concept of multi-cultural co-existence was based upon the liberal idea of an “open society of citizens”
with equal participatory rights and duties for citizens independent of their nationality. 399
Finally, the PDS parliamentarians formulated an “immigration policy based on human rights” stressing the rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrant women, and rejecting an immigration act thatis based solely on the discrimination between “useful” and “non-useful” immigrants.400 Its demands
for a “right of immigration” under the circumstances that the immigrant can support him-/herself
financially and its concessive policy towards illegal immigrants were unrealistic in the political climate of the 2000s,401 but were clearly thought of as an uncompromising leftist alternative to the proposals of the other four parties. Other major ideas were aimed at increasing the rights of refugees,

393

Bundesausschuss der CDU Deutschland, Zuwanderung steuern und begrenzen, 13.
Ibid, 17f.
395
Ibid, 19–23.
396Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, “Zuwanderung: Konzept der FDP stößt bei SPD und Grünen auf Kritik,” 31st July
2001, http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/zuwanderung-konzept-der-fdp-stoesst-bei-spd-und-gruenen-auf-kritik-132157.html.
397
Frost, Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Zuwanderungsdebatte, 90.
398
Ibid, 92.
399
Gieler and Bhattacharya, Deutsche Migrationspolitik, 22.
400
PDS im Bundestag, Eckpunkte für eine menschenrechtliche Zuwanderungspolitik: Offene Grenzen für Menschen in
Not. Individuelles Recht auf Einwanderung, 26th June 2001, 5.
401
Ibid, 6f.
394

90

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

expanding the possibilities of family reunification, abolishing the legal discrimination between German nationals and foreigners, introducing simplified conditions for the issuing of permanent residence and settlement permits, and creating a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.402
Influential interest groups were involved in the discussions and used the new window of opportunity
to re-affirm their demands of the Green Card debate. Employer associations such as the BDA demanded concessions in the area of labor migration as part of a comprehensive strategy of liberalization and, in order to reach this goal, also founded a powerful lobbying group – the New Social Market
Economy Initiative.403 The BD emphasized the urgent needs of both the industry and the ageing German society to admit more foreigners and create a “systematic immigration policy” oriented on theneeds of the German labor market, similar to the immigration models of Canada and Australia.404
While recognizing that Germany had become a country of immigration, unions continued to focus
on the training and education of German nationals and the fight against unemployment. Even thoughaccepting immigrants as an addition to the German workforce should remain an exception, a point
system whereby immigrant quotas were regulated with the participation of unions was generally approved.405 The immigration of labor within the EU should be accompanied by a transition period fornew member-states.406 With respect to the right of asylum, anti-discrimination measures, family reunification and immigrant integration, unions remained liberal, however.407 Although the DGB recognized the need for comprehensive immigration reform, it did not agree to expand immigration byintroducing more Green Card exceptions in other sectors.408
As expected, strong proponents of immigration reform were immigrant associations and the municipal foreigner councils whose proposals for the introduction of immigrant quotas went above the focus

402

Ibid, 10-29.
Georg Menz, “Employers and Migrant Legality: Liberalization of Service Provision, Transnational Posting, and the
Bifurcation of the European Labor Market,” in Migrants At Work. Immigration & Vulnerability in Labour Law, ed.
Cathryn Costello and Mark Freedland (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014): 44–59, 54.
404
BDI, “Die 8 BDI-Thesen zur Zuwanderungspolitik,” Position paper, 1st March 2001.
405
DGB, “Für einen Perspektivenwechsel in der Einwanderungs- und Integrationspolitik: Nr. 123 vom 24.04.2001,” in
Zuwanderung gestalten! Der DGB-Bundesvorstand nimmt Stellung 1997–2005, Schriftenreihe Migration und Arbeitswelt
30, 22. DGB, Stellungnahme zum Referentenentwurf des BMI zum “Gesetz zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthalts und der Integration von EU-Bürgern und Ausländern” (Zuwanderungsgesetz),
10th September 2001.
406
DGB, Thesen des Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes für die Regelung der Einwanderung, 3 rd April 2001.
407
DGB, Deutschland ist Einwanderungsland: Stellungnahmen des DGB 2000, 7 th September 2004.
408
DGB, “DGB halt Einwanderungs- und Integrationsgesetz für notwendig: Nr. 095 vom 23.03.2001,” in Zuwanderunggestalten! Der DGB-Bundesvorstand nimmt Stellung 1997–2005, Schriftenreihe Migration und Arbeitswelt 30, 21.
403

91

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

on highly qualified immigrants.409 Any measures that would sharpen the requirements for naturalization (such as language conditions) were rejected410 in favor of relaxed naturalization conditions forfirst-generation immigrants and a protection against the deportation of children of foreign residents
born in Germany.411
Churches, too, were in favor of an overdue paradigm change based on the humanitarian principles
stated in the churches’ joint work on immigration issues. In the area of integration, churches affirmed
diversity as an asset of the German society while the GG served as a unifying, republican elementthat had to be recognized by Muslims as well.412 Key demands comprised the facilitation of family
reunification for children of foreigners, the relaxation of the conditions to issue settlement permissions, and improvements for the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants.413 A similar humanitarian position was taken by the main welfare organizations such as Caritas who attributed
parts of the responsibility for a surge in hostility towards foreigners to the lack of political responsiveness in designing a modern immigration law.414 However, they expressed their concern with respect to the establishment of integration classes which could compete with their own social services.415
The first draft by Schily in 2001 activated the parties and interest groups again to comment on the
proposal and emphasize their position. An official hearing of the major groups was also organized in
January 2002. Most of these groups were disappointed as their proposals were only partly recognized,
and especially the provisions in the area of asylum law were criticized as too restrictive. Some of thecriticized provisions were later changed, such as the overly restrictive stipulations for family reunification and the point system.

See, for example, Ausländerbeirat der Landeshauptstadt München, “Resolution für ein Zuwanderungsgesetz,” Beschluss 73, 17th July 2000, 4.
410
Islamische Gemeinschaft Milli Görüş, “Migrantenverbände werten Verschärfung des Zuwanderungsgesetzes als‘einen Rückschritt’,” 2nd April 2007, http://www.igmg.org/nachrichten/artikel/2004/04/05/migrantenverbaende-wertenverschaerfung-des-zuwanderungsgesetzes-als-einen-rueckschritt.html.
411
Türkische Gemeinde in Deutschland, “Der Gesetzentwurf des Bundesministeriums des Innern ist restriktiv und widerspricht den bisherigen Versprechungen und Positionen der Regierungsparteien!” Press notice, 5 th September 2001.
412
Manfred Kock, “Zuwanderung und Integration aus kirchlicher Sicht,” 31 st January 2003, http://www.ekd.de/vortraege/kock/030131_kock_zuwanderung.html.
413
EKD, Stellungnahme des Bevollmächtigten des Rates der EKD zum Gegsetzentwurf der Fraktionen SPD undBÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN für ein Gesetz zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung desAufenthalts und der Integration von Unionsbürgern und Ausländern (Zuwanderungsgesetz), Bundestag-Drucksache
14/7387.
414
Deutscher Caritasverband, “Caritas-Präsident Puschmann fordert Konzept zur Gestaltung von Zuwanderung und Integration – Mangelnde Klarheit fördert Fremdenfeidlichkeit,” Press notice, 8 th August 2000, http://www.caritas.de/pressemitteilungen/caritas-praesident-puschmann-fordert-konzept-zur-g/114999/.
415
Pro Asyl, “Stellungnahme zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung.”
409

92Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Interest groups with a specifically humanitarian purpose such as Amnesty International, UNHCR
and Pro Asyl, lobbied in favor of improvements in the protection of illegals and refugees, for instancein case of refugees from non-state or gender-related persecution, and rejected the planned restrictions
for family reunification and foreign residents.416 Other lobbies with similar purposes included the
Association of Bi-national Families and Partnerships,417 the Republican Lawyers Association, theGerman Lawyers Association and the New Judges Association,418 the German Association of Juriststhat demanded an intensified protection for women and children,419 the Jesuit Refugee Service,420 andthe scientific “Council for Migration.”421 Most groups also criticized the rapidness of the legislative
process that would inhibit an extensive discussion. 422
The churches painted a mixed picture of the draft, with positive remarks for the facilitated immigration possibilities and negative remarks for the new restrictions, in particular in the area of humanitarian immigration, family reunification and asylum. 423 The umbrella organization for the welfare organizations (Federal Working Group of the Free Public Welfare) similarly expressed its disappointment regarding the limited measures for integration, the restrictive design of humanitarian immigration and the confined possibilities for permanent settlement.424 Especially the Caritas found fault withthe general perception of foreigners as a security issue (especially after 9/11) instead of as citizens
416

Amnesty international et al., Gemeinsame Stellungnahme zu den asyl- und flüchtlingsrechtlichen Elementen des Referentenentwurfes eines Zuwanderungsgesetzes (ZuwGE). Pro Asyl, Reformruine Zuwanderungsgesetz,
http://www.proasyl.de/texte/2002/zuwanderung.pdf. Pro Asyl, Pro Asyl zur Zuwanderungsdebatte: BMI will Ausländerrecht verschärfen; Das Asylrecht wird ausgehöhlt; Tausenden droht die Illegalität, http://www.proasyl.de/texte/gesetze/brd/zuwanderungsgesetz/positionen/proasyl_flugblatt.htm.
417
Verband Binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften, Stellungnahme zu den Nachzugsregelungen in dem Entwurf eines
Zuwanderungsgesetzes des Bundesinnenministers, 17th August 2001.
418
Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein, Stellungnahme des RAV zum Entwurf eines Zuwanderungsgesetzes. Deutscher Anwaltverein, Stellungnahme des Ausländer- und Asylrechtsausschusses des Deutschen Anwaltvereins e.V. zum Entwurf eines Zuwanderungsgesetzes, August 2001. Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein, Presseerklärung des RAV zum Zuwanderungsgesetz. Über die Verschlechterung der rechtlichen Situation derAusländer durch das geplante Zuwanderungsgesetz, 15th January 2002.
419
Deutscher Juristinnenbund (djb), Stellungnahme zum Referentenentwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthaltes und der Integration von Unionsbürgern und Ausländern (Zuwanderungsgesetz), 5th September 2001.
420
Jesuiten-Flüchtlingsdienst, Stellungnahme zum Gesetzentwurf der Fraktionen SPD und BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN
zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthalts und der Integration von Unionsbürgern und Ausländern (Zuwanderungsgesetz) (Drucksache 14/7387) und anderen Drucksachen.
421
Frankfurter Rundschau, "Über die unerwünschten Zuwanderer," 28th September 2001, http://www.proasyl.de/texte/gesetze/brd/zuwanderungsgesetz/positionen/oberndoerfer.html.
422
See for instance Pro Asyl, “Stellungnahme zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung.”
423
Der Bevollmächtigte des Rates der EKD/Der Leiter des Kommissariats der deutschen Bischöfe, Stellungnahme zum
Referentenentwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthaltes
und der Integration von Unionsbürgern und Ausländern (Zuwanderungsgesetz).
424
Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freien Wohlfahrtspflege, Stellungnahme zum Referentenentwurf eines Zuwan-derungsgesetz vom 03.08.2001.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

with equal rights.425 The DGB also criticized the limited paradigm change of the draft and demanded
to facilitate the issuing of settlement permissions and help immigrants to find a long-term occupation.426
Schily then revised the draft and incorporated some of the suggestions that almost all interest groups
mentioned such as the recognition of non-state and gender-related persecution as legitimate reasonsto accept asylum-seekers and the improvement of the legal status of “tolerated” foreigners (who arescheduled to be deported from Germany).427 Rules for “hardship cases” among asylum-seekers, however, that were requested by welfare organizations and other interest groups were not yet introduced
at this point.428
In sum, after the Green Card initiative stimulated the societal debate and the formation of politicalcoalitions, all parties for the first time proposed their own comprehensive concepts for immigration
reform under the active participation of interest groups. While the debate surrounding the reform of
the citizenship law mainly polarized the opposition between multi-cultural and conservative-assimilationist views on citizenship with the latter winning over the public in the question of dual citizenship,
the new debate added the dimension of labor scarcities in a promising economic sector and the necessity to introduce foreign labor. On other issues such as integration and the institutional conditionsof immigration policy, a consensus could be found more easily among the parties and interest groups.
Interest group cooperation was especially developed between churches, humanitarian NGOs, lawyer
associations and welfare organizations who supported the rights of illegals, asylum-seekers and refugees unconditionally. Unions and their umbrella organizations largely agreed with the government
position on limiting labor migration although the definition of Germany as a “country of immigration”
and far-reaching measures of integration were supported. The CDU was split and as a whole notprepared to share this view, but did not find any supporters in the organized interests although it
represented some of the unorganized parts of the German society who rejected a more liberal immigration and integration law. Political coalitions were thus formed in the following groupings:-

The coalition government, parts of the SPD, CDU and Green party and unions in favor oflimited change in immigration policies. This political coalition was divided, however, with respect to425

Deutscher Caritasverband, Stellungnahme des Deutschen Caritasverbandes zum Gesetzentwurf Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthalts und der Integration von Unionsbürgern und Ausländern (Zuwanderungsgesetz), Bundesratsdrucksache 921/01, Bundestagsdrucksache 14/7387(Deutscher Caritasverband: Freiburg, 2002), 3.
426
DGB, Stellungnahme zum Referentenentwurf des BMI.
427
Pro Asyl, “Stellungnahme zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung.”
428
Deutscher Caritasverband, Stellungnahme des Deutschen Caritasverbandes, 2.

94Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

measures of integration, the permanent residence status of foreigners and the rights of asylum-seekers,
refugees and illegal immigrants.
-

Parts of the SPD and Green party, churches, lawyer associations, religious and non-religious

welfare organizations, immigrant associations and humanitarian NGOs, refugee and migration councils and left-liberal and social-democratic newspapers in favor of a liberalized immigration regime
that goes beyond economic interests, and a systematic integration policy with an extensive protectionof asylum-seekers, refugees, illegal immigrants, and families of foreigners.
-

The FDP and employers organizations in favor of a liberal immigration regime oriented to-wards economic interests.
-

Parts of the CDU and the majority of the CSU supporting the continuation of the restrictive

immigration regime of the Kohl era representing the interests of a large part of their low qualified andconservative constituents. Far right-wing parties such as the NPD, Republicans and DVU and rightwing grassroots organizations held similar views, but wanted to restrict immigration policies evenmore often using a hostile and partly racist rhetoric.
-

The PDS with left-wing grassroots organizations as a more radical opposition promoting open

borders and equal rights for immigrants.
If we relate this structure of political coalitions not only to interest groups and parties, but also tovoters, we could argue that a significant part of low-income voters with low formal education andelderly voters (supporting disproportionally the CDU and SPD) as well as Catholic voters from Southern Germany (supporting disproportionally the CSU) might show the most resistance towards changes
in immigration and integration policy.
In the following part, I will discuss the institutional conditions of ratifying the law that inhibited amore significant paradigm change in the history of German immigration policy although most interest
groups and parties were in favor of a more substantial solution and most of them expressed theirdissatisfaction in retrospect.

The Immigration Law: Institutions of immigration reform
The draft law was suggested by the BMI under the leadership of Minister Schily.429 After the failureof Zimmermann’s plans to reform the Alien Act in the 1980s and the recent blockade during therevision of the citizenship law, the format of a societal commission was chosen in order to prepare aconsensus, give advisory to the government and involve societal interests in the formulation of the429

Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 196.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

law.430 The commission was tacitly planned by Schily, who selected the moderate CDU parliamentarian Rita Süssmuth as chairman and Hans-Jochen Vogel of the SPD as co-chairman in order tofacilitate a consensus,431 but the CDU explicitly refused to cooperate and began to prepare an own
draft law while sharply discrediting Süssmuth for participating in the commission.432 It created its
own party commission on immigration policy in order to gain publicity and to support the process of
intra-party decision-making.433
In total, the commission incorporated 21 members of various areas: scientists, representatives ofpolitical foundations, unions, employer organizations, municipal organizations, churches, the Jewish
community, think tanks, ministries, lawyers, Turkish entrepreneurs, the UNHCR and the former Federal Commissioner for Foreigners.434 All parties besides the PDS were represented as members as
well. However, no representatives of the welfare organizations were included into the commission
and no adequate and impartial representation could be found for immigrant associations.435 The secretary of the commission was largely staffed with members of the BMI and other bureaucrats of related federal ministries and agencies.436
The Süssmuth commission was divided into three working groups and heard a great number ofpoliticians and experts from all related interest groups, government ministries, public agencies NGOs
and scientific institutes.437 By considering and including proposals of interest groups into the final
report, the commission received significant legitimacy and could work towards a consensus that ultimately was not opposed by any of the above listed groups and organizations. 438 Although the commission was introduced by Schily, it also stood in competition with the BMI’s own plans for immigration reform since it worked relatively autonomously from both the ministerial and the parliamentary level.439
The final report that was based upon the consensus of all commission members promoted a liberalimmigration policy and a multi-cultural view on society linked to substantial concessions for the430

Ibid, 199.
Ibid, 204f.
432
Ibid, 205, 201.
433
Ibid, 223.
434
Unabhängige Kommission “Zuwanderung”, Zukunft gestalten, Integration fördern, 4th July 2001, 2f.
435
Ibid, 217.
436
Ibid, 219ff.
437
Ibid, 257.
438
Ibid, 260f.
439
Ibid, 263f, 265.
431

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rights of immigrants and proactive integrative measures. The document defined Germany as a “country of immigration” that is dependent on immigrants due to acute labor scarcities, the competition
around qualified immigrants in a globalized economy, the freedom of movement within the EU, andan ageing society.440 It included an extensive chapter of why immigration is beneficial for Germany
and strived to prepare a significant paradigm change.441 Specifically, the commission suggested introducing a point system for the permanent immigration of qualified foreigners, opening up the possibility for the temporary immigration of low-qualified foreigners in accordance with the labor demand in selected industries and proactively recruiting young foreigners to participate in Germany’s
dual vocational training system, amongst other facilitations for highly qualified executives, scientists
and the self-employed.442
The commission generally defended the right of asylum declining to change the articles of the GG,
proposed measures for an accelerated and more effective application procedures,443 and demanded toconsider non-state and gender-related persecution as legitimate reasons to grant asylum.444 It also
promoted the right for asylum-seekers (both recognized and tolerated) to receive work permission
after a one-year waiting period.445 With respect to the introduction of hardship commissions it remained somewhat skeptical, however, mirroring the disunity within the commission itself. 446 For
family reunification, flexible rules were suggested for family members outside the core family while
the maximum age for the subsequent immigration of immigrant children should be raised to 18
years.447 Integrative measures were to be further intensified by different targeted measures such as
the introduction of Islam classes taught in German schools,448 the legalization of the right of dual

440

Zukunft gestalten, Integration fördern, 11f, 17.
Ibid, 82.
442
Ibid, 84ff.
443
Ibid, 138f.
444
Ibid, 162.
445
Ibid, 118.
446
Ibid, 170f.
447
Ibid, 195.
448
Ibid, 228.
441

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

citizenship for immigrants and their spouses that arrived in Germany as guest workers, 449 the ratification of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law450 and the creation of integration classes for immigrants.451 Institutionally, it suggested establishing a migration council that comprises ministry representatives and societal groups in a corporatist forum to make yearly suggestions for the planning of
migration policies and the specification of quotas for immigrants in specific work sectors.452
Next to the work of the commission, another important institutional influence to introduce a newimmigration law came from liberal EU guidelines on asylum and immigration issues after the Treatyof Amsterdam authorized the creation of rules, albeit limited, at a supra-national level. These guidelines included regulations and proposals with respect to the process of recognizing asylum-seekers,
granting refugees temporary residence permission in EU states, anti-discrimination rules and proposals addressing family reunification.453 The EU Asylum Process Guideline of the EU, for instance,
was influential in compelling the CDU to accept the expansion of asylum reasons to non-state andgender-related persecution.454 On the other hand, although these regulations might have had an additional influence on incentivizing the adaption of laws in Germany, the harmonization of asylum andmigration questions in the EU is still one of the least developed fields even after the ratification of
the Treaty of Lisbon. The finalized regulation on family reunification, too, still gave member states
enough leeway to introduce national restrictions.455
In comparison with the concepts of each individual party, the report of the Süssmuth commission
was not very far away from the proposals of the SPD, FDP and Green party (with the exception of
the PDS). It was opposed however by factions and state branches of the SPD and CDU that in caseof the SPD defended the priority of German before foreign workers or in case of the CDU were infavor of a strictly regulated immigration policy. The federal CDU leadership completely rejected the
proposals as too liberal – even though it contradicted the position its own immigration commission.
All major interest groups were generally in favor of the proposal if selective changes were made in
the actual law.456

449

Ibid, 249.
Ibid, 252.
451
Ibid, 261.
452
Ibid, 271.
453
Ibid, 267.
454
Green, “Zwischen Kontinuität und Wandel: Migrations und Staatsangehörigkeitspolitik,” 130.
455
Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification.
456
Sven T. Siefken, Expertenkommissionen im politischen Prozess: Eine Bilanz zur rot-grünen Bundesregierung 1998–
2005 (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften), 171ff.
450

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Although the German government nominally prepared innovative means for the institutional participation of interest groups and parties, comparing the commission report with the actual law demonstrates the limitations of the process. The first draft of the law was prepared by the BMI and wasclearly written to establish a consensus both amongst the SPD and between the SPD, the CDU andthe Green party. The results of the Süssmuth commission were devaluated as only one of many proposals to reform the Immigration Act.457 In particular, the CDU could again use its powerful status in
the Bundesrat in order to influence the legislative outcomes substantially.458 This might seem surprising as not only all major interest groups including the unions were in favor of a more substantialchange, but also the CDU itself drafted a more liberal concept of immigration within its own commission. The CDU/CSU’s willingness to compromise with the government, however, worsened significantly when the unemployment rate increased and federal and state elections became imminent.459
Moreover, the powerful position of the CSU within the CDU/CSU alliance was further strengthened
due to the chancellor candidacy of Stoiber.460
In the end, the finalized law did not mirror the paradigm change in the attitudes of societal elites tobreak with the alien laws of the past. Schily’s first draft law already included stipulations regarding
family reunification, asylum and naturalization that were more conservative than expected by themembers of the Süssmuth commission and other societal groups. Rather, these stipulations were evidently intended to appease the CDU/CSU.461 The law thus antagonized all major interest groups who
were disappointed with the limited progress. Within the government itself, the BMJ and the AA formulated highly critical comments as well.462 The more conservative faction of the CDU/CSU still
opposed a large part of the draft law related to the “unlimited” immigration possibilities of highly
qualified foreigners and the government’s integration concept.463
Ultimately, the revision of the draft demonstrated that the SPD-led ministry had to reconsider partsof the law in order to gain the approval of the Green party that was necessary to prevent a break-up
of the coalition. The revision incorporated the demands of the Greens, a group of SPD parliamentarians and various interest groups to recognize non-state and gender-related persecution as legitimate

457

Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 282.
Ibid, 175.
459
Frost, Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Zuwanderungsdebatte, 44.
460
Ibid, 355.
461
Franz Nuscheler, Internationale Migration: Flucht und Asyl, 2nd edition (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2004), 160.
462
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 286.
463
Ibid, 285.
458

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

reasons for asylum, improved the legal status of “tolerated” asylum-seekers and increased the maximum age for children of foreigners to move to Germany.464 In the politicized environment of upcoming state and federal elections, however, it did not fit the conservative demands of the CDU/CSU,
which used the immigration topic for campaigning purposes. 465
The law was passed in 2002 before the federal elections after substantial demands of the CDU in
Brandenburg that participated in a SPD/CDU coalition were recognized. These concessions werenecessary in order to secure the unanimous vote of Brandenburg within the Bundesrat. However, due
to a formal error in the voting procedure within the Bundesrat (the vote was not given unanimously
because the coalition in Brandenburg did not come to an agreement), the law had to be annulled by
the BVerfG after several state governments initiated a lawsuit.466 During this time frame, however,
the majority in the Bundesrat changed in favor of the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition which again made itnecessary to find new compromises. The CDU/CSU returned to a more conservative position, identifying immigration largely as a security issue after the terrorist attacks in Madrid. After the law was
passed in the Bundestag, but rejected in the Bundesrat as expected, the mediation process was initiated. Representatives of the Green party, however, quit the negotiations after their positions were
mostly ignored.467
Hence, the unique structure of veto players within the German system and the limited openness of
the CDU to cooperate with the coalition government when it inhabited a powerful systemic position
were two main factors why immigration reform was only limited. The ratification of the law wasdeferred until May 2003 during which the CDU/CSU claimed 131 (!) changes to the law before it
would agree to accept it. In order to enable the ratification, Schily personally talked to the CDU
government leader Müller of the Saarland and the CSU government leader Beckstein of Bavaria. 468
A “paradigm change” is thus more visible in the debates rather than in the actual law which incorporated some proposals of the Süssmuth commission and interest groups (expansion of asylum reasons, introduction of hardship cases, admission of limited immigration, etc.), but was clearly limited
due to the necessity of having to reach consensus with the CDU/CSU. While the CDU/CSU internally
showed willingness to open itself for a more liberal view towards immigration and began to accept
that Germany has indeed become a country of immigration, it reacted to the continuing skepticism in

464

Frost, Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Zuwanderungsdebatte, 44.
Ibid,, 45.
466
Ibid, 46.
467
Ibid, 306f.
468
Ibid, 46f.
465

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

the general public and in its constituents for electoral purposes.469 The establishment of the Süssmuth
commission triggered all interest groups to develop comprehensive positions on immigration and although it had only a partial influence on the bargaining and negotiating processes between the parties,
it was an important forum for all interest groups to harmonize their position and form informal alliances. We can also assume that it had a positive influence on public opinion. The graph below showsthat the approval rate in favor of a new immigration law increased after the commission began its
work.

Figure 10. Approval and rejection rate in favor of and against the introduction of a new immigration law470

2.3 Critical antecedents and critical juncture? The aftermath of the ImmigrationAct
The developments in Germany after the new Immigration Act was introduced show that the topic
of integration in particular became a top issue on the agenda of the German government after theGrand Coalition between the CDU and SPD was inaugurated in 2005.471 Moreover, the integrationachievements of Turkish and Muslim immigrants were controversially discussed as their educationand job market integration were still not only below levels of German nationals but also below those469

Christian Schicha, Legitimes Theater? Inszenierte Politikvermittlung für die Medienöffentlichkeit am Beispiel der 'Zuwanderungsdebatte', Studien zur politischen Kommunikation 1 (Lit Verlag: Münster, 2007), 277.
470
Schneider, Modernes Regieren und Konsens, 286.
471
CDU/CSU and SPD, Gemeinsam für Deutschland – mit Mut und Menschlichkeit. Koalitionsvertrag zwischen CDU,
CSU und SPD, 11th November 2005, 117–120.

101

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroadsof the Aussiedler and Spätaussiedler from Eastern Europe.472 The inclusive dimension of the Immigration Act was implemented under the motto of “Supporting and demanding” (“Fördern und Fordern”) by organizing the first yearly Integration Congress in which societal interest groups and migrant associations worked together on a National Integration Plan. In a second congress of 2006 – theIslam Congress – the federal government cooperated explicitly with Muslim associations and individuals in order to stimulate mutual dialogue and understanding between the government, societalgroups, churches and Muslims. These congresses followed through with the basic idea of the Süssmuth commission to create societal forums in which the various interest groups, parties and coalitions
negotiate to find a consensus.
The National Integration Plan was an important symbol of the government’s emphasis on integration.
The CDU-led government’s emphasis continued the approach of proactively including immigrantassociations and other societal groups into discussion fora, albeit without any binding legislative
power.473 This strategy of centralized consensus-finding and co-optation on a political and societal
level can indeed be seen as s key milestone in Germany’s path towards being a reluctant “country of
immigration” that prioritizes the integration of existing foreigners before re-opening the borders again
for low-qualified labor migrants. This new accommodating attitude of the government towards immigrants in Germany that became clear in the debate on the Immigration Act contrasts sharply withthe exclusionist paradigm of the 1950s until the 1980s and the assimilationist expectations from the
1980s to the 2000s. It also led to a more coherent organization of Muslim umbrella organizations ina coordinating council which worked against the fragmentation of interests and created a dialogue
partner for the government.474
The limited paradigm change in 2004/2005 also entailed further incremental reforms of the Immigration Act and related regulations that generally expanded the possibilities to immigrate for otherhighly skilled groups (e.g. researchers, qualified workers without an academic education, etc.).475 But
the general attitude of the government towards immigration and immigrants remained somewhat ambiguous, in line with the diverging perspectives and bargaining needs within and between the parties.
Franz Solms-Laubach, “Warum Türken bei der Integration nicht mitspielen,” Die Welt, 25th January 2009,http://www.welt.de/politik/article3088721/Warum-Tuerken-bei-der-Integration-nicht-mitspielen.html.
473
Bundesregierung, Der Nationale Integrationsplan. Neue Wege – Neue Chancen.
474
Christoph Müller-Hofstede and Carolin Butterwegge, “Neue Integrationsdebatten und –politik,” Grundlagendossier
Migration (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56349/integrationsdebatten-und-politik.
475
Ludger Pries, “Deutschlands Wandel zum modernen Einwanderungsland. Kernbotschaften des Jahresgutachtens,”
Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Migration und Integration, Presentation, Mettmann, 15th November 2014,
5.
472

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

In the reform of the Immigration Act in 2007 that adjusted German law to EU regulations, the legal
status of recognized and tolerated refugees was improved while the government facilitated the immigration of self-employed foreigners. But in line with the previous reform experiences, there was again
a restrictive side limiting family reunification, introducing stricter conditions for naturalization anddefining higher sanctions for non-participation in integration classes. These measures were largely
reactive to the negative debate on foreigners in Germany (especially related to forced marriages of
Turkish migrants and terrorist incidents) and not only strained the relation between the government
and migration associations, but also within and between the SPD and CDU that were internally
split.476 Other laws and regulations that increased the possibilities to immigrate included the introduction of the Blue Card EU project in 2012, as well as small changes to the Residence Act in 2012
and to the Occupation Regulation in 2013.477
The controversial discussion around immigration and integration continues until today, ten years
after the ratification of the Immigration Act. In general, immigration policies have evolved from thesimple administration of immigration as a labor market and foreign policy issue and the exclusion of
migrant interest from the public sphere (1950s–1970s) to the slow recognition of immigrant integration as a social and political priority coupled to restrictions of further immigration (1980s–2000s) tothe ambiguous treatment of immigration as both an issue of public security and social integration
linked to the selective opening of the labor market (2000s–today). The process of European integration that included the right of free movement for workers happened simultaneously to this development and made the opening up of borders for third-country nationals even more unlikely, especiallyfor low-skilled immigrants. Together with the guest worker program that had the unintended effectof establishing a large foreign population on Germany territory, European integration was a criticalantecedent that prepared the juncture in 2004/2005 in which the conservative political coalition
gained a disproportional institutional advantage even though it was not nominally the most powerfulof all coalitions. The fact that the political elite still discusses the introduction of a point system today
shows that there is still room for change.
Foreign policy, domestic security and immigration continue to be entangled in Germany, and therise of the Islamic State, the domestic terrorist threat in Germany and a new refugee crisis in the EU
have led again to the rise of new conservative movements that take the place of the CDU which has

Jan Schneider, “Novellierung des Zuwanderungsgesetzes 2007,” Grundlagendossier (Bundeszentrale für politische
Bildung), 15th May 2007, http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/dossier-migration/56350/zuwanderungsgesetz-2007.
477
Pries, “Deutschlands Wandel zum modernen Einwanderungsland,” 5.
476

103

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

become a much more moderate force under Merkel, compared with during the Kohl era. The alienation of conservative CDU voters pushed them in different forms of organizations that are today represented by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the citizen movement Patriotic Europeans against
the Islamization of the Occident (PEGIDA) that might form a powerful new coalition demanding
increased restrictions if the right to asylum and a less accommodating attitude towards Islam.478 Importantly, though, this alliance is not equal to those political alliances that are simply against any
immigration, since, for instance, it explicitly favors a point system similar to that of classical immigration countries.479 The somewhat naïve ascertainment of the majority of German journalists thatthese movements are simply “anti-immigrant” does not convey the more complex sentiments anddemographics among their supporters. Roughly speaking, they are especially strong in East Germany
and, according to a study of the University of Dresden, recruited mostly from the middle class andhave slightly above-average income.480 Although both the AfD and PEGIDA are organizations that
do find supporters from the far right, they can be more adequately interpreted as an organized expression of the lingering dissatisfaction among the public over the lack of success in integrating Muslims
into the German society and the general skepticism towards immigration from Muslim countries. The
political landscape in Germany is changing at this moment and the positions of the AfD show thepossibility of a new immigration model with a unique combination of a more open immigration regime for qualified immigrants (mainly for economic reasons) coupled to an assimilationist view on
integration – a combination that has not existed yet in the political history of Germany. Updated forthe new positioning of parties in 2015 (CSU, Green party, Republicans, NPD without change; SPD,FDP and AfD advocating a point system for immigration; CDU tending towards a more multi-cultural
positioning in its view on integration; PDS with an outsider position on immigration), the diagram
below shows the further differentiation of positions on immigration and integration policies that might
affect actual policies after the next federal and state elections under the potential participation of the
AfD (and the danger of a continuing exclusion of the FDP from the Bundestag).

478

PEGIDA, Positionspapier der PEGIDA, http://www.lvz-online.de/f-Download-d-file.html?id=2942.
Ibid. Alternative für Deutschland, “Zuwanderung und Asyl,” http://www.alternativefuer.de/programm-hintergrund/fragen-und-antworten/zuwanderung-und-asyl/.
480
Fabian Reinbold, “Studie über Pegida-Teilnehmer: In Dresden marschiert die Mittelschicht,” Der Spiegel, 14th January
2015, http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/pegida-studie-in-dresden-marschiert-die-mittelschicht-a-1012913.html.
479

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3. Japan’s immigration policy-making in a comparative perspective
3.1 Institutional and political antecedents in Japan’s contemporary immigrationand integration policies
3.1.1 The Japanese nation-state and ethnic nationalism
In the following chapter, I will analyze the history and structure of Japan’s immigration policymaking from a comparative perspective. Japan is used as a point of reference because its ethnic notions of the nation-state mirror that of Germany. While complex in itself, the ideas of ethnicity andthe uniqueness of Japanese culture served as an important unifying narrative of the Japanese state thatdeveloped in the period of modernization under the Meiji government from 1868481 and was radicalized in the war against Russia, during the First World War and especially during the Pacific War.
Similar to Germany, nationalism also served as a means to defend the constructed internal unity of
the nation-state against outside forces that threatened the cohesion of the newly founded state482 eventhough there had always been ethnic diversity and continuous foreign influences within the Japanese
territory. The motives of the political elites were the same both in Germany and Japan: nationalism
was an important means in order to protect the new government from both internal and external
threats.483 According to Anderson, Prussia had even been the model for Japanese nationalism in the
19th century.484 Citizenship was defined by blood right, just as in the case of Germany and other European countries that were studied by Japanese government advisors.485 As an ideology, ethnic nationalism existed not only in right-wing circles, but also amongst liberal, Romanticist and leftist intellectuals, often in direct reference to the variety of concepts of ethnic nation-hood in Germany.486
After WWII, these intellectual notions of ethnic nationalism became en vogue again (e.g. in the 日本
人論 nihonjinron theories) after Japan achieved high economic growth rates in the 1960s, unlike inGermany where these ideas influenced policies in a less outspoken and more fragmented way (e.g. in

481

See, for instance Kevin M. Doak, A History of Nationalism in Modern Japan. Placing the People (Leiden: Koninklijke
Brill NV, 2007).
482
Kevin M. Doak, “Ethnic nationalism and romanticism in early twentieth-century Japan,” in Race, Ethnicity and Culture
in Modern Japan, ed. Michael Weiner (Abingdon/New York: RoudedgeCurzon, 2004), 16f.
483
Michael O. Sharpe, Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration. The Netherlands and Japan in Age of Globalization(Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), 119.
484
Ibid, 116.
485
Ibid, 118.
486
Doak, “Ethnic nationalism and romanticism in early twentieth-century Japan,” 18f, 23.

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the conservative factions of the CDU). 487 Today, the preferential treatment for immigrants of Japanese descent is similar to the status of Aussiedler in Germany and the ideals of an ethnically homogeneous nation still partly define the immigration and integration discourse. However, the limited
explanatory power of this model is quickly revealed when the complexity of Japan’s institutional andsocietal network of immigration-related interests is considered. While ethnicity is an important partof Japan’s immigration history, just as in the case of Germany, it cannot explain the changes in immigration policies, which will be analyzed in the following sections.

3.1.2 History of Japan’s immigration policy-making
3.1.2.1 Between emigration and colonialism: Japan’s pre-war migration and citizenship policies
Unlike Germany, Japan’s net migration remained negative during most of its history, starting from
the Meiji period during which the Japanese state endorsed the diffusion of Japanese influence aroundthe globe and the regulation of population growth by supporting the emigration of poor Japanese
farmers and workers to different parts of the world.488 The Meiji period thus broke away from therestricted migration possibilities during the 鎖国 (sakoku) era under the Tokugawa shogunate.489 Emigration was further instigated by an increase in land and other taxes, the introduction of universal
military conscription, natural disasters such as the Great Kantō Earthquake (関東大地震) and social
unrest linked to economic recessions and famines.490 Emigration was both related to the colonizationof the early 20th century, initially in parts of Micronesia, Taiwan, Korea and parts of Manchuria, andto educational opportunities in the US (especially in Hawaii and the West Coast), leading to antiJapanese agitations and restrictive Japanese entry in Canada and the United States in 1923 and
1924.491 After the borders were closed, the migration streams shifted to Latin America, Peru and Brazil that suffered from labor shortages. Other popular destinations were Russia, the Philippines andManchuria.492

Sandra Wilson, “Rethinking nation and nationalism in Japan,” in Nation and Nationalism in Japan, ed. Sandra Wilson(London: Routledge, 2011): 1–20, 19. Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 35.
488
Sharpe, Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration, 119.
489
James Stanlaw, “Japanese emigration and immigration: from the Meiji to the modern,” in Japanese Diasporas: Unsung
pasts, conflicting presents, and uncertain futures, ed. Nobuko Adachi (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2006): 35–51,35.
490
Ibid, 36, 39ff.
491
Japanese American National Museum, “Brief Historical Overview of Japanese Emigration, 1868–1998,”
http://www.janm.org/projects/inrp/english/overview.htm.
492
Sharpe, Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration, 120. 坂口満宏 「誰が移民を送り出したのか: 環太平洋における日本人の国際移動・概観」,『立命館大学国際言語文化研究所』 ２１巻 ２０１０年４号: 53–66, 54f.
487

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Thus, while Germany developed an early set of institutions and political coalitions related to thelabor immigration of especially Polish immigrants, the baseline in Japan was exactly the opposite. Asa country of sending labor migrants and farmers abroad, it initially had to face issues of discrimination,and thus formulated policies to expand its interests abroad. Germany’s emigrant diaspora was of amuch earlier origin, starting from early settlements in different Eastern European and Baltic countries
during the period of the German Eastern Settlement in the 12th century within the Holy Roman Empire.
Other emigration waves happened during the 18th century (to Eastern Europe and the USA), the 19th
century (to Russia and especially the USA), and the 20 th century during the two world wars, mainly
after catastrophic events such as droughts, religious persecution or wars and not because of a proactive
government program. Due to the late-comer status of Germany, colonialism was not a particularly
strong movement for emigration. While German landlords and industrialists could make use of a
stream of labor immigrants over the porous borders that forced the German state to establish a centralized regulative regime, the Japanese state cooperated with emigration companies or founded own
state-owned companies such as the 海外工業株式会社 (kaigai kōgyō kabushiki kaisha) to assist in
the emigration process493 and created a legislative framework with the Emigration Protection Act (移民保護規則). 494 Emigration in Germany coupled to a negative net migration rate was more pronounced in the more unstable years of the 18th and early 19th century while the number of immigrants
began to exceed the number of emigrants at the beginning of the German Empire in the so-called
Gründerzeit, which was a period of economic growth, urbanization and agrarian modernization.495
At the same time, in Japan immigration policies were at most ad hoc and based on international
treaties such as the Japanese-British treaty, which allowed for “mixed residence” and the opening upof the country for immigrants without the creation of an institutional framework.496 During the periodof the Pacific War, the recruitment of forced labor from colonies in China and Korea was the mostimportant stream of immigration although on a much smaller scale (around 700.000 workers)497 than493

Ibid, 121.
National Diet Library. 100 Years of Japanese Emigration to Brazil, “Argument for colonial emigration and emigration
policies of the Government,” http://www.ndl.go.jp/brasil/e/s1/s1_2.html.
495
Jochen Oltmer, “Arbeitsauswanderung und Auswanderung,” Deutsches Historisches Museum, http://www.dhm.de/archiv/ausstellungen/gruenderzeit/exposes/Oltmer percent20- percent20Arbeitswanderung percent20und percent20Auswanderung.pdf. Johannes Leicht, “Die Auswanderung aus Deutschland,” Deutsches Historisches Museum,https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/reaktionszeit/alltag/auswanderung.
496
Akira Iriye, “Japan’s drive to great-power status,” in The Emergence of Meiji Japan, ed. Marius B. Jansen (Cambridge
et al.: Cambridge University Press, 1995): 268–330, 311.
497
Naitō Hisako, “Korean Forced Labor in Japan’s Wartime Empire,” in Asian Labor in the Wartime Japanese Empire:
Unknown Histories, ed. Paul H. Kratoska, 2nd edition (Abingdon/New York: Routledge: 2015): 90–100, 93, 98.
494

107

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroadsin Germany. International marriages became legal in 1873 even before the Nationality Act was introduced and led to the loss of nationality for Japanese wives of foreign citizens while foreign wives
were automatically granted Japanese nationality. It also included the legal possibility for foreign men
to become Japanese under special rules (the 入夫 nyufu system).498 These rules mirrored the marriage
and nationality rules in Germany as defined in the Citizenship Act of 1870.
The first comprehensive Nationality Act (国籍法) ratified in 1899 was also similar to the German
version and evolved out of the family registration system (戸籍制度).499 It was a result of the reception of the German Civil Code and French Law in Meiji Japan.500 Based on the principle of ius sanguinis, it defined Japanese citizenship by blood right (art. 1–3) and included the possibilities for aliensto acquire the Japanese nationality – by marriage, as a family member of a naturalized person, throughadoption or by using the legal process of naturalization (art. 5). Ius soli rights were only granted forchildren of unknown parents. Naturalization became generally possible after a residence period of
period of five years and three years for children of foreigners unless their parents were also born inJapan, with similar conditions as in 19th century Germany (art. 9). However, until 1949 only a minuscule number of 298 people had made use of the possibility to naturalize in Japan.501 Germany’s Citizenship Act had a federal design, included additional possibilities to naturalize after being accepted
as a German civil servant and did not mention a minimum period for naturalization that was left tothe discretion of the responsible ministry and related agencies. Quite the contrary, the Japanese Nationality Act restricted foreigners from high political and military offices (art. 16).502 Small revisions
were made in 1916 and 1924, adding paragraphs for the possibility to renounce Japanese citizenshipdue to the pressure from the US and other host countries of Japanese emigrants.503
A genuine foreigner policy was initiated in the colonies rather than in the Japanese territory itself as
can be seen in the 皇民家 (kōminka) policies that aimed to assimilate Taiwanese and Korean citizens
to Japanese culture. In the colony of Taiwan, the successful assimilation of Ainu and Okinawans

William Wetherall, “Nationality in Japan,” in Japan’s Diversity Dilema. Ethnicity, Citizenship, and Education (Lincoln: iUniverse, 2006): 11–46, “1873 International Marriage Proclamation.” 嘉本伊都子「国際結婚をめぐる諸問題:「境界線」上の家族」, 『家族社会学研究』 ８巻 １９９６年８号: 53–66, 56.
499
Wetherall, “Nationality in Japan,” “1873 International Marriage Proclamation.”
500
See, for instance, Ronald Frank “Cicil Code, General Provision,” in History of Law in Japan since 1868, ed. Wilhelm
Röhl (Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2007), 184ff.
501
Terra Morris-Suzuki, Re-inventing Japan: Time, Space, Nation (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), 227.
502
Japanese Law of Nationality (1873), translated by Gilbert Bowles (Tokyo, 1915).
503
William Wetherall, “Japan’s Nationality Law. A primer and guide to other articles,” Yosha Research, 1st January 2007,
http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/yr/nationality/Nationality_primer.html.
498

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served as a model to allow Taiwanese-Japanese intermarriage, abolish the use of Chinese, teach Japanese in schools, change the education system and enforce Japanese religion and customs.504 The
local reactions to Japanese rule varied from collaboration and support to indifference and violent
resistance.505 Similarly, but without the introduction of Japanese Nationality Law, efforts were madeto assimilate Koreans to Japanese culture. Both Taiwanese and Koreans had the legal right to settle
in other parts of the Japanese Empire, including the Japanese territory itself, but Koreans in particularchose to settle in Japan. In 1937, roughly 800,000 Korean immigrants worked in low-skilled occupations such as mining, construction and textile manufacturing helping to expand the Japanese economy.
This number increased further due to the immigration of forced labor from 1942.506
3.1.2.2 Restricting entry and preventing settlement: Japan’s post-war immigration policies until
1990
With the breaking up of Japan’s colonial empire after WW2, the Supreme Commander of the AlliedPowers (SCAP) became responsible for Japan’s military and diplomatic matters until 1952. Roughly
3.5 million Japanese inhabitants in the colonial areas returned to Japan.507 The legal status of Koreans
residing in Japan who were unable or unwilling to return to Korea after 1945 became ambiguous.
After these former colonial citizens were forced to register their status and many Taiwanese and Koreans did not voluntarily repatriate in the immediate post-war years, Japan took the radical step torevoke the citizenship rights of all former Taiwanese and Korean colonial subjects when the Peace
Treaty of San Francisco (サンフランシスコ講和条約) was ratified in which Japan officially relinquished all claims to the former colonial territories.508 However, they were allowed to stay in Japan
with their children even without a formal residence status as defined in two laws of April 1952 andDecember 1952.509 Nevertheless, this measure contrasts with Germany in which the revocation of
citizenship was banned under art. 16 of the GG after its misuse against political enemies and Jews in
the NS era. Koreans (and to a lesser extent Taiwanese) were strongly associated with communist
influences and black market activities in the post-war Japanese society. These illegal activities drewin various grievances of the Japanese public and elites.510 They also had an ambiguous status among
the Americans due to their dual position as quasi-nationals of Japan and “liberated” people from504

Denny Roy, Taiwan: A Political History (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003), 41f.
Ibid, 45ff.
506
Wetherall, “Nationality in Japan,” “Korea as Chōsen.”
507
Tomonori Taki, “Redefining its self image and redefining its role as a regional power: Contemporary Japan and international population movement,” Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation Working Paper 273/10, 15.
508
Sharpe, Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration, 124.
509
Ko Swan Sik, Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective (Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1990), 212.
510
Chung, Immigration and Citizenship in Japan, 73.
505

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Japanese colonialism which had the effect of contradictory policies from both the Japanese and the
SCAP towards Koreans.511 The revocation of citizenship rights for Koreans and Taiwanese was seen
as a final step to break with Japan’s colonial past and enforce the repatriation of Koreans that wereseen as a burden on the democratizing Japanese society, not least because of their stronger antipathy
towards the American Occupation.512
Japan’s immigration and citizenship laws today are based upon the immediate post-war order.
Among the reforms related to immigration policy, a new Nationality Act was introduced in 1950
based upon the stipulation of the new 1947 Constitution that “the conditions necessary for being a
Japanese national shall be determined by law” (art. 10). The Nationality Act thus radically changed
the “legal and philosophical basis of citizenship”513 in line with the reconstruction of Japan towards
a liberal democracy with sovereign Japanese citizens. On the other hand, the more specific provisionsof the law did not change as much: besides removing most articles and paragraphs that discriminatedagainst women, abolishing the articles on automatic naturalization possibilities after marriage andgranting naturalized foreigners full citizenship rights (including the right to take high political or
military positions), it generally continued the ius sanguinis rules of the 1899 version.514 According toarticle 6 and 7, naturalization was facilitated for foreigners “born in Japan” with a “continuous domicile or residence in Japan for at least three years, or whose father or mother […] was born in Japan”,
which mostly referred to Koreans and Taiwanese,515 but there was no general right of naturalizationand the MOJ had full discretion to reject an application.516
The Regional or District Legal Affairs Bureau(s) (the local branch offices of the MOJ) became
responsible for all matters related to naturalization.517 The specific procedures for the permission andrenunciation of Japanese nationality were regulated in the Nationality Act Enforcement Regulation(国籍法施行規則).518 From 1952 to 1984, the possibility to naturalize was predominantly (96 percent) used by Koreans and Taiwanese who had already resided in Japan since the end of WWII.519
Compared to the German RuStAG of 1913, the act was not as comprehensive and still allowed for

511

Ibid, 75.
Ibid, 72ff.
513
Morris-Suzuki, Re-inventing Japan, 228.
514
Nationality Act, Act No. 147 of May 4, 1950. Sik, Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective, 187.
515
Ibid, 200.
516
Ibid, 195.
517
Ibid, 198.
518
William Wetherall, “1950 Nationality Law. One step forward, two steps backward,” Yosha Research, 1st April 2006,
http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/yr/nationality/Nationality_law_1950.html.
519
Sik, Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective, 197.
512

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the revocation of citizenship by the state. Otherwise, the ius sanguinis rules of citizenship were quite
similar. Unlike in Germany, naturalization decisions are under the supervision of the Ministry ofJustice instead of the Ministry of the Interior.
The basis for the Japanese immigration system was laid by Cabinet Orders in the 1940s and 1950s
and influenced by the U.S. One of the first legal outcomes was the 1947 Foreigner Registration Order(外国人登録令). After the inhabitants of colonial Japan had to register earlier in 1946, the orderregulated the registration of foreigners at a municipal level under the authority of the MOJ. It also
included an interim border control system that authorized the SCAP to preside over immigration requests (art. 3). Possibilities to immigrate were limited almost exclusively to government officials andtheir families while colonial Taiwanese and Korean citizens (在日 zainichi Koreans) were not treatedas Japanese nationals (art. 2). These restrictions were mainly aimed to control the movements of Koreans into Japan.520 The order was later replaced by the more comprehensive 1952 Foreigner Registration Law (外国人登録法), which included a fingerprinting system criticized strongly by Korean
citizens as a form of discrimination. Complaints, however, remained unanswered until the 1980s.521
The jurisdiction for the registration of aliens was passed from the Ministry of Interior Affairs to the
MOJ in 1947 and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1950.522
The first infrastructure for the regulation of immigration was set up in 1949 with the establishmentof a department for immigration issues under the MOFA.523 In October 1950, the department was reestablished as the Emigration And Immigration Agency while the MOFA department remained undera different name.524 The department dealt with all matters regarding (legal and illegal) immigrationand emigration (art. 3), set up Immigration Inspectors (入國監理官) for issues related to customs andthe entrance of foreigners into Japan (art. 4) and a Control Liaison Council (出入國管理連絡協議会) responsible for the deportation of illegal immigrants (art. 5). The law was complemented by the
Illegal Entrant Deportation Procedure Order (不法入国者等退去強制手続令) in 1951.
William Wetherall, “Alien registration and immigration. Changing statuses during and after the Occupation of Japan,”
Yosha Research, 1st January 2007, http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/yr/empires/Postwar_registration_immigration.html.
521
草加道常「「新たな在留管理制度」は何をもたらすか 改定入管法の特徴と問題点」, 『Migration Policy Review』 ２
巻 ２０１０年: 120–139, 123f. Peter J. Herzog, Japan’s Pseudo-Democracy, 2nd edition (Abingdon/New York: Routledge,2013), 89ff.
522
William Wetherall, “Alien control laws in Japan. The regulation of entry, stay, and residence,” Yosha Research, 1stAugust 2007, http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/yr/minorities/Alien_control_laws.html#1945.
523
Wetherall, “Alien registration and immigration. Changing statuses during and after the Occupation of Japan.” Wetherall, “Alien control laws in Japan.”524
Wetherall, “Alien registration and immigration.”
520

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Finally, the Immigration Control Order (ICO) of 1951 (出入国管理令)525 became a symbol of therestoration of Japan’s sovereignty as the country regained full control over its borders and foreign
affairs. Initially under MOFA, immigration issues were moved to the jurisdiction of MOJ in 1952.
The law became the basis of post-war Japan’s immigration policy and a main part of it remains unchanged today while more significant parts for the admission of refugees, a new system of residence
categories, institutional precisions and an expansion of reasons for deportation, fines and imprisonment were introduced later. The character of the law is very different from the 1965 AuslG in Germany and even the translation Immigration Control Order is not very precise because it is rather a
law regulating the entry and exit of both aliens and Japanese nationals (art. 60f). For a great part, it
lists provisions related to border control, landing procedures, deportation rules and penalties. Bordercontrol procedures are regulated in other laws in Germany while the AuslG prioritized the requirements for the issuing of residence and settlement permissions that are mentioned only abstractly in
the ICO. The Japanese law comprises provisions related to entry and landing, procedures for landing,residence and departure procedures, deportation procedures, the responsibility of the captain of a vessel or aircraft and the carrier, departure from and return to Japan of Japanese nationals, auxiliary
provisions, and penal provisions.
Visas for foreigners were issued overseas at Japanese consular offices under the supervision of
MOFA. MOJ had the authority and discretion to deny entry for various reasons (e.g. the commitmentof crimes) (art. 5). The issuing of a status of residence was mandatory for various activities, including
diplomatic service, government and international organization activities, transit, tourism, trading, investment, activities at Japanese universities (as students, researchers or professors), entertainment(drama play, sports, music), religious activities, journalism and highly qualified occupations. Thereis no residence status for unskilled labor. Unlike in Germany where work permits were issued by theFederal Agency for Labor, Japan followed the American example and directly integrated work permissions into the different visa categories.526 The law also defined the possibilities for permanent
residence or family reunification of spouses and children without further specification. It generally
limited the residence to three years for all categories besides permanent residence and diplomaticwork. The admission of permanent residence was dependent on the decision-making of MOJ basedon whether the immigrant would benefit Japan, had not committed any crimes and could generally

525
526

Immigration Control Order and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951).
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 125.

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support him- or herself (art. 4).527 Permanent residence corresponds to a settlement permission inGermany and involves an unlimited right to reside and work in Japan. The more specific rules for theadmission of temporary or permanent residents remained unmentioned and were regulated by binding
administrative guidelines. The MOJ holds substantial discretion in presiding over the admission offoreigners and the actual granting of permanent residence permissions was handled very strictly, especially if there were “no special ties with Japan or Japanese nationals.” 528 Even though temporary
labor migration of skilled foreign workers was admitted, family reunification was ruled out for nonpermanent residents.529 Koreans who resided in Japan before 1945 and their immediate descendants
received preferential treatment in the issuing of permanent residence permissions due to a bilateralagreement between Japan and Korea in 1965 when both countries normalized their diplomatic relations.530 The restrictive attitude of the Japanese government towards immigrants became also became
visible in its treatment of refugees. In line with most other East Asian countries, it did not sign the
UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees for 30 years even though the subject had been
discussed in the Japanese Diet since 1962. Instead, it merely mentioned the legal possibility within
the ICO of granting a special temporary residence status to refugees involved in sea accidents, inparticular to boat people from Vietnam.531
Until the early 1980s, immigration policies did not change significantly and were generally in linewith migration policies in the East Asian region. However, in the early 1970s the growing labor demand for unskilled labor, especially in the care worker sector and in the construction industry, could
not be matched by domestic workers anymore and thus led to an unorthodox exploitation of the immigration possibilities as trainees (研修生) supported by a number of employers. However, the system was opposed officially by the Japanese government and especially the Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare (MHLW).532 In accordance with the demands of business associations, only a marginal
expansion was realized by instituting small training programs and admitting technical trainees from

出入国管理令, 昭和 26 年政令第 319 号.
Sik, Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective, 212.
529
Takeyuki Tsuda and Wayne Cornelius, “Japan: Government Policy, Immigrant Reality,” in Controlling Immigration:
A Global Perspective, ed. Wayne A. Cornelius, Philip L. Martin and James F. Hollifield (Stanford: Stanford University
Press, 2004): 439–476, 450.
530
Sik, Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective, 212. 外務省条約局 「条約集・昭和４０年（二国間条約）
在日韓国人の法的地位協定（日本国に居住する大韓民国国民の法的地位及び待遇に関する日本国と大韓民国との間の協定）」,東京.日本外交主要文書・年表, 1965.
531
Osamu Arakaki, Refugee Law and Practice in Japan (Hampshire/Burlington: Ashgate, 2008), 17.
532
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 78.
527
528

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Asia.533 But the mounting criticism from foreign countries and the media, coupled with decreasing
labor demand after the first oil shock in 1973, ultimately led to the removal of this loophole by the
MOJ in 1974 while some large companies in the industry proved unsuccessful in lobbying for more
open immigration policies. Even though a loose coalition of the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry (METI), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and employer organizations (nikkeiren
日経連 and the Japanese Chamber for Trade and Industry 日本商工会議所) were in favor of changing towards a more proactive immigration policy, the opposition of the MHLW, the main union associations (dōmei 同盟 for the private sector and sōhyō 総評 for the public sector) and the Japanese
New Left (shinsayoku 新左翼) prevailed.534
Since then and continuing until today, a debate around the “new” immigration of foreign workers
and refugees has been triggered, associated with issues of demographic change and economic stagnation. This development was in accordance with the increasing immigration pressure from neighboring developing countries whose pool of increasingly urbanized and geographically mobile workers
increased rapidly in the 1980s, coupled to decreasing labor demand from the Gulf region.535 Before
analyzing these changes from the perspective of political coalitions and institutions, I will sum up thehistorical differences between Japan and Germany.

3.1.3 The history of immigration policy-making of Japan and Germany in comparison
The Japanese law did permit qualified, but strictly temporary immigration while low- and non-qualified immigration was generally ruled out. In that sense, it was the opposite of the situation in Germany in which the immigration of low-skilled workers and their families was permitted in bilateralagreements. This temporary opening was a foreign policy measure supported by labor scarcities in
the industries. Immigration policies were accordingly designed in an ad hoc manner managed by the
AA and the BMAS. In Japan, colonial citizens from Korea and Taiwan who lost their citizenship in
1952 were allowed to stay in Japan without a formal status of residence while the early immigration
law was mainly formulated as a technical border control law that left many decisions related to theresidence status of immigrants to the discretion of MOJ.
First, a major reason for the difference in the initial baseline can be identified in the early deregulation of labor movements in the ECSC that led to the influx of European immigrants in Germany.

Bertram, “Japan and Labor Migration,” 18.
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 81ff.
535
Ibid, 90.
533
534

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Accordingly, there were no legislative possibilities to create restrictions for this immigration stream.
The defeat of Japan and Germany in WW2 represented critical junctures in the political history of
both nations, but had a stronger institutional impact on Germany than on Japan. Although both countries enjoyed high growth rates after the war, became key allies in US foreign policy during the Cold
War and were allowed or even encouraged to rebuild a military under constitutional limitations, they
were embedded in very different regional contexts and institutional settings. The reconciliation between the former enemies Germany and France led to a process of European integration while Germany’s admission of moral responsibility for the war contrasts with the lingering historical issues andthe limited integration in the North East Asian region even today. Even though Japan engaged in
multi-dimensional economic and aid relations, these relations never spilled over to some form ofbinding institutional arrangement that would go beyond multi-lateral and non-binding fora for economic and financial cooperation. Reasons for this lack of regional integration can also be traced backto US policy in both regions. The Marshall Plan has been established by the US for Europe incentivized a process of European integration that reduced Germany’s dependency on the US. In East Asia,
however, hub-and-spoke relations with Japan and other Asian countries continue to dominate.536 Foreign pressure and the attempts of the German government under Chancellor Adenauer to reconcile
with European countries and win back Germany’s sovereignty by integrating with former enemy
countries led to the irreversible integrative dynamic of the EC that included the right of foreigners
from member countries to work in Germany. Japan, instead, severely limited permanent settlement
possibilities for new immigrants (aiming especially at the existing immigration pressures from the
Korean peninsula) and only admitted temporary skilled migration for a maximum period of three
years in the ICO of 1952.
Second, in Germany, the idea of an ethnic homogeneous state was radically delegitimized after thewar. In the Potsdam Agreement of 1945, the Allied powers agreed upon a comprehensive politicalprogram to de-militarize, “de-nazifice”, democratize and decentralize Germany. The aim was “[t]oconvince the German people that they [had] suffered a total military defeat and that they cannot escaperesponsibility for that they [had] brought upon themselves.” (art. 3, sec. ii)537 However, immigration
policies were not revised for a period of 20 years after the war, during which Germany still usedlegislation of the NS era in order to have a legal framework. Moreover, the German government was

Thränhardt, “Japan und Deutschland in der Welt nach dem Kalten Krieg,” 46
The U.S., the Soviets and the British set policy on postwar Europe, Berlin Potsdam Conference, July 17–August 2,
1945, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/truman-potsdam/.
536
537

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not willing to institute a new nationality law in the imminent division of the territory. In Japan, theterms of the Potsdam Declaration were reduced to 13 points which were not as strictly implemented
even though it stated that “[t]here must be eliminated for all time the authority and influence of those
who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest” (art. 6)538. In
post-war Germany, early notions of a post-national order could develop without significant nationalist
backlashes while the government committed to its relation with the US as a priority before unificationand the restoration of sovereignty. In comparison with Germany, the political personnel was not as
rigidly replaced in Japan, with key war figures such as Prime Minister Kishi remaining in their position after the war. The more thorough institutional juncture is also evident in the system of party
competition and federalism that determined the political structure in post-war Germany while in the1955 system of Japan, the bureaucracy dominated within a centralized, one-party system based on the
LDP leadership.539
Third, foreign countries did not – or rather could not – exert any significant pressure on Japan withrespect to the initiation of a guest worker program such as in Germany. Normalization between South
Korea and Japan was achieved only in 1965 and between Japan and the People’s Republic of China
in 1971. Southeast Asian countries did not reach the tipping point yet where they had the economic,“physical and technical conditions that enable migration.” 540 Even if they had exerted pressure, it is
not clear that MOFA would have reacted positively to it such as in Germany where the AA was anaccommodating actor for which the reconciliation with foreign countries was of major importance.
Although guest worker programs had been suggested in Japan in 1967, they were rejected by theJapanese bureaucracy. 541 In comparison to Germany, Japan could use a larger number of workers
from rural areas (roughly eight to ten million) as a source of labor for industrialization. The share of
agricultural workers thus dropped from 48 to 10 percent in Japan,542 but only from 24.6 to 5.1 percent
in Germany (with a lower absolute number of workers) in the same period.543 Domestic labor mobility,
technical innovations, long working hours and the use of women and aged workers on a part-time538

Potsdam Declaration, Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender Issues at Potsdam, July 26, 1945.
Thränhardt, “Japan und Deutschland in der Welt nach dem Kalten Krieg,” 17–20.
540
Taki, “Redefining its self image and redefining its role as a regional power,” 16.
541
Ibid.
542
Ibid.
543
Statistisches Bundesamt, “Arbeitsmarkt,” https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/Indikatoren/LangeReihen/Arbeitsmarkt/lrerw013.html.
539

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basis also reduced the need for foreign labor in the Japanese economy significantly. 544 The remaining
labor demand could be partly filled by making use of backdoors such as the trainee system. 545
Fourth, even though Japan had a significant foreign population on its territory, it did not make any
efforts to initiate integrative measures for former colonial Korean and Taiwanese citizens. At bothsocial and political levels, participatory possibilities were limited while the German government began to prioritize immigrant integration after the suspension of the recruitment program in 1974. Foreigners were largely excluded from the labor and housing market and did not have access to social
security benefits such as pensions or social housing. Poverty was also disproportionally high among
Korean residents.546 After the repatriation of zainichi Koreans failed, the Japanese government had
to accept the reality of a foreign population on its territory and made concessions in securing theirlegal residence status – similar to the early efforts of the German Bundesregierung in the 1965 AuslG.
It mainly created the possibility to acquire a “special permanent residence” title for the first- andsecond-generation Koreans after the normalization of Japanese-Korean relations, but no proactive
measures have been taken in order to increase the integration of foreign residents into Japanese society, educational or labor market system, in sharp contrast to the assimilationist measures of the colonial period. But since Koreans had already migrated to Japan in the early 20 th century and culturaldifferences to Japan were not as high as between Germans and Turks, integration happened morenaturally as can be seen for instance in the high inter-marriage rate in 1965 of roughly 47 percent.547
However, naturalization continues to be severely limited and was discouraged by Korean immigrantassociations.548

3.2 Immigration reform in Japan: Similarities and differences with Germany
3.2.1 The structure of institutions and political coalitions in immigration policy-making
before the reform period
3.2.1.1 Institutions: Administration, legislation and judicial review
Due to the related task of managing family registration, Japanese immigration policies fell under
the purview of the MOJ, which held a rather conservative, restrictive orientation. At regional andTaki, “Redefining its self image and redefining its role as a regional power,”17.
Bertram, “Japan and Labor Migration,” 17.
546
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 69f.
547
Theinr Theint Htwe, 「Intermarried Couples and Divorces in Japan. Resolution of child-related Disputes after Divorce」,『現代社会文化研究』 ５３号 ２０１２年: 37–60, 40.
548
Erin Aeran Chung, “Non citizens, Voice, and Identity: the Politics of Citizenship in Japan’s Korea Community,” The
Center for Comparative Immigration Studies Working Paper 80, 5.
544
545

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

local levels, the Legal Affairs Bureaus acted as local branches of MOJ, managing all aspects of naturalization. The same structure exists for immigration purposes (e.g. the issuing of residence permits)
in Regional and Local Immigration Bureaus that are coordinated by the National Immigration Bureau.
These are supported by regional Immigration Information Centers in eight different prefectures.549
Institutional fragmentation was particularly high, with almost all central ministries and agencies
having a vested interest in migration issues. The responsibilities for immigration control and social
welfare for immigrants and refugees were fragmented among different ministries as well.550 Amongthe ministries, the MHWL traditionally holds a protectionist view on labor immigration representing
the interests of domestic employees. Ministries tending towards a pro-immigration stance include
MOFA, METI, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry551 and the Economic Planning Agency. 552
Just as in other policy areas, inter-ministerial negotiations and sectionalism dominate in the formulation of legislative proposals. Competition between the ministries and even between ministerial bureaus often inhibits more cooperative solutions.553 In Japan’s political system, the LDP had the solegoverning responsibility from 1952 until 1993. Since 1998, the LDP has generally governed in a
coalition together with the Buddhist New Kōmeitō (公明党) and other conservative parties, interrupted only from 2010 until 2012 by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Due to the stable majorities
in the Japanese Lower (衆議院) and Upper House (参議院), the legislative could rarely act as a vetoplayer thus giving the Japanese government a strong autonomy to formulate policies. The Upper
House does have a veto position for bills, but can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in the Lower
House. Until 1989, the LDP kept a majority in both houses, thus effectively eliminating this vetopower.554
In comparison with Germany, structures to include interest groups into the formulation of immigration policies have been limited. Rather, there are networks between LDP politicians, corporations andthe bureaucracy that gave rise to notions of an “Iron Triangle”. On the other hand, the LDP itself has
pluralized significantly since the 1970s when so-called zoku (族) were evolving, which catered to549

Immigration Bureau, Organization/Structure, http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/info/.
Hiroshi Honma, “Japan's Refugee Policy. From Post-World War II to Present Day,” Women's Asia 21, no. 18 (2007):
22–25, 24.
551
Kibe and Thränhardt, “Japan: A Non-Immigration Country Discusses Migration,” 235.
552
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 119.
553
John Creighton Campbell, “Policy Conflict and Its Resolution within the Governmental System,” in Conflict in Japan,
ed. Ellis S. Krauss, Thomas P. Rohlen and Patricia G. Steinhoff (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984): 294–335,
298ff.
554
Kenji Hayao, The Japanese Prime Minister and Public Policy (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993), 36.
550

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specific interest groups, were evolving in addition to a new system of permanent LDP commissionsin specific policy areas – most importantly the Policy Affairs Research Council (PARC) – that are
dominated by representatives of the respective factions.555 An individual LDP politician thus can be
split between his voter clients and the general LDP position. 556
The Japanese Supreme Court (最高裁判所) has largely acted in accordance with the policies set by
the government. Termed the “most conservative constitutional court in the world”557 by David Law,
it has rarely acted actively revised legislation that it deemed unconstitutional although it has the power
for “judicial review” according to art. 81 of the Constitution. Compared to the German BVerfG, which
struck down over 600 laws even though it was established later in history, the Japanese Supreme
Court only ruled against eight laws.558 The conservative, LDP-friendly orientation of the court isbased upon the immediate appointment of judges by the Cabinet and the frequent political interventions that followed opposing rulings, amongst other reasons, although the court is formally independent.559 Even in cases where the Supreme Court does not see a constitutional contradiction to an initiative that would increase the political rights of immigrants – such as introducing the municipal rightto vote of permanent residents – the decisions usually do not have a political influence on the governmental level.560 In another case of 2005, the court ruled against the possibility of foreigners to bepromoted to senior positions in government institutions. 561 When it comes to immigrants’ rights
against discrimination, however, there have been cases protecting foreigners from ethnic and racial
discrimination at a lower court level,562 especially after Japan signed the normalization agreementwith South Korea in 1965 and the international Human Rights Convention in 1979. 563
Cities have designed creative immigrant incorporation programs that range from the organizationof affordable language classes to consultation services and in the case of Kawasaki even to the creation of a Foreigners’ Advisory Council in 1996 with representatives from foreign communities –
similar to the Foreigner Councils in Germany. The council has been successful in advocating the

555

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 50f.
Campbell, “Policy Conflict and Its Resolution within the Governmental System,” 300.
557
David S. Law, “The Anatomy of a Conservative Court: Judicial Review in Japan,” Texas Law Review 87 (2009): 1545–
1593, 1545.
558
Ibid, 1547.
559
Ibid, 1587ff.
560
Ken Haig, “Japanese immigration policy,” in The Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics, ed. Alisa Gaunder (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2011): 223–235, 225.
561
Kingston, Contemporary Japan, 159.
562
Tsuda and Cornelius, “Japan: Government Policy, Immigrant Reality,” 467.
563
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 86.
556

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

passing of an ordinance prohibiting discrimination of foreigners in the housing market.564 These local
policies were enacted from the 1980s (but often much later) in response to pressure from Korean
residents and in line with Japan’s goals of “internationalization.” 565 However, the lack of a nationalframework and late attention by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the state of foreign residents led toa variety of services that can be minimal as in the case of Kawaguchi.566
The illustration below shows the structure of immigration policy-making in Japan. Compared withGermany, the structure is relatively simpler and generally based on the dominance of the LDP within
the bureaucracy and legislative. Corporatism is not as institutionalized as in Germany and works generally through networks between the administration, the LDP and powerful businesses and economic
associations. The system has strikingly few veto players as the Supreme Court usually does not oppose legislative proposals by the LDP government, the Lower and Upper House have been based
upon strong LDP majorities and the central state in Tokyo is structurally and legislatively dominant
when compared to the prefectures and municipalities. Immigration policies have remained largely at
the level of the executive administration while the legislative has not been a powerful instrument of
opposition and societal debates do not find an institutionalized expression in commissions or councils
that integrate societal interests and prepare a consensus. Instead, the interests of civil society groups
such as immigrant associations are aggregated at a municipal level.

Katherine Tegtmeyer Pak, “Towards Local Citizenship: Japanese Cities Respond to International Migration,” The
Center for Comparative Immigration Studies Working Paper 30 (2001), 9ff.
565
Chikako Kashiwazaki, “Local Government and Resident Foreigners: A Changing Relationship,” in Japan’s Road toPluralism: Transforming Local Communities in the Global Era, ed. Shunichi Furkawa and Toshihiro Menju (Tokyo:
Japan Center for International Exchange, 2003): 63–88, 65ff.
566
Tegtmeyer Pak, “Towards Local Citizenship,” 913.
564

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Figure 12. Institutional structure of immigration-policy making in Japan (by author)
3.2.1.2 Party positions
In strong contrast to Germany, parties generally did not develop a clear position on immigration
issues and were struggling to find internal commonalities between the various factions. With low
inter-party competition and a negligible volume of labor immigrants and refugees, there were no incentives to use sensitive immigration issues in election campaigns. For the large part of its history,
the LDP could leave immigration policies to the discretion of MOJ with which it shared the perceptionof foreigners as a domestic security issue, leaving the topic out of the public discourse. The factionalism within the LDP also made a party consensus on immigration unlikely, considering that there
were both LDP politicians who represented the interests of constituent employers with high labordemand and those without such a constituency and who focused rather on public security aspects ofimmigration.567 Instead, the first debates on immigration largely took place within and between theministries without a significant societal or legislative participation. Moreover, unlike the German
CDU who was always in favor of admitting immigrants with German descent from Eastern Europe(Aussiedler) due to the historic connections, the LDP was originally not in favor of admitting Latin
American nikkeijin (日系人) of Japanese descent until the 1990s. It also did not enact measures toease their naturalization and integration into Japan568 unlike the German CDU.

567
568

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 122f.
Sharpe, Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration, 144.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

In the political opposition, the Japanese Socialist Party (JSP) that merged into the DPJ in 1998 was
not coherent in its position either and could not develop clear arguments against the restrictive immigration policies of the LDP. 569 As the result of the merger of two smaller groups, the JSP also split
into different competing factions.570 It was not able to become an electoral alternative in Japan, thus
leading to the LDP-dominated 1955 system.571 The early socialist and communist parties of the 1950s
did sympathize with the social discrimination and poverty of Korean immigrants, but ultimately also
supported the idea of their repatriation.572 In 1995, the leftist parties and the Buddhist party Kōmeitō
agreed to grant municipal voting rights to foreign residents after a Supreme Court ruling, but before
that no proactive initiatives were visible.573 As immigration issues were not a topic with which the
JSP could win votes, it largely supported the status quo while focusing its agenda on other issues (e.g.
the US-Japan military alliance). Only on the far left, in the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), the first
concept for the immigration of low-skilled immigrants including their integration into Japanese society was developed in the 1990s.574 Parties and groups from the far-right are rather weak although
individual politicians such as the former governor of Tokyo Shintarō Ishihara may express hostile
opinions towards immigrants. The main anti-foreigner group zainichi tokken wo yurusanai shimin no
kai (在日特権を許さない市民の会) targets specifically zainichi Koreans and has an agenda of removing their residence privileges in Japan. It uses public demonstrations as a platform, but does nothold any significant political power. Its demographic includes a disproportional number of male andyoung persons with low income.575
The irrelevance of topics of immigration and integration among Japanese political parties until the
1990s/2000s and the pioneering policy platform on immigration of the JCP are striking. Neither immigration nor the integration of Korean citizens into the Japanese labor market and education systemwere systematically addressed by any mainstream party. Both the rigid institutional structure and thenon-pluralistic party system supported the status quo until the 1990s/2000s. In Germany, the parties

569

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 120.
Chae-Jin Lee, “Factional Politics in the Japan Socialist Party: The Chinese Cultural Revolution Case,” Asian Survey
10, no. 3 (1970): 230–243.
571
Robert A. Scalapino, “Japanese Socialism in Crisis,” Foreign Affairs (1960), http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/71542/robert-a-scalapino/japanese-socialism-in-crisis.
572
Hwa Ji Shin, Trajectories of Nation: Remaking Citizenship, Immigration, and National Self-image in Japan (NewYork: Stony Brook, 2007), 74f.
573
Haig, “Japanese immigration policy,” 225f.
574
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 120.
575
The Diplomat, “Japanese Court Rules Against Anti-Korean Hate Group,” 8th October 2013, http://thediplomat.com/2013/10/japanese-court-rules-against-anti-korean-hate-group/.
570

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

were incentivized to take a stance on immigration and integration issues after the guest worker program, European integration and family reunification created a substantial foreign population whose
integration into German society proved to be a challenge. Moreover, after the end of WWII, immigration also received a stronger moral connotation than in Japan which, for instance, explains the
positive attitude of the conservative CDU towards the immigration of foreigners from Eastern Europe
with German descent, the proactive position of the German government related to Jews who lost theircitizenship during the Third Reich, and the initiation of the guest worker program as a reaction to thepressure of foreign countries. In addition, the Green party formulated an early, idealistic policy program on immigration, but unlike the JCP could be integrated into a coalition government with the
SPD in 1998 due to Germany’s multi-party system in which small parties potentially received theopportunity to be involved into coalition governments. They could then use their position within thecoalition in order to negotiate legislative changes.
3.2.1.3 Societal coalitions and interest groups
3.2.1.3.1 Immigrant associations
The main immigrant associations in Japan represent Korean residents and have their origin in Japan’s post-war environment. The main political organization was abbreviated choryon (League of
Korean Residents in Japan) and represented all zainichi Koreans. It offered social services for Koreans suffering from poverty, ran its own schools and initially supported the Japanese government’s
program of repatriation. It also tried to campaign for the restoration of the right to vote of Korean
citizens in Japan. However, it soon began to openly support the JCP, and communist North Korea
using the sentiments of disappointed Koreans who expressed their grievances of the mistreatment by
the Japanese government even though they were officially “liberated nationals.” The choryon organized protests together with the JCP advocating radical ideas such as the overthrow of the Emperor,
and was partly responsible for violent agitations after the Japanese government ordered Korean
schools to be closed in 1948. In the climate of communist revolutions in neighboring countries, inspired zainichi Koreans organized the soboi as a para-military organization that aimed to establish a123

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

communist Japan with the support of the JCP.576 The choryon was ultimately closed by the Japanese
authorities in 1949 as a “terrorist organization.”577
The first immigrant association that formed in post-war Japan was thus associated with violence,
communism and agitation against the Japanese state. Even though Turkish political and leftist organizations existed in Germany as well, they were highly fragmented and did not represent an immediate
danger to the state. Instead, the evolving formation of Turkish labor organizations and their integration into German unions was a constructive means of pressuring unions to establish participatory
structures for immigrants and improve their representation.
The newly forming Korean immigrant associations after the shutdown of choryon generally mirrored the division of Korea in a communist North and a US-backed South part. Supporters of North
Korea initially joined the JCP578 and founded the chongryon in 1955 as a highly centralized, representative organization of North Korean citizens in Japan that continued the communist orientation of
the choryon, supported the repatriation of zainichi Koreans to North Korea, and promoted Korean
unification under North Korean premises. Even though it faced resistance from the Japanese government, it was able to successfully lobby for the re-opening of schools and the founding of Chosun
University in Tokyo.579 Chongryon has grown to be a powerful organization although its membershipnumbers shrank in the 1970s. It finances itself by various businesses (e.g. Pachinko parlors) and owns
newspapers and banks in Japan. In 1986, roughly 13 percent of zainichi Koreans in Japan attended
chongryon schools.580 In lack of official Japanese-North Korean relations, the chongryon functions
as the only quasi-official channel of the North Korean government that backs the organization. It kept
a very reserved political attitude as long as its main goal to support the ethnic education of zainichi
North Korean citizens in Japan could be fulfilled.581 It has even been argued that the organization was
actively tolerated by the LDP in the 1970s and 1980s.582 This peculiar tacit understanding between

Changsoo Lee, “Ethnic Discrimination and Conflict: The Case of the Korean Minority in Japan,” in Case Studies on
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, A World Survey 3, ed. Willem Adriaan Veenhoven (The Hague: Martinus
Nijhoff, 1976): 263–286, 273ff.
577
Antony DiFilippo, US-Japan-North Korea Security Relations. Irrepressible Interests (Abingdon/New York:
Routledge, 2012), 150.
578
Sonia Ryang, “Japan’s Ethnic Minority: Koreans,” in A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan, ed. Jennifer Robertson (Malden et al.: Blackwell, 2005): 89–103, 91.
579
Lee, “Ethnic Discrimination and Conflict,” 275ff.
580
Myung Oak Kim and Sam Jaffe, The New Korea. An Inside Look at South Korea’s Economic Rise (New York: AMACOM), 77.
581
Ibid, 76.
582
Armin Rosen, “The Strange Rise and Fall of North Korea’s Business Empire in Japan,” The Atlantic, 26th July 2012,
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/the-strange-rise-and-fall-of-north-koreas-business-empire-injapan/260373/.
576

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the Japanese government and the somewhat indifferent orientation of the organization towards thepolitical situation within Japan were important reasons why the chongryon has not actively lobbied
for improvements of the political rights of Korean citizens in Japan.
The mindan (Korean Resident Association in Japan) is the second main zainichi Korean organization in Japan. Founded in 1946 by a group of zainichi Koreans who disagreed with the leftist andradical elements of the choryon, it became associated with South Korea after the division of the peninsula. Similar to its counterpart, it provides social services and education in Korean – although on asmaller level than the chongryon.583 The group competed with chongryon to win over the former
colonial Korean citizens and organized various campaigns to promote repatriation to South Korea,584
but did not have a close relationship with the South Korean government unlike the chongryon evenafter the relations between Japan and South Korea normalized in 1965. 585 Instead, the mindan consisted of various factions that held either a positive or a hostile attitude towards the South Korean
government – for instance against its human rights abuse. It also led to the split up of smaller groups
from the mindan. However, in the 1970s the South Korean government grew more supportive of themindan in order to support the ideological war against North Korean elements in Japan and it received
the task to issue visas for zainichi Koreans from the Park government.586
Since the 1970s, the role of the mindan increasingly switched from supporting links to the homeland
to advocating minority rights and cultivating Korean culture in Japan in accordance with the growthof a second generation of zainichi Koreans. Protests against fingerprinting and registration laws
erupted in the 1980s (30 years after the introduction of the law) comprising especially young participants. New groups such as the mintōren (民闘連) or the zainippon kankokujin rengōkai (在日本韓国人連合会) were founded among second generation zainichi Koreans and explicitly targeted domestic issues of Koreans in Japan such as ethnic discrimination in the labor and housing market or in
the education system. Other grassroots groups were often organized or co-organized by Japanese citizens.587 Mintōren, too, accepts Japanese members and differs strongly from the centralized top-down
structures of mindan and chongryon. Instead of a foreign policy view on Korean issues in Japan thatAnn B. Cary, “Affiliation, Not Assimilation: Resident Koreans and Ethnic Education,” in Studies in Japanese Bilingualism, ed. Mary Goebel Noguchi and Sandra Fotos (Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2001), 103.
584
Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners, 62.
585
Lee, “Ethnic Discrimination and Conflict,” 278f.
586
John Lie, Zainichi (Koreans in Japan). Diasporic Nationalism and Postcolonial Identity (Berkeley at al.: Universityof California Press, 2008), 72.
587
Michael O. Sharpe, “What Does Blood Membership Mean in Political Terms?: The Political Incorporation of Latin
American Nikkeijin (Japanese Descendants) (LAN) in Japan 1990–2004,” Japanese Journal of Political Science 12, no.
1 (2011): 113–142, 139.
583

125

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

was largely promoted by mindan, mintōren has an expressly domestic policy perspective and increased the political pressure on the Japanese federal and local government(s). While the first generation predominantly identified exclusively with their Korean heritage, the second and subsequent
generations developed a more complex and syncretic picture of a Korean-Japanese identity.588 Although this is certainly true for the new Korean generation associated to South Korea, members of thechongryon continued to have strongly nationalistic attitudes and opposed integrative measures suchas the granting of municipal voting rights to zainichi Koreans as assimilationist.589
Zainichi Korean groups were successful in pressuring the Japanese government to incrementallylower the requirements for fingerprinting until it was ultimately abolished for zainichi permanent
residents. However, this small success could not be expanded to the whole alien registration systemand other demands such as the introduction of local voting rights for foreign residents thus showing
the limited responsiveness of the Japanese government.590 Other demands comprised the right to employment in the public sector, the right to ethnic education, and social security.591 Mindan and chongryon also lobbied against ethnic discrimination in Japan, but the hostile division between both groups
and their prioritization of foreign policy issues have severely limited their political agency comparedto smaller civil society groups. Mindan often does not negotiate itself but only promotes negotiations
between the Japanese and the South Korean government. Chongryon is even stronger in stating its
quasi-embassy function to represent citizens of North Korea in Japan.592 Moreover, Chongryon andolder mindan members often hold anti-assimilationist and exclusionist views on Korean ethnicity thatare still shaped by the negative experiences of the colonial and post-colonial era in Japan.593
The foreign policy orientation of immigrant associations in Japan is also present in Chinese groups(科挙総会) that are split between supporters of Taiwanese independence and mainland patriotic associations. The former have a higher rate of membership than the latter due to Japan’s colonial history.
The groups are highly localized and do not have any federal coordination mechanism, thereby limiting
their political voice. They mainly focus on consultation, information, education and club services

金侖貞 「地域社会における多文化共生の生成と展開、そして、課題」,『立命館大学国際言語文化研究所』 ３９２
号 ２０１１年６号: 59–82, 71f.
589
Yasunori Fukuoka and Yukiko Tsujiyama, “Mintohren: Young Koreans Against Ethnic Discrimination in Japan,”
The Bulleting of Chiba College of Health Science 10, no. 2.
590
David Chapman, Zainichi Korean Identity and Ethnicity (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2008), 74f.
591
Kashiwazaki, “Local Government and Resident Foreigners,” 9.
592
在日本朝鮮人総聯合会、たびかさなる試練、http://www.chongryon.com/j/cr/about/1-10.html.
593
Chulhee Chung and Jeffrey Broadbent, “Introduction to Korean Society, Culture, and Politics,” in East Asian Social
Movements. Power, Protest, and Change in a Dynamic Region, ed. Jeffrey Broadbent and Vicky Brockman (New Yorket al.: Springer, 2011), 131f.
588

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

instead of promoting the civil or political rights of Chinese and Taiwanese in Japan. A similar service
orientation is visible for Thais and Filipinos in Japan while strong foreign policy orientations arevisible in Burmese and Vietnamese associations.594
The clearly distinguishable Turkish population in Germany thus made more efforts to clamor forcivil rights in Germany than the indistinguishable Korean population in Japan for which there were
only few cultural or religious differences from the Japanese population.595 Since the 1970s, there has
been a consensus in Germany on the necessity to establish integrative measures to facilitate the coexistence of Germans and Turks (and other nationalities). The Japanese state, on the other hand, hasbeen largely passive and has instead confronted the Korean community with the expectation of assimilation, not least because of its indistinguishability. Moreover, political Turkish groups that mirrored the political circumstances in Turkey have been only one part of a broad and fragmented network of immigrant associations in Germany. Until today, these political associations have become
marginal in comparison with associations that lobby for the improvement of living circumstances of
Turkish immigrants in Germany. The late or non-existing normalization between Japan and South
Korea or North Korea, respectively, has instead led to the establishment of two highly centralized andmutually hostile groups that were later complemented by Korean-Japanese groups promoting therights of Koreans in Japan.
With the exception of second-generation Korean groups, the politicization of other immigrantgroups seems strikingly low in Japan – possibly due to the low rate of permanent residents among
them. Politicization is also inhibited because no political alliances could form between immigrantassociations and parties. In Germany, the SPD, FDP and even the CDU founded their own immigrantassociations in order to process their political demands. The Greens and PDS, too, were strongly inaccordance with many of immigrants‘ demands. In addition, welfare organizations also partly
founded own immigrant associations. Even though immigrant organizations are not necessarily powerful within Germany’s political system, they have become a strong domestic lobby for their civil andpolitical rights while the same does not hold true for Korean and other associations in Japan, whichhave concentrated largely on foreign policy issues and service provision.
3.2.1.3.2 Trade unions
In the colonial era, Korean workers were used by employers as a low-wage alternative to domestic
workers. Unions thus traditionally had a negative attitude towards labor immigrants in line with the594
595

Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners, 62–68.
Chung, Immigration and Citizenship in Japan, 55.

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opposition of low-skilled Japanese workers that had to compete with immigrants and suffered fromdecreasing or stagnating wages. 596 While unions were not officially recognized by the Japanese statein the pre-war era, the influence of US labor laws brought forward unions on the plant level and madethe main industrial union sanbetsu (産業別労働組合) a powerful and militant political actor in atense economic environment with high inflation and low wage growth.597 After the dissolution ofsanbetsu due to the government’s anti-communist agenda, the leftist sōhyō (日本労働組合総評議会) in the public sector and the conservative zenrō (全労会議, later: dōmei or 日本労働組合総同盟)
in the private sector were founded in 1951 and 1954, respectively. 598 Unions themselves became organized on the enterprise level. While sōhyō was affiliated with the JSP (and later the SDP = Social
Democratic Party), the dōmei was related to the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP, 民主社会党) thatsplit off from the JSP in 1994. Other large union associations included the chūritsu rōren (中立労連)
of independent unions and the shinsanbetsu (新産別) as an association of industrial unions.599 Unionization declined from 55.8 percent in 1949 to 18.5 percent in 2010.600 Accordingly, the number ofstrikes reduced dramatically over this period, showing the structural weakness of unions acquired
over time.601 Both umbrella organizations are associated with larger companies.602
The resistance of unions towards labor migration continued to persist in post-war Japan and themain umbrella organizations were successful in forming an informal coalition with the MHLW, theSPJ, DSP and actors in the Japanese New Left to prevent a more open labor migration regime in theearly 1970s.603 As the rate of unionization was especially high in large corporations (61 percent compared to 24 percent in middle-sized and 2 percent in small-sized companies), the pressure to conformwith these union views was still relatively high on employers of large corporations and their respective associations.604 Since unions are organized as enterprise unions instead of sectoral unions, they

Doak, “Ethnic nationalism and romanticism in early twentieth-century Japan,” 316f.
Dae Yong Jeong and Ruth V. Aguilera, “The Evolution of Enterprise Unionism in Japan: A Socio-Political Perspective,”
British Journal of Industrial Relations 46, no. 1 (2008): 98–132, 115.
598
Suzuki Akira, “The Death of Unions' Associational Life? Political and Cultural Aspects of Enterprise Unions,” in The
State of Civil Society in Japan, ed. Frank J. Schwartz and Susan J. Pharr (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003):
195–213, 196.
599
Masahiko Daimon, “Die Gewerkschaften in Japan,” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Studie, November 2012, 3.
600
Hiroyuki Fujimara, “Japan's Labor Unions: Past, Present, Future,” Japan Labor Review 9, no. 1 (2012): 6–24.
601
Ibid, 7f.
602
Jennifer Chan, Another Japan is Possible: New Social Movements and Global Citizenship Education (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008), 87.
603
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 79.
604
Ibid, 122.
596
597

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have a much closer relation to their respective companies than in Germany which inhibits the formation of solidarity among workers.605 As a result of this dependence, they were more powerful intimes of economic growth than in the post-bubble period606 and could oppose labor immigration more
efficiently against the interests of employer organizations.
However, while unionization was only marginally higher in Germany (e.g. around 30 percent in the
1970s and 20 percent in the 2000s)607, the political influence of unions was relatively strong throughout Germany’s post-war history and there were no internal controversies around their political orientation. The political power of union umbrella organizations in Japan depended largely on the concessions of the LDP even though they were integrated in advisory committees (審議会) together with
employers.608 In Germany, the connections between union organizations and the social-democratic
SPD have been strong and reliable so that the main umbrella organizations could express unions’demands with one voice even though there was no single unitary federation.
Until 1989 when dōmei and sōhyō merged into the national umbrella organization rengō (日本労働組合総連合会) to receive a stronger negotiation position, both associations and especially the leftist
sōhyō opposed immigration for low-skilled immigrants and supported the status quo while the dōmei
was at least open for cautious changes. Rengō became associated with the SPJ and later the DSP. Twosmaller umbrella organizations, the zenrōren (全国労働組合総連合 associated to the JCP) andzenrōkyō (全国労働組合連絡協議会) were formed opposing the unification of union associations inrengō and representing a more militant, leftist orientation609 while rengō was a rather non-confrontational actor.610 The rengō supported the formation of the DPJ in 1996.611
Coincidentally, however, the MHLW became a less reliable partner in supporting union demands
as it shared the general orientation of the government in the 1990s towards a liberalization of theJapanese labor market. 612 Representatives of unions participated in deliberation councils in the

藤村博之 「日本の労働組合 - 過去・現在・未来」,『日本労働研究雑誌』 ６０６巻 ２０１１年: 79–89, 81f.
Michael Ehrke, “Gewerkschaften in Japan. Betriebliche Rolle und politische Positionen,” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Analyse, June 1996, 4ff.
607
Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland (fowid), “Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Mitgliederzahlen, absolut 1950–2005,” 17th March 2006, 3.
608
Daimon, “Die Gewerkschaften in Japan,” 7. Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 191.
609
Daimon, “Die Gewerkschaften in Japan,” 4.
610David W. Edgington, “Joining the Past and Present in Japan,” in Japan at the Millennium. Joining Past & Future, ed.
David W. Edgington: 3–24, 21.
611
Daimon, “Die Gewerkschaften in Japan,” 7.
612
Karen A. Shire, “Gesellschaft,” in Japan: Wirtschaft – Gesellschaft – Politik, ed. Paul Kevenhörster, Werner Pascha
and Karen Shire (Opladen: Leske & Budruch, 2003): 179–258, 235.
605
606

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MHLW to bring in proposals for the formulation of policies, but this format was overshadowed by
the work of the Deregulation Subcommittee founded in 1995.613
Since unions only represent regular employees and not all immigrants have this status, they were
not able to represent foreigners sufficiently614 and community unions that represent the rights of foreigners in Japan such as the National Union of General Workers Tokyo South District or Zenkoku
Ippan Foreign Laborers’ Union were created with the support of Japanese locals to organize against
the exploitation from employers.615 Even though fragmentation along ethnic lines is still high among
these unions,616 the first rally for immigrant workers was organized by a group of community unionsin 1993 on a self-proclaimed “Day for Foreign Workers’ Rights”. 617 Accordingly, the interest of unions to integrate foreign workers has been growing during the 1990s among the rengō and zenrōren,but their formal integration still remains low.
German and Japanese unions generally coincide in their support of the immigration of qualified
labor migrants. Japanese unions, however, have not revised their attitude towards the admission of
low-skilled labor immigrants while their political power has decreased over time due to their declining
institutional inclusion, internal unity and decreasing unionization rate. There have been no discussions
on making the unions’ consent to labor migration dependent on the legally required equality of wages
of foreign and domestic workers as in Germany in the 1950s. Moreover, due to the lack of integrationof foreign workers into Japanese unions, there has been evidently no learning process towards a more
liberal integration regime in Japan. In Germany, unions have become an active lobby for intensified
integration measures while developing a more positive attitude towards labor immigration as well.
3.2.1.3.3 Employer organizations
In Japan, the main employers organizations comprise the keizai dōyūkai (経済同友会) for corporate
executives, the nikkeiren and keidanren (日本経済団体連合会) for big businesses (nikkeiren wasabsorbed by keidanren in 2010) and the Chamber of Commerce representing SMEs. Similar to Germany, employer organizations lobbied the government for opening up the labor market for qualified

Keisuke Nakamura, “Decline or Revival? Japanese Labor Unions,” Japan Labor Review 4, no. 1 (2007): 7–22, 10f.
藤村 「日本の労働組合 - 過去・現在・未来」, 81.
615
Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center, “Breaking the Barrier: Japanese NGOs Take Up the Challenge,” FOCUS 5 (1996). Glenda S. Roberts, “NGO support for migrant labor in Japan,” in Japan and Global Migration. Foreign
workers and the advent of a multicultural society, ed. Mike Douglass and Glenda S. Roberts (London/New York:
Routledge, 2000): 276–301, 279.
616
Ibid, 283.
617
Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners, 119.
613
614

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immigrants and selectively for low-skilled immigrants in accordance with labor scarcities. First proposals to expand the use of the trainee system were already formulated in the early 1970s in order toallow for limited low-skilled immigration in specific work sectors. But while this labor demand washigh in SMEs, large corporations could still find enough employees in the labor market, outsource
their production facilities abroad or use their internal labor market.618 Without large corporations supporting the cause of small- and middle-sized businesses, the political pressure was possibly not highenough to enforce a liberalization of immigration or even a continuation of the scheme for health care
workers.619
In Germany, the main umbrella organization of employer associations represents the interests of all
sectors on a national level, thus preventing the fragmentation and localization of interests on the enterprise level that we see in Japan. Moreover, unlike in Japan, labor demand was not significantly
lower in larger businesses (e.g. Thyssen-Krupp). Germany’s employer organizations thus generally
embraced both low- and high-qualified immigration depending on the specific labor demand. The
same did not hold true for Japanese employer organizations that were split between SMEs supporting
unskilled labor immigration in areas with high labor demand (e.g. construction) and the three main
employer organizations with a more skeptical attitude favoring only skilled labor immigration. Keidanren did not formulate a clear policy position until the early 1990s. Keizai dōyūkai and Nikkeiren
have largely opposed the opening of the Japanese labor market for low-skilled foreign labor, with thelatter even referencing the negative experiences of Western European countries.620
Until the 1990s/2000s, the employer organizations of large corporations who were embedded into
network-based relations with the LDP did not recognize the necessity to import low-skilled labor
while SMEs did express their positive opinion, but did not have significant political support to increase the pressure on the LDP government. In Germany, employers benefited from the labor importduring the guest worker program and kept a positive attitude towards low qualified immigrants eventhough they prioritized the need to open up the German labor market for skilled labor in the late 1990s.
In particular the BDA as the main umbrella organization for all industry-related associations has beeneffective in expressing a pro-immigration stance using corporatist government channels.

Kibe and Thränhardt, “Japan: A Non-Immigration Country Discusses Migration,” 235.
Bertram, “Japan and Labor Migration,” 25.
620
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 121. David Chiavacci, “Indispensable future workforce or internal security threat? Securing Japan’s future and immigration,” in Governing Insecurity in Japan. The Domestic Discourse andPolicy Response, ed. Wilhelm Vosse, Reinhard Drifte and Verena Blechinger-Talcott (Abingdon/New York, 2014): 115–
140, 125.
618
619

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

3.2.1.3.4 Civil society groups and NGO
There is loose network of more than 200 local civil society groups and NGOs 621 proliferating sincethe 1980s622 that, amongst other purposes, supports the most vulnerable immigrants in Japan such as
victims of human trafficking and (female) migrant workers. A large part of associations is coordinatedby the umbrella organization National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers founded in 1997,
which actively lobbies to improve the protection of human and civil rights of foreign residents.623
Groups such as HELP Asian Women’s Shelter offer specific services for female victims of humantrafficking. Other groups such as Amnesty International Japan, Forum for Refugees Japan or Japan
Association for Refugees support the human rights of refugees in Japan and demand improvements intheir living circumstances.624 Among these groups, a number have an explicitly Christian mission
such as the Christian Coalition for Refugee and Migrant Workers or the Jesuit Lawyers Network for
Refugees, but without the institutional and financial support of state-supported welfare organizations
and churches as in Germany. Related volunteer-based NGOs (e.g. Asian Friends or Bahay ni Mariafor Filipino women) deal with the sizeable population of illegal immigrants in Japan and offer legal
services alongside their advocacy for reforms in refugee law and the procedures in the Immigration
Bureaus.625 Other services include assistance in labor disputes, the supply of medical services, housing services and the protection of migrant women from exploitation.626
NGOs partly cooperate with local governments to improve services for recognized immigrants627
and organize events to improve the mutual understanding among foreigners and Japanese natives. 628
Many NGOs, however, often do not have an official, government-certified status as “Non-profit organizations.” Organizations with this status can receive government funding, but also have to draw

621

The last count was attempted by Shipper in 2002. See Apichai Shipper, Pragmatism in activism: Organizing support
for illegal foreign workers in Japan (Cambridge: Program of US-Japan Relations, Harvard University, 2002). Takeyuki
Tsuda, “Localities and the Struggle for Immigrant Rights: The Significance of Local Citizenship in Recent Countries of
Immigration,” in Local Citizenship in Recent Countries of Immigration: Japan in Comparative Perspective (Oxford:
Lexington, 2006): 3–36, 24
622
Deborah J. Milly, “Looking Outward: International Legal Norms and Foreigner Rights in Japan,” in Local Citizenshipin Recent Countries of Immigration: Japan in Comparative Perspective (Oxford: Lexington, 2006): 153–172, 131.
623
Motoko Shuto, “Labour Migration and Human Security in East and Southeast Asia,” in Migration, Regional Integration and Human Security. The Formation and Maintenance of Transnational Spaces, ed. Harald Kleinschmidt (Hampshire/Burlington: Ashgate, 2006): 205–224, 221. National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, “Protecting Foreigners in Japan: Some Proposals,” FOCUS 29 (2002).
624
See, for instance, the list on Refugee Assistance Headquarters, “List of Organizations for Refugees in Japan,”
http://www.rhq.gr.jp/english/list/list-raj.htm.
625
National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, “Protecting Foreigners in Japan.”
626
Tsuda, “Localities and the Struggle for Immigrant Rights,” 24.
627
Ibid, 25.
628
Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners, 121.

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up financial reports and risk government intervention. Many of these groups are not professionallyorganized, but there is a high degree of cooperation expressing itself for example in “cross-organizational taskforces” on specific issues. NGOs are often politically connected to left-wing and liberalpolitical parties or individual legislators that they can use as a channel for advocacy. They also interact
with agencies and ministries and organize a yearly event with representatives of ministries, the socalled shochō kōshō (所長交渉), to lobby for their concerns. Moreover they use the media and otherpublic forms of expression for instance through the Foreigner Discrimination Watch Network (外国人差別ウォッチ・ネットワーク) in order to raise public awareness.629 As lobbying through politicalavenues has often proven unsuccessful, NGOs also use courts to demand the clarification of foreigners’ rights or the penalization of public officials in case they did not act in accordance with the law.630
The general effectiveness of these groups in lobbying for change or assisting illegal immigrants canbe questioned as many illegals do not even know about the existence of these groups according to
Shipper.631 Furthermore, according to Reimann, the political environment in Japan is not favorable
for NGOs since they face difficult legal procedures while only benefiting from limited tax deductions
and operating on a restrictive budget until the ratification of the 1998 Nonprofit Organization Law.632
They have also not been well-integrated into the political decision-making process unlike in Germany
where NGOs such as Pro Asyl have had extensive connections to parties or ministries and coordinate
the Foreigner Councils as quasi-institutionalized fora for the political integration of foreigner interests.633 Due to the lack of influence on a national level, immigrant support groups and NGOs in Japan
try to use their influence at local governments and courts – often successfully, but with only an indirect influence on the national government.

Ryoko Yamamoto, “Migrant-support NGOs and the Challenge to the Discourse on Foreign Criminality in Japan,”Japan Focus, http://japanfocus.org/Ryoko-YAMAMOTO/2521/article.html.
630
Milly, “Looking Outward: International Legal Norms and Foreigner Rights in Japan,” 130.
631
Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners, 122.
632
Kim D. Reimann, The Rise of Japanese NGOs. Activism from above (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2010). Sharpe,“What Does Blood Membership Mean in Political Terms,” 140.
633
Atsushi Yamakoshi, “The Changing Face of NGOs in Japan,” Japan Economic Institute, http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/jpngo-face.html.
629

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

3.2.2 Analyzing immigration reform and inertia from 1980 to today: Elite dissent andpolitical fragmentation
3.2.2.1 The immigration situation in the 1980s and 1990s
The exploitation of the trainee system in accordance with the interests of employers is one exampleof the loopholes within the Japanese ICO, and that defines relatively broad immigration categories
that can be used to (temporarily) immigrate. No such categories existed in Germany where until the
2000s immigration was solely possible through the guest worker system (until 1974), via family reunification, for studies at a German university or vocational school, for humanitarian reasons or invarious exceptional cases (e.g. seasonal employment or employment as an expatriate). Starting fromthe 1980s, three new streams of labor immigrants became relevant in Japan and challenged the paradigm of Japan as a “closed” country. The first stream of immigrants were Southeast Asian womenusing the “entertainer” visa category, immigrating often with the help of specialized recruitment agencies. Their number rose from roughly 10,000 in 1976 to 70,000 in 1988 – comprising approximately
87.5 percent of all distributed working visas for that period.634 The category originated from a postwar entertainment system for US soldiers stationed in Japan. “Entertaining”, however, was mostly an
euphemism for prostitution and related work in the Japanese sex industry, thereby entailing an increase in human trafficking.635 Women were often deceived about the nature of their work and subject
to threats and punishments as means of control.636 However, due to the shadowy nature of the workof these immigrants, no national debate was triggered immediately.637 Secondly, starting from themid-1980s, illegal immigration increased strongly due to immigrants overstaying their tourist visas
and working in manual jobs with significant labor shortages such as the construction industry, manufacturing or retail. According to Morita, their numbers surged up to 280,000 in 1991.638 Thirdly, theadvent of new labor immigration to Japan in the 1980s coincided with the period in which the “internationalization” (国際化) of Japan in terms of opening up itself for foreign investments, tourism,

634

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 93.
Shipper, Fighting for Foreigners, 45f.
636
Sally Cameron and Edward Newman, “Trafficking of Filipino Women to Japan: Examining the Experiences and Perspectives of Victims and Government Experts. Executive Summary,” in United Nations Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings, Journal of United Nations University (2003), 8f.
637
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 95.
638
Kiriro Morita and Saskia Sassen, “The New Illegal Immigration in Japan, 1980–1992,” International Migration Review
28, no. 1 (1994): 153–163.
635

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

international education and international ideas was introduced by Prime Minister Nakasone and discussed actively in politics, society and media.639 According to a survey in the mid-1980s, only 8 percent of Japanese people were opposed to this new paradigm 640 that, however, was not designed as ameans to make Japan a more diverse society open for the influx of immigrants.641 Instead, it mostly
related to an ongoing attempt to internationalize the education and research system and make Japan
more attractive for global students by, for instance, pledging to attract 100,000 international students
in Japanese universities and language schools by the year 2000 or initiating the Japan Exchange andTeaching (JET) program in 1987.642 Since these students were allowed to work in part-time jobs for
20 hours per week in order to finance their stay in Japan, many students from countries with a lower
general income level (especially from China) used the opportunity to study in a language school on a
student visa as a pretense to work in Japan.643
3.2.2.2 Immigration reforms from 1982 until today
After labor immigration initially increased without any domestic policy changes, the following three
periods of reform can be distinguished in Japanese immigration policy-making. Unlike in Germany
where a guest worker program allowed for the substantial immigration of low-skilled immigrants
from 1955 to 1974, Japan enacted reforms to incrementally increase the number of low-skilled immigrants in a more subtle way by ignoring the exploitation of the entertainment residence status (until
2004), expanding the trainee system (1990) and allowing for the immigration of ethnically Japanesefrom Latin America (1990). No proactive policies that aimed to incorporate immigrants into the Japanese societies were enacted besides abolishing the controversial practice of fingerprinting (1993–
2000) and eliminating the discriminatory practices towards children of Japanese women married toforeign men in the Nationality Act (1985).
First, in 1982 the ICO was revised to include chapters on the admission of asylum-seekers after
Japan signed the International Covenants on Human Rights in 1979, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1980, and the UN Convention Relating to
the Status of Refugees in 1981. The reform represented a typically “reactive” behavior of the Japanese

639

Morris-Suzuki, Re-inventing Japan, 194.
John Lie, Multiethnic Japan (Cambridge/London: Harvard University Press, 2001), 22.
641
Ibid, 25f.
642
Comparative International Education, “日本の教育 Education in Japan. Internationalization,” Middlebury Institute ofInternational Studies at Montebury, http://sites.miis.edu/japaned/internationalization/.
643
Yasuo Kuwahara, “Migrant Workers in the Post-War History of Japan,” Japan Labor Review 2, no. 4 (2005): 25–47,
37f.
640

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

state that was forced to adapt to the norms of the international arena by increasing the admission of
refugees and improving the access of foreign residents to social services.644 It was also “reactive” tothe sudden influx of boat people from Indochina for which no adequate policies existed. After the
first discussions in the Diet on the UN Convention in 1962, 19 years passed until the convention was
finally ratified showing the cautiousness of the Japanese government in admitting long-term immigrants and the divisions within the government itself, which was split between MOJ and MOFA. 645
The debate was supported by humanitarian voices such as NGOs, but it is questionable to what extent
the Japanese state reacted to their non-institutionalized pressure. Next to smaller changes in the ICO,
the Japanese Diet ratified the chapter “Recognition of Refugee Status and Other Related Matters” inwhich it defines the procedural norms for the recognition of refugees, the rules and procedures fordeportation and the legal provisions for refugees to file an objection against the asylum decision of
the MOJ. The revised order – the “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” (ICARRA) –assigned the main responsibilities for the recognition of refugees to the Immigration Bureau that so
far had primarily focused on immigration control.646 Institutionally, this might have been necessary
in order to convince MOJ from the reform. The MOFA in particular strongly promoted reform inorder to improve Japan’s international image. 647
Accordingly, the implementation of the law was restrictive. By 2009, Japan had accepted 508 refugees out of 7,297 applications (acceptance rate of 6.96 percent).648 The system was not directed towards the protection of refugees, but was rather in line with the status of Japanese immigration law
as a border control law. Objections to the decision of MOJ mostly failed in front of the courts.649 This
first major revision of the ICO went along with only limited opposition in the Japanese Diet in which
the one-sided allocation of decision-making power to the Immigration Bureau was not substantiallycriticized.650 Similarly, questions regarding the rights of refugees were almost exclusively focused on
the situation of Indo-Chinese boat people without taking a more long-term view.651

Atsushi Kondo, “Development of Immigration Policy in Japan,” Asia and Pacfic Migration Journal 11, no. 4 (2002):
415–436, 416f.
645
Arakaki, Refugee Law and Practice in Japan, 17. Haig, “Japanese immigration policy.”646
難民の地位に関する条約等への加入に伴う出入国管理令その他関係法律の整備に関する法律, 昭和 5 法律 ８６巻.
647
Haig, “Japanese immigration policy,” 223.
648
Sophie Knight, “Asylum-seekers find little refuge in Japan,” Japan Today, 26th July 2009, http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/asylum-seekers-find-little-refuge-in-japan.
649
Honma, "Japan's Refugee Policy,” 24.
650
Arakaki, Refugee Law and Practice in Japan, 23.
651
Ibid, 26.
644

136

Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

In the same year, the Nationality Act was also revised in order to conform Japanese citizenshipregulations to international standards of prohibiting discrimination against women and preventing
cases of statelessness. The change was a predictable reaction to international pressure and domestic
protests from Japanese women groups. Most importantly, the act changed the patrilinear system ofnationality in which only children of married Japanese men could be granted the Japanese citizenship.
In Germany, similar discriminatory provisions were ruled unconstitutional in 1974. As a consequenceand in order to prevent the proliferation of unwanted dual nationality cases, the law introduced thenecessity for affected children to choose their nationality within two years after they turned twenty(art. 14), mirroring the principle that was later introduced in Germany’s 1999 Citizenship Act.652 The
naturalization system, however, remained completely unchanged. Similar as to Germany, there remained many legal loopholes to acquire dual nationality, for instance when the foreign state did notallow for the renunciation of citizenship.653
Second, in 1990 the ICARRA was once again reformed substantially. Two tables were added inwhich 28 different residence statuses were listed including the corresponding authorized activities.
These strengthened the generous immigration and residence possibilities for skilled labor for a maximum period of three years by expanding the occupational categories (e.g. investment banking, accounting etc.).654 In order to fight illegal immigration, employers could be fined for up to 3 million
yen or be imprisoned if they hired illegal aliens (art. 73-2). Moreover, more possibilities were added
for unqualified immigrants to come to Japan. As the most revolutionary measure, the law allowed forthe immigration of Latin American emigrants with Japanese descent as “long-term residents” (Appended Table II, specified in MOJ Notice No. 132, 1990) without any restrictions to work.655 Although the residence period was limited to three years for the immigrant worker and one year for
spouses and children, the renewal of the visa was not restricted.656 The immigration of first- and second-generation nikkeijin low-skilled labor immigrants had already started in the 1980s, but was officially legalized in 1990. Secondly, between 1991 and 1993 regulations were changed to extend andWilliam Wetherall, “1985 Nationality Law revisions. Ambilineality, acknowledgement, and choice,” Yosha Research,
1st April 2006.
653
Wetherall, “Nationality in Japan,” 42.
654
李政宏 「日本の外国人入国政策の変遷と外国人入国の推移」,『早稲田大学大学院教育学研究科紀要』 ２０巻 ２
０１２年: 189–199, 190f.
655
Koji Sasaki, “Between Emigration and Immigration: Japanese Emigrants to Brazil and Their Descendants in Japan,”in Transnational Migration in East Asia, Senri Ethnological Reports 77, ed. Shinji Yamashita et al. (Osaka: National
Museum of Ethnology, 2008): 53–66, 53.
656
Keiko Yamanaka, “’I will go home, but when?:' Labor migration and circular diaspora formation by Japanese Brazilians in Japan,” in Japan and Global Migration. Foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society, ed. Mike
Douglass and Glenda S. Roberts (London/New York: Routledge, 2000): 120–149, 129.
652

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

expand the trainee system to small-sized companies.657 Moreover, the Japan International Training
Cooperation Organization (JITCO) was founded to institutionalize the recruitment of trainees. 658
As a consequence of the law, the nikkeijin population increased to 148,000 residents in 1992 and to
312,900 residents in 2006,659 with an increasing tendency of permanent settlement at the end of the
1990s.660 The number of students remained at a level of roughly 60,000 in the 1990s, but increased
to above 100,000 by 2002.661 Skilled labor grew from 60,000 residents in 1992 to almost 200,000 by
2008.662 The law was not immediately successful in stopping the trend of illegal immigration as thenumber of illegal immigrants per year further increased from 22,629 in 1989 to 35,903 in 1991, showing the ineffectiveness of the sanctioning regime. 663 While the law itself did not address any integrative measures, an act in 1991 granted all pre-1945 Korean and Taiwanese immigrants in Japan who
had lost their citizenship the “special residence status.”664 Besides these limited measures to improve
the legal status of old-comer immigrants, their human and civil rights remained mostly undebated andprogress was visible by removing restrictive or discriminatory practices such as the controversial
fingerprinting measures.665
Structurally, the revised ICARRA allowed for the immigration of low-skilled immigrants to matchthe labor demand in specific industries. Nikkeijin workers were often employed as temporary contract
workers and thus contributed to a more flexible Japanese labor market.666 In Germany, a similar immigration possibility in accordance with ethnic characteristics of immigrants was instituted after
WWII for Eastern European repatriates of German descent that lived in the Soviet Union. The timing,
however, shows that the reasons to allow for this immigration stream were primarily a part of Germany’s post-war policies to process those emigrants that fled Germany before or during WWII. Similar to Japan, most of the Aussiedler worked in low-skilled occupations and were often unfamiliar
with Germany’s culture or language. Nikkeijin immigrants were nominally of Japanese descent, but
their different socialization in South American countries made an immediate assimilation into Japanese society unrealistic. As the book by Roth illustrates, nikkeijin were clearly seen as foreigners inFocus Migration, “Japan,” Länderprofil 24 (2012), 3.
Kuwahara, “Migrant Workers in the Post-War History of Japan,” 39.
659
Sasaki, “Between Emigration and Immigration: Japanese Emigrants to Brazil and Their Descendants in Japan.”
660
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 164.
661
Ibid, 172.
662
Ibid, 173.
663
Saskia Sassen, “Economic Internationalization: The New Migration in Japan and the United States,” Social Justice 31,
no. 1 (1993): 73–102, “The New 1990 Immigration Law in Japan.”664
Wetherall, “Alien control laws in Japan.”
665
Ibid.
666
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 166.
657
658

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

the Japanese society. 667 In contrast, the treatment of the German government was much more inclusive for Aussiedler who, for instance, automatically received the German citizenship when immigrating into Germany.668 The lack of any integrative measures that would help nikkeijin to receive equal
opportunities in the Japanese society was thus more similar to the neglect of integrating guest workers
who were similarly expected to stay only temporarily. The legal possibilities for nikkeijin labor immigrants ultimately had a similar effect on the Japanese labor market and society as the guest worker
and Aussiedler program had in Germany by matching the labor demand in the industries and unintendedly challenging the paradigm of a homogenous society.
Third, the last period with an intensive reform debate in the early 2000s merely led to incremental
changes in immigration policies – in the same period when Germany ratified a new, comprehensive
Immigration Act. Policies were especially directed towards further restricting the possibilities of illegal immigration and human trafficking, and enabling new targeted immigration possibilities forskilled immigrants in specified industries by means of adding a labor migration chapter to Economic
Partnership Agreements (EPA). Chapters were added on the “Movement of Natural Persons” as particularly the example of the Japan-Philippines EPA demonstrates. Stating that “each party shall set
out […] the specific commitments it undertakes for […] natural persons of the other Party who engage
in supplying services as nurses or certified care workers or related activities […],”669 it opened up the
possibility for the immigration of Filipino nurses and care workers into Japan.
In order to combat human trafficking, an Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee (Task Force) wasestablished at the Cabinet, and adopted a comprehensive National Action Plan to prevent and eliminate human trafficking, as well as to protect its victims in Japan. Amongst other measures, strict
penalties against human trafficking were included into the ICARRA while the government provided
shelter and counseling for affected women.670 Furthermore, applications for entertainer visas were
examined more carefully by the Immigration Bureau,671 so that their number declined from 134,879

667

Joshua Hotaka Roth, Brokered Homeland: Japanese Brazilian Migrants in Japan (Ithaca: Cornell University Press,
2002).
668
Betsy Teresa Brody, Opening the Doors: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Globalization in Japan (New York/Abingdon,
2002), 91.
669
Agreement Between Japan and the Republic of the Philippines for an Economic Partnership, 89.
670
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan’s Actions to Combat Trafficking in Persons. A Prompt and Appropriate Response
from a Humanitarian Perspective, 1f
671
Ibid, 3.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

new entrants in 2004 to 48,250 in 2006.672 Next, the ICARRA was amended to restrict illegal immigration by tightening border control procedures, expanding the means to detect illegal residents andimproving the efficiency of the deportation procedure.673
These legislative measures were supported by heightened awareness of police forces and stricter
controls in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The number of illegal immigrants accordingly
decreased from 222,000 in 2004 to roughly 110,000 in 2009.674 Moreover, as the first integration
concept on the national level, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication published the Proposal for a Program Promoting Multicultural Coexistence, which addressed the necessity to improve
the assistance of foreigners in education, the labor market and social welfare. However, the program
was largely based upon initiatives that local government themselves created and did not substantiallyadd any financial or institutional support.675 Vaguely formulated, it at least showed that a shift fromperceiving foreigners as temporary visitors to equal members of society might be taking place.676
Moreover, since 2000, MOJ began publishing a Basic Plan for Immigration Control, and since 2005
an Immigration Control Report, showing the higher priority of immigration issues.
Until today, the Japanese government has mostly enacted piecemeal revisions of immigration laweven though there was an intense debate in the 2000s. The most recent suggestion by advisers ofPrime Minister Abe involves the idea to increase the number of foreign residents by 200,000 per year,
but Abe has not yet agreed to do so and public opinion is largely negative.677 While there are some
immigration possibilities for unskilled labor, these are generally based upon backdoor channels (trainees, entertainers, students, nikkeijin) next to the relatively open admission of skilled labor. What is
striking is that Japan has not developed any strategy for the integration and long-term settlement offoreigners in its territory.

Yuriko Saito, “The trafficking of Thai women to Japan and countermeasures of the Thai government,” in Human
Security, Transnational Crime and Human Trafficking. Asian and Western perspectives, ed. Shiro Okubo and Louise
Shelley (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2011): 233–252, 223.
673
Chikako Kashiwazaki and Tsuneo Akaha. “Japanese Immigration Policy: Responding to Conflicting Pressures,” Migration Policy Institute, 1st November 2006, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/japanese-immigration-policy-responding-conflicting-pressures.
674
本岡大和 「Democracy from within an Immigration Detention Center: A Hunger Strike by “Illegal” Immigrants inJapan」,『立命館言語文化研究室』 ２３巻 ２０１２年４号: 103–115, 106.
675
Patrick Heinrich, “After Homogeneity: Maintaining Unity in a Linguistically Diversifying Japan,” in Language andCitizenship in Japan, ed. Nanette Gottlieb (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2012): 19–36, 23ff
676
Ibid, 24.
677
Jonathan Soble, “Japan stands by migration controls despite shrinking population,” Financial Times, 2nd June 2014,
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/32788ff0-ea00-11e3-99ed-00144feabdc0.html.
672

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3.2.2.3 The 1990 immigration reform: Repeating Germany’s mistakes?
3.2.2.3.1

Political coalitions in comparison

The first debate in the late 1980s that ended in the ratification of a revised ICARRA in 1990 took
place in the pre-Bubble environment with strong economic growth rates and mounting international
criticism of Japan’s trade surplus by the US. Framed by Prime Minister Nakasone’s concept of “internationalization,” a comprehensive debate took place on the question of opening up Japan’s labormarket for low qualified immigrants.678 A second point of debate which revolved around the questionof which measures should be used to fight illegal immigration, took part mainly within and between
the ministries. Political coalitions formed around the first and more controversial question while there
was a general consensus on the question of skilled labor immigration which was not very significant,usually temporary and targeted in specific sectors. In Germany, as an indicator for the diversificationof opinions and interests and the pluralization of the German party system, even the question of skilledlabor was negotiated between the different parties and interest groups during the debate on the Green
Card initiative and the reform of the Immigration Act. Knowing the unintended effects of the guest
worker program in terms of the permanent settlement of immigrants, unions and especially conservative parties could use their political and institutional influence in order to successfully alter or vetospecific positions that were against their interests.
In Japan, the 1990 reform did not lead to the alignment of interests or changes in interest group
positions. No party besides the JCP took an unambiguous stance on immigration, leaving the formulation of policies mainly to the ministries. This contrasts strongly with the pluralistic party system inGermany where parties became highly politicized and took unique and increasingly diversified
stances on immigration and integration policies.
For the late 1980s, Chiavacci also reveals a very ambiguous picture for employer organizations thanother authors who simply ascribe a pro-immigration position.679 The positions of the main employer
umbrella organizations continued to be fragmented and in case of the keidanren even completely
unarticulated. Keizai dōyūkai only actively promoted facilitations for the immigration of highly qualified immigrants supported by nikkeiren680 in which opinions differed between those who promoted
the use of foreign labor and those who stressed the necessity to utilize all domestic labor potentials,

678

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 107f.
See e.g. Chan, Another Japan is Possible: New Social Movements and Global Citizenship Education, 89.
680
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 119.
679

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

demonstrating the fragmentation even within large employer associations.681 On the other hand, organizations representing SMEs were again strongly in favor of a liberal immigration reform and actively lobbied politicians and ministries in line with high labor scarcities in the construction industry.682
Among the union umbrella organizations, sōhyō and dōmei also continued to oppose low-skilledlabor migration and held a similar position as the three main employer associations, emphasizing theirconsent to skilled labor migration, and in case of the dōmei promoting prioritized non-discrimination
measures for foreigners in Japan above liberalizing immigration. Instead, they suggested increasing
developmental aid to developing countries in order to make labor immigration less necessary.683 As
illegal immigrants often worked together with unionized Japanese workers in the same companies,
some unions defended the human and labor rights of illegals. However, no comprehensive concept of
integration that would demonstrate a more inclusive and multi-cultural perspective of Japanese unions
on immigration was developed.684 In general, their positions coincided with those of the SPJ and the
MHLW.685 Since the 1980s, unions in Germany, on the other hand, developed a multi-cultural viewon immigrant integration including the granting of expansive rights for immigrants and used theirinfluence in the SPD and in the Süssmuth commission to give political weight to their demands. Even
though their position towards increasing immigration was never fully supportive, the negotiation andbargaining processes in the German political arena almost always led to a final consensus and therelationship between unions and employer organizations was based on routine cooperation and thewillingness to find a common position.
Another source of inertia in disregarding the incorporation of immigrants at the national legislative
level was the inactivity and lack of influence of both NGOs and immigrant associations. Due to therestrictive nature of Japanese NGO laws, a large part of NGOs focused on local tasks and services
without being able to fulfill an advocacy function or coordinate with each other at the national level.686
That left only international NGOs such as Amnesty International lobbying for global human rights offoreign workers, while immigrant associations similarly continued to be excluded from national policy-making processes.

681

Wolfgang Herbert, Foreign Workers and Law Enforcement in Japan (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 1996), 70.
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 120.
683
Ibid, 122.
684
Sachi Takaya, “Making irregular migrants insecure in Japan,” in Irregular Migration and Human Security in East Asia,
ed. Jiyoung Song and Alistair D.B. Cook (Abingdon/New York: Routledge): 23–37, 27f.
685
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 122.
686
Yamanaka, “Civil Society and Social Movements for Immigrant Rights in Japan and South Korea,” 630.
682

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Thus, with respect to political coalitions, no significant change took place that could explain the1990 reform. With the exception of SMEs, positions on the liberalization of low-skilled labor immigration were either ambiguous (employer organizations, LDP) or negative (unions, SPJ). Politicalcoalitions were mostly absent in the field of immigrant integration policies, showing the limited interests of the major interest groups to incentivize permanent settlement in Japan. Instead, a generalconsensus existed on maintaining or incrementally improving the status quo of skilled labor immigration. Finally, civil society groups and immigrant associations did not have the capabilities to significantly influence policies at the national level.
3.2.2.3.2

Institutions in comparison

Most negotiations on immigration policy reforms in Japan took place within and between the ministries that established own commissions to make proposals for immigration reform.687 In total, seventeen different ministries and agencies were involved in the debate. 688 This fragmentation is significantly different from the German case, where first the BMAS and later the BMI formulated draft
laws relatively independently and with the support of other ministries and the Cabinet. Different ministerial and regional interests were coordinated at an early stage, e.g. in inter-ministerial working
groups, to find a preliminary consensus. If one ministry were to not recognize this process and act
discretely, such policy proposals usually do not have a high change of ratification – as shown by theexample of the conservative minister Zimmermann has shown who had to resign after his ideas tofurther restrict immigration created inter-ministerial and inter-governmental conflicts.
When it comes to the different positions of the individual ministries and agencies, the differences
between Japan and Germany are actually not that large. In essence, the debate in the late 1980s
evolved as an opposition between MOFA on the one and MOJ and MHLW on the other side. While
the former promoted immigration under the framework of “internationalization” and developmental
aid for developing East Asian countries, the latter insisted on the restrictive status quo, emphasizing
the assumed adverse effects on either public security or domestic labor interests. 689 Explicitly referencing the issues of regulating immigration after the formalization of guest worker programs in postwar Europe, the MHLW even demanded further restrictions and a stronger supervision on employment possibilities for foreigners that should be realized by introducing a permit system for Japaneseemployers under the authority of MHLW itself.690 By doing so, however, it purposefully infringed
687

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 116.
Haig, “Japanese immigration policy,” 229.
689
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 116f.
690
Brody, Opening the Doors, 40.
688

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upon the jurisdiction of MOJ that countered with its own proposals.691 Within this intense inter-ministerial conflict, no common front could be created even among these two ministries with a nominallysimilar position.692 MOFA was supported by the Economic Planning Agency that argued in favor of
liberalized immigration opportunities. Affirming voices also came from the fishery department in the
Ministry of Agriculture while the Ministry of Construction opposed the opening of the construction
sector for foreign workers. METI was internally split and held an ambiguous position. 693 Against thisbureaucratic sectionalism, the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet did not
develop a significant coordinating function.694 This contrasts with the strong position of the Chancellor in Germany who, for instance, pushed forward in 1999 by assisting in the development and political enforcement of the Green Card regulations.
Written under the jurisdiction of MOJ, the first draft law already included almost the same points as
the finalized version, thus clearly demonstrating the weakness of political coalitions and ministerial
competitors in influencing immigration reform. As the law would grant the permanent right of residence to zainichi Korean and Taiwanese, the MOJ thought of providing the same rights for secondand third-generation emigrants with Japanese descent, though at the beginning mostly targeting theneglected war orphans in former Manchuria rather than Latin Americans.695 In addition, it was ameasure to give amnesty to the significant number of nikkeijin who had already worked in Japanillegally, which has been requested by the Brazilian government.696
The provision was created under the influence of MOFA civil servants who held positions within
MOJ’s immigration department697 and was thus, unlike most authors in the English literature state,originally not intended as a measure targeting the labor market scarcities, but as a foreign policy
measure. It is thus not unlike the admission of Aussiedler in Germany after the end of WWII although
the Japanese program was introduced to a much later point. The consequences of WWII and the more
systematic persecution of nearly 13 million ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union explain why the law
was instituted much earlier. The program was also on a much larger scale with 2.7 million repatriates

691

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 126
Haig, “Japanese immigration policy,” 228.
693
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 118.
694
Wayne A. Cornelius, “Japan: The illusion of immigration control,” in Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004), ed. Wayne A. Cornelius, Philip L. Martin and James F. Hollifield: 375–410,
386.
695
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 128ff.
696
Jeannette Behaghel and Gabriele Vogt, “Arbeitsmigration nach Japan: Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen, politischer
Diskurs,” in Arbeitswelten in Japan, Japanstudien 18, ed. René Haak (Munich: Iudicium, 2006): 111–148, 129f.
697
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 130f.
692

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arriving between 1988 and 1998.698 Only at a later stage was the idea of admitting nikkeijin as lowskilled labor indeed able to achieve an internal consensus within the LDP, satisfying both the proponents of the admission of low-skilled labor and the promoters of ethnic homogeneity and public
safety.699 Nikkeijins were admitted under the presupposition of their temporary stay and their smooth
integration into the Japanese society. 700 Accordingly, even though the experience of Germany could
have been a lesson, no debate on integration policies took place leading to similar problems of integrating nikkeijin Japanese into the labor market, education and housing system. The low number andgrowth rate of naturalization is another sign for the lack of willingness of foreign residents to assimilate fully into Japanese society and the inability of the government to incentivize to do so. 701
This dominance of MOJ was based upon the lack of resistance from other actors besides the MHLW
and the fragmented structure of interest group coalitions. The example of the successful expansion of
the trainee program from 1991 to 1993 against the view of MOJ instead shows that the MHLW canindeed win the LDP, interest groups and other ministries over, depending on the specific issue. Incase of the trainee system proposal, associations of SMEs exerted significant pressure on the government to allow for more foreign labor. The MHLW supported this cause with a slightly modified proposal, not least to receive more ministerial responsibilities. It was again opposed by the MOJ which,however, found itself in the same isolated position as the MHLW with its proposals for the initiationof a work permit system.702 At a later point, representatives of private businesses – especially thekeidanren and business representatives within the Third Exceptional Commission for the Promotionof Administration Reforms – even won political support to realize the controversial idea of granting
permission for trainees to become employed for a period of three years.703 This measure represented
another backdoor for employers to accept low-skilled foreign labor and was prone to exploitation
since the capacities of especially small firms to provide training were evidently low and trainees wereused as normal workers.704

Debora Hinderliter Ortloff, “Blood Relatives: Language, Immigration, and Education of Ethnic Returnees in Germany
and Japan,” Comparative Education Review 51, no. 4 (2007): 446–470, 451.
699
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 132.
700
Sharpe, Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration, 269.
701
Sharpe, “What Does Blood Membership Mean in Political Terms?” 127f.
702
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 140f.
703
Ibid, 142ff.
704
Kuwahara, “Migrant Workers in the Post-War History of Japan,” 38f.
698

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

In comparison with Germany, it becomes apparent that the issue of creating an intra-party consensus
within the factionalized LDP, the lack of strong political coalitions between interest groups and between interest groups and parties, and the fragmented institutional structure of immigration policy
formulation explain why change has only been limited in the early 1990s. There has been a striking
lack of strategy and vision in immigration policies due to the lack of coordination between the different and often diverging ministerial and societal interests. In the German case, these interests were
proactively included in participatory institutional structures and commissions while usually no fragmentation took place on the administrative level. Instead, the fragmentation of interests could bechannelized in the pluralistic German party system, that explains most outcomes in immigration policies since the 1970. Successful policy reforms were dependent on achieving an inter-party consensus
between the four main parties and interest groups tried to find a preliminary societal consensus eventhough the BMI had the final say and was influenced by external conditions such as the terrorist threat
after 9/11. The political power of unions, employer organizations, immigrant associations and NGOs
was additionally increased by their interpersonal connections and networks with political parties. In
the end, the elite consensus between different societal groups and the inter-governmental consensus
were both opposed by a partially negative public opinion and the strong institutional role of conservative state governments in limiting the change of the status quo. In Japan, on the other hand, there has
been neither an elite nor an inter-governmental nor an intra-party consensus on immigration in thelate 1980s. As a result, the MOJ proposals could be largely realized without any significant changes,
with the only exception of the MHLW-led concept to expand the trainee system. At the same time,the incidental proposal of the nikkeijin program could at least create a party consensus within the LDP
and triggered an immigration reform without the necessity to consider integration policies as promoted by NGOs and some local governments.
3.2.2.4 The immigration reforms during the 2000s
3.2.2.4.1

Political coalitions in comparison

In the following years, the number of immigrants increased further up to 2.3 million estimated residents (including illegal immigrants) even though Japan entered the post-bubble phase with low economic growth rates.705 Even though there has been no significant immigration reform until today, thedebate on immigration policies has continued and selective initiatives have been undertaken in order705

Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 156.

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

to counteract the negative effects of an ageing and childless Japanese society. 706 Demographic arguments have been used extensively in Germany during the immigration reform period from 1999 to
2004 as well, although the debate has been originally triggered by labor scarcities in the IT sector. In
Japan, these arguments were opposed by the Japanese public and political elite, citing an increasing
association of foreigners (especially illegal immigrants) with crime.
Similar to Germany, the discourse was dominated by economic interest groups and related ministries.
The Industry and Trade Chamber of Japan was again one of the strongest promoters of immigration
reform and demanded to actively recruit labor immigrants in sectors with labor scarcities such as
nursing or agriculture by concluding bilateral agreements with other countries. This time, however,
the associations of large corporations, especially nikkeiren and keidanren, formulated new positions
as well, possibly in order to stay competitive in the post-bubble recessionary environment. Nikkeiren
promoted a proactive immigration policy and the acceptance of foreigners as long-term immigrants
in 2000.707 Nippon Keidanren (after the fusion of nikkeiren and keidanren in 2002) published thereport “Japan 2025. Envisioning A Vibrant, Attractive Nation in the Twenty-First Century” in which
it defined the future of Japan as a more diverse country that “welcome[s] all contributions from all
people, including non-Japanese who come to live in this country.” 708 Among its recommendations toachieve this objective, it mentions the necessity to improve the work and research climate for skilled
foreign labor, open up the labor market for non-skilled immigrants, develop policies to integrate foreigners into the Japanese society, create bilateral agreements to import labor and coordinate policies
to ensure that no negative effects of these measures will affect the Japanese labor market. In general,immigration should receive a much higher priority at the political and corporate level, which would
necessitate the establishment of a comprehensive and coordinated national framework. With respect
to the nikkeijin immigration, the keidanren promoted a non-discriminatory approach that would restrict their rights to come to Japan without an official employment status or sufficient financial means.
For the first time, integration measures were suggested in order to create equal opportunities for foreigners and Japanese in childhood education, housing, the social security system, and political participation in municipal elections. On the other hand, keidanren also affirmed the societal discourseon crime committed by foreigners and urged for “strong measures to ensure public security.” 709

706

Ibid, 199.
Ibid, 223.
708
Nippon Keidanren, Japan 2025. Envisioning A Vibrant, Attractive Nation in the Twenty-First Century, 3.
709
Nippon Keidanren, “Interim Recommendations on Accepting Non-Japanese Workers. Bring Dynamism of Diversity
in Japan by Opening Doors to Transnational Human Resources,” 14th November 2003.
707

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

Unions and the main umbrella organization rengō, however, did not change their position significantly. Similar to German unions, they stressed the prioritization of using the domestic potential ofwomen, the elderly and unskilled Japanese nationals before the acceptance of foreign workers should
be debated. Rengō was also highly critical of the trainee scheme and openly requested the abolishmentof the current system and its replacement with a new scheme. It developed a more proactive positionon the integration of foreigners, supporting the voting right in municipal elections for foreign residents who have stayed at least five years in Japan, the right of foreigners to become local civil servants,
the lowering of requirements for naturalization, improvements for cultural exchange between foreigners and Japanese and the abolishment of any forms of discrimination in the housing market, education
system and social security system. Moreover, it formulated a clear opinion in favor of protecting thehuman rights of refugees and improving the admission procedures.710 With the only difference toGerman unions that rengō did not become a lobby for illegal immigrants, but even demanded theirstrict deportation from Japan,711 its policy positions were very similar to that of German unions in the
2000s. On the other hand, the structure of enterprise unions, the economic recession, the shrinking
unionization rate and the exclusion of unions from the Deregulation Committee of Prime Minister
Koizumi significantly weakened their institutional status.712
The Special Non-profit Activities Act was introduced in 1998 in order to facilitate the acquisitionof a legal status and expand the range of activities NGOs can officially engage in. But as the government supervision and the granting of tax deductions continued to be tight, the structure of NGOs
remained largely localized and without significant advocacy power. 713 For instance, they were notsuccessful in changing the predominant association of foreigners with an increase in the crime rate.714
As a more powerful tool of lobbying, the National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers wasfounded in 1997 and has now become one of the most relevant organizations for national advocacy. 715
In its proposals in the 2000s, there was a strong focus on human rights issues, especially humantrafficking, discrimination in the work space, labor rights (especially of “entertainers”), women’s

Rengō, “RENGO’s View on the Issue of Foreign Workers.” https://web.archive.org/web/20061008091440/http://www.jtuc-rengo.org/specialtopics/print/pr_foreignworkers03.html.
711
Ibid.
712
Hiroaki Richard Watanabe, Labour Market Deregulation in Japan and Italy: Worker protection under neoliberal globalisation (Abingdon/New York: Routledge, 2014), 126. Fujimara, “Japan's Labor Unions,” 7.
713
Yamanaka, “Civil Society and Social Movements for Immigrant Rights in Japan and South Korea,” 630.
714
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 207.
715
Yamanaka, “Civil Society and Social Movements for Immigrant Rights in Japan and South Korea,” 635.
710

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

rights and domestic violence.716 Until today, the network has become an important advisory and advocacy group, but its actual influence on national policy was limited due to its financial constraints
and lack of institutional integration.717 Another national NGO network – the Japan Network Against
Trafficking in Persons (人身売買禁止ネットワーク) – was founded in 2003 in order to criticize theexploitation of “entertainers.” Together with international pressure – especially from the US – theJapanese government finally agreed upon a more restrictive issuing of entertainer visas.718
On a local scale, NGOs were generally more successful, for instance in pressuring the Immigration
Bureau to distribute special residence permits to a number of illegal immigrants.719 With respect toimmigrant associations, zainichi Korean and Chinese organizations continued to engage in lobbying
activities, but this did not apply to nikkeijin who founded almost exclusively socio-cultural organizations (e.g. soccer clubs). The main organization of nikkeijin, the kaigai nikkeijin kyōkai (海外日系人協会) is funded directly by JICA, municipalities and corporations, and has a solely educational andcultural mission, organizing exchange, study and Japanese language programs, amongst other services.720 Other groups focus on supporting remittances, recruitment, consultation or the provision ofaccess to Latin American products and services. Accordingly, discussions on strengthening the civic
and human rights of nikkeijin in Japan have been limited, especially in the national arena.721 The
electoral system reform in 1994 improved the political representation of zainichi Koreans and Taiwanese due to the better possibilities to be elected by list-wise election based on the proportional
representation mechanism.722 However, it did not significantly improve the representation of nikkeijin
who are still politically passive corresponding to the lack of advocacy organizations. 723
Thus, among political coalitions, only the employer organizations of large corporations substantiallychanged their positions and engaged in proactive advocacy for a liberalized immigration regime andheightened integration efforts. The rengō also demanded improved integration measures, but did not

National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, “Protecting Foreigners in Japan.”
Yamanaka, “Civil Society and Social Movements for Immigrant Rights in Japan and South Korea,” 635. Gabriele
Vogt, “Facing the Challenge of Immigration? The State, Civil Society and Structures of Interdependence,” German Institute for Japanese Studies Working Paper 5 (2006), 34.
718
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 255f.
719
Ibid, 218.
720
The Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad, http://www.jadesas.or.jp/en/. Sharpe, “What Does Blood Membership
Mean in Political Terms?” 118.
721
Ibid. Takeyuki Tsuda, Strangers in the Ethnic Homeland: Japanese Brazilian Return Migration in Transnational Perspective (New York/Chichester: Columbia University Press, 2003), 311.
722
Sharpe, “What Does Blood Membership Mean in Political Terms?” 130f.
723
Ibid, 138.
716
717

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

change its restrictive position on immigration while NGOs continued to be marginal in the policy
formulation process despite the NGO law reform in 1998.
3.2.2.4.2

Institutions in comparison

Significant institutional changes that modified the Japanese political system, however, took place inthe 1990s and 2000s. First of all, the electoral system was changed in 1994 from a Single Non-Transferable Vote system with multi-member districts to a parallel proportional representation system withsingle-member districts. The change that made the system quite similar to the German one had theintention of shifting from inter-party to inter-candidate competition and reduce the incentives forpork-barrel spending. It also gave more parties the chance to secure seats in the Diet.724 Second, asignificant administrative reform took place in 2001 that strengthened the Cabinet, increased the possibilities for the Prime Minister to make own policy initiatives and established the Cabinet Office toassist the Cabinet.725 The number of non-bureaucratic, political executives within the ministries wasraised as well.726 Essentially, the reforms gave politicians more possibilities to design their own policies instead of routinely leaving this function to the ministries, whose number was reduced from 23
to 13.727 The Cabinet Secretariat was elevated to a key executive actor that takes a strong coordinating
function between the ministries. 728 Third, this administrative change was supported by the strong
leadership of Prime Minister Koizumi who created political decision-making councils such as the
Deregulation Committee and the Council on Economic and Financial Policy. The latter, for example,
included only the Prime Minister, the governor of the Bank of Japan, five Cabinet members, and four
private sector experts as members.729 Fourth, the DPJ was founded in 1996 as the largest competitorof the LDP and assumed political leadership from 2009 to 2012 after running on a broad reform
agenda. However, it ruled under unstable political circumstances and with rather disappointing outcomes.730

Ko Maeda, “Has the Electoral System Reform Made Japanese Elections Party-Centered?” Presentation at the Stanford
Conference on Electoral and Legislative Politics in Japan, June 2007, 3.
725
Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet, “Central Governmental Reform of Japan: Establishing a System with More
Effective Political Leadership,” http://japan.kantei.go.jp/central_government/frame.html.
726
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 189.
727
Ibid, 186.
728
Tomohito Shinoda, “Japan's Cabinet Secretariat and Its Emergence as Core Executive,” Asian Survey 45, no. 5 (2005):
800–821.
729
Tomohito Shinoda, Contemporary Japanese Politics: Institutional Changes and Power Shifts (New York/Chichester:
Columbia University Press, 2013), 84.
730
Masami Ito, “DPJ’s promise to change the system failed,” The Japan Times, 1st December 2010, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/12/01/national/dpjs-promise-to-change-the-system-failed/.
724

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

The Basic Plan for Immigration Control in 2000 encapsulated the position of MOJ, stating that “itwould not be realistic to suddenly introduce a large number of foreign labor.”731 The focus on domestic security, public order and the situation of illegal immigrants continued to be of major importancein the next two plans as well, although the most recent plan in 2010 admitted that the Japanese government “intends to actively promote the acceptance of foreigners.” 732 Among all the ministerial actors, MOJ, the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) that replaced the MHLW, rengō and the National
Policy Agency formed a strong coalition opposing the liberalization of immigration and proposing
counter-measures to fight illegal immigration. The proponents of reform included METI, MOFA andeconomic interest groups although the first two were not consistently proactive.733 The view of theformer coalition was supported by Koizumi who formed the Cabinet Conference on Policy Countermeasures to sharply reduce the number of illegal immigrants.734
The debate on liberalizing immigration policies was triggered and perpetuated by political actors insmall commissions, councils and project teams. First proposals came from the Economic Strategy
Council that was created in 1998 as an advisory council of the Prime Minister. Moreover, an advisorygroup of the MOSA was formed that spoke in favor of skilled immigration.735 In 2000, another commission, the Advisory Commission for the Objectives of Japan in the 21 st Century (21 世紀日本の構想懇談会) promoted to increase the number of skilled immigrants and even the creation of a more
multi-ethnic Japanese society736 which was criticized strongly by conservative voices. 737
As a consequence of the administrative reforms, the debate shifted even stronger from the ministries
to councils under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet or individual politicians.738 The
aspired improvements in coordinating policy positions between ministries was less successful: an
inter-ministerial cooperation council was created to discuss immigration reform, but no consensus
could be found. However, small groups within the ministries that were often led by politicians werein the vanguard of formulating bold proposals even when they contradicted official positions. In effect,

731

Ministry of Justice, Basic Plan for Immigration Control, March 2000, 2nd edition, http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/bpic2nd-01.html#pageBody.
732
Ministry of Justice, Basic Plan for Immigration Control, March 2010, 4th edition, 5.
733
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 200.
734
Milly, New Policies for New Residents, 73.
735
Yukiko Katsumata, “The impact of population decline and population ageing in Japan from the perspectives of social
and labour policy,” Population Bulletin of the United Nations 44/45 (2002): 208–227, 212.
736
「２１世紀日本の構想」懇談会からのお知らせ, http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/21century/houkokusyo/0120yousi.html. Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 222.
737
See for instance 麻生有朋「革命か沈没か」東京.文芸社、２００８, 68.
738
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 231.

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proposals and initiatives became highly dependent on the opinions of individual politicians in executive positions and thus supported the tendency of inter-ministerial and intra-ministerial fragmentation.739
In 2001, a project group within METI contributed to the debate by proposing a genuine guest worker
program for low qualified foreign workers.740 In 2006, another project group within the conservative
MOJ under the Vice Minister and LDP politician Tarō Kōno designed an immigration program toincrease “medium-qualified” labor immigration and included the possibility of permanent settlement
and family reunification.741 On the other hand, Kōno also continued to reject low-skilled immigrationand intended to introduce mandatory language tests for nikkeijin immigrants as well as stricter penalties for illegal immigrants.742 This line was followed through by the Minister of Justice Nagase in2007 who actively promoted the initiation of a guest worker program for low-skilled labor migrants– again against the opinion of most MOJ bureaucrats. However, due to a political scandal, Hatoyama
replaced Nagase and continued the traditionally restrictive immigration policies of the MOJ – thus
showing the high volatility of policy proposals.743 Other sometimes far-reaching proposals came fromthe Special Committee on Foreign Workers in the LDP in 2006, two different competing immigrationrelated LDP councils under Nakagawa and Nagase, a committee within the House of Councilors, theCenter for National Strategy under Koizumi, and the Institute for Immigration Policies. This demonstrates the broadness, but also the fragmentation of supportive ideas for immigration reform that were
opposed by more conservative actors.744 Newspapers such as the Asahi Shimbun and various scholars
also contributed to the debate in the 2000s.745 Even politicians of Germany such as Rita Süssmuth or
Otto Schily were invited to participate in scholarly discussions as representatives of a nation that is
not a classical immigration country, but has successfully managed to integrate immigrants into society.746
Within this climate of national debate, immigrant associations, employer organizations, the Solidarity Network with Migrants, and other groups such as the Japan Federation of Bar Associations have

Chiavacci, “Indispensable future workforce or internal security threat? Securing Japan’s future and immigration,” 132.
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 224.
741
Ibid, 232.
742
Vogt, “Facing the Challenge of Immigration?” 22f.
743
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 233ff.
744
Milly, New Policies for New Residents, 76, 79. Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 234ff.
745
Keizo Yamawaki, “Debates on Japanese immigration policy,” http://www.kisc.meiji.ac.jp/~yamawaki/gmj/debates.htm.
746
Behaghel and Vogt, “Arbeitsmigration nach Japan,” 135.
739
740

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been most vocal in promoting change.747 In the party system, the kōmeitō and parts of the LDP also
lobbied for improving the access to social services and introducing more targeted educational policies
for foreign children.748 A network of cities and municipalities hosting a high proportion of immigrants
such as Osaka or Kawasaki joined these efforts and formed the “Council of Cities with High Concentration of Foreign Residents” (外国人集住都市会議) in order to influence the national government,
and exert pressure to receive more national support for immigrant incorporation measures.749 Its number of members increased from 13 cities in 2001 to 28 member cities in 2009. The council was successful in pressuring national ministries to draft a first guideline for integration defined under theconcept of “mutual coexistence” (多文化共生) although it is questionable if this concept has an actual
substance.750 Other incremental measures included an increase in language support for immigrantstudents in Japanese public schools, the development of a “Japanese as a second language” curriculum
and the provision of language classes for 5,000 nikkeijin immigrants among other assistance.751
Although the volume of proposals coming even from more conservative actors shows that a significant part of Japanese elites began to argue in favor of liberalizing immigration policies, this pressurethat was mostly developed in advisory and study groups has not been sufficient to form a general eliteconsensus. As MOJ and MOSA continue to emphasize the security and labor market issues that would
follow from opening up immigration and the LDP remains split, the selected and fragmented voiceof pro-immigration actors has not been substantial enough to cause immigration reform. Unlike Germany, the Japanese government has thus not rejected the assumption that it is a country of no immigration and a major part of its (non-)policies (including the dearth of integration measures) continue
to affirm this paradigm.
Pressure to allow for more low-skilled immigrants in the nursing and care worker sector originallycame from labor-exporting countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand with which Japan intended to conclude bilateral EPAs/FTAs.752 Although the immigration-averse interest groups
and ministries did not change their position and a reform seemed unlikely, Koizumi used his executive

747

Milly, New Policies for New Residents, 72.
Ibid, 79.
749
Yamanaka, “Civil Society and Social Movements for Immigrant Rights in Japan and South Korea,” 636. 外国人集住
都市会議 「外国人労働者の受入れに関する意見書」 ２０１４年２月２８日.
750
北脇保之 「日本の外国人政策：政策に関する概念の検討および国・地方自治体政策の検証」『多言語文化―実践と研究』 １券 ２００８年３号: 5–25, 15.
751
Haig, “Japanese immigration policy,” 232. Kingston, Contemporary Japan, 171.
752
Kuboyama, “The Transformation from Restrictive to Selective Immigration Policy in Emerging National Competition
State,” 15f.
748

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Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

power to enforce immigration possibilities for Indonesian and Filipino care workers under strict certification requirements in order to conclude the EPAs. They were especially promoted by METI and
MOFA against the opposition of MOJ, MHLW and the Japan Nursing Association. 753 Similar to
Schröder in Germany who used his executive power to initiate a selective Green Card program for IT
specialists, Koizumi concluded the labor chapter in the EPAs under the circumstances of a debate on
economic reform and the participation of his own Council for the Promotion of Regulatory Reform(or Deregulation Council) and Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy that did not incorporate any
ministerial representatives.754 Similarly, the relatively small and informal network Initiative 21 inGermany that consisted of representatives of private businesses and politicians could directly communicate with Schröder and was leading in lobbying for a selective labor market opening. Due to thehigh formal requirements for nurses and care workers, however, the actual number of immigrants has
been below expectations (e.g. only 205 of 500 scheduled workers in the year 2008). 755 Moreover, due
to the more restrictive treatment of entertainer visas the total effect on increasing the immigration rateis actually negative, considering the decrease of Filipino immigrants with an entertainer visa from82,741 (2004) to 8,608 (2006).756 Other incremental reform measures comprised the reform of the
trainee system in order to prevent its misuse and exploitation, the reform of the alien registration
system introducing tougher requirements and higher monitoring possibilities of government agencies,
as well as the introduction of a point system exclusively for high-skilled professionals.757
The latest trends in Japan’s immigration policy-making have shown that an institutional window ofopportunity has grown to change immigration policies by using strong executive leadership in orderto overcome the lack of consensus on both the level of ministries and interest groups. The same strategy has been used by Schröder to import labor and stimulate a societal debate in preparation for theformulation of a new and comprehensive immigration law. When it comes to the formulation of new
immigration legislation, however, the ministries will necessarily be involved in the drafting and commenting of legislation, thus the need to produce a societal and ministerial consensus remains. The

Gabriele Vogt, “Care-Giver Migration to Greying Japan,” in Demographic Aspects of Migration, ed. Thomas Salzmann, Barry Edmonston and James Raymer (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2010): 327–348, 340ff.
754
Kuboyama, “The Transformation from Restrictive to Selective Immigration Policy in Emerging National Competition
State,” 13ff.
755
Hisashi Uemura, “Acceptance of Foreign Nurses and Care Workers: A Potential Panacea for Resource Shortage?”
Yomiuri Shimbun, http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/adv/wol/dy/opinion/society_080922.html.
756
Chiavacci, Japans neue Immigrationspolitik, 259.
757
Milly, New Policies for New Residents, 78. Ministry of Justice, Immigration Control Report 2011, 72f.
753

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consensual orientation of interest groups (especially unions), higher foreign pressure and strong executive leadership have produced a guest worker program in the post-war environment of Germany.
Decades later, the German government opened its borders again and introduced a comprehensive
integration concept that re-defined Germany as a country of immigration. This paradigm change
based upon a consensus among societal elites was only limited by the necessity to recognize regionaland conservative interests in Germany’s consensual political system. Japan’s attempts to reform immigration reform have been stuck at the level of societal and ministerial debates, instead, where noconsensus could be established. The substantial involvement of various ministries fragments the debate among different players while in Germany only one ministry dominated the formulation of legislative proposals that remained largely unopposed by other ministries. Even if there was conflict, thedebate centered more around the necessity to reach an agreement between parties rather than between
ministerial interests. There is thus a clear necessity in Japan to centralize immigration policy-making
in one ministry and clearly define its jurisdiction before another debate on immigration can commence.

4. Conclusion: Institutions and political coalitions in ethnic nation-states
When it comes to explaining the differences between German and Japanese immigration policies,
cultural and economic reasons are only one part of the story. While both are important backgroundfactors that influence political decision-making, a closer look at the political process of immigration
policy-making revealed the structure and motives of political and societal actors that interacted witheach other in a given institutional environment. From this perspective, the substance of immigration
reform cannot be derived from an abstract rule, but evolves in the negotiation and bargaining processof political and societal actors that follow their own interests. This paper contributes to the study ofhistorical institutionalism by demonstrating the importance of critical antecedents in defining different trajectories in immigration policies and showing the interactions of political coalitions with institutions in explaining both the forces for change and resistance to change in two “ethnic nation-states”.
Historical forces played an important role as critical antecedents since the very foundations of thenation-states in Germany and Japan. Both countries were traditionally “countries of emigration” intheir long history, but Germany’s earlier experience as a de facto “country of immigration” led to theestablishment of centralized immigration institutions that served as a model of enforcing the seasonalrotation of foreign workers in order to prevent their settlement corresponding to powerful agrarian
interests. After WWII, the historical constraints were clearly stronger in Germany that experienced afull critical juncture of its institutions and was governed under an agenda of reconciling with Europe

155Ethnic nation-states at the crossroads

and closely partnering with the US. The founding of the ECSC symbolizes Germany’s renunciationof full sovereign rights over all aspects of its foreign and defense policy as well as over the immigration movements within the ECSC’s member countries. The guest worker program was also primarily
created as a foreign policy measure and only secondarily due to the estimated labor market and macroeconomic effects. In addition, the historical experiences of Germany with temporary workers from
Poland after the foundation of the nation-state might have served as an example of how labor immigration could be regulated. In Japan, the normalization and reconciliation with other countries took amuch longer time while immigration movements into Japan were limited. Quite the contrary, theJapanese government did not even recognize those immigrants that remained in Japan as a residualof its colonial empire and deprived them of their Japanese citizenship until a first solution for theirresidence status was found after the normalization with South Korea in 1965.
Historical reasons thus partly explain while the baseline between Japan and Germany was different.
They do not explain why Japan has continued to reject the creation of a guest worker program several
decades later or why Germany concentrated on policies that facilitated the long-term settlement of its
immigrant population even though it officially continued to define itself as a “country of no immigration”. In Germany, we can distinguish three different phases of interactions between institutions
and interest groups:(1) Executive dominance and the initiation of the guest worker program (1953–1973): The recruitment program was initiated without the involvement of the parliament, parties or public opinion.
Unions agreed to a temporary program under the condition that no wage discrimination would takeplace clearly underestimating the actual consequences of the scheme. Employer organizations could
convince the Bundesregierung to not enforce the rotation of foreign workers in order to avoid thecosts of constantly training new workers. A significant part of these immigrants thus settled in Germany with their families.
(2) Interest group formation and the consolidation of immigration (1973–1999): After the recruitment program was suspended, the responsibility for immigration policies changed from the BMAS
to the BMI. In spite of the halt, immigrants continued to arrive in Germany due to the legal possibilities of family reunification. Conservative attempts to limit this stream failed because of splits within
the government coalition and between conservative and moderate parts within the CDU. The politicalparadigm of expecting the return of foreigners to their home countries continued to exist until theearly 1980s when monetary incentives were given for the repatriation of foreign workers. Integration

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was similarly only seen as a temporary measure to facilitate the coexistence between foreigners andGermans while leaving the major part of integration measures to the municipalities.
But while the institutional surface remained relatively constant, the political positions of interest
groups and parties on immigration and integration became more pluralistic. Turkish immigration associations became highly active in forming labor groups and campaigned for equal opportunities andrights in the German labor market, education system and society. They received the opportunity toparticipate in municipal politics by forming foreigner councils and were represented by the federal
and state Commissioner(s) for Foreigners. The main union umbrella organizations of unions also
slowly began to transform their positions, recognizing the potential of representing immigrants within
their organizational structures and became an important voice of support for the demands of immigrant associations.758 Churches and NGOs – especially the well-connected Pro Asyl network – represented the interests of refugees against restrictive federal policies. The powerful, tax-sponsored welfare organizations had a vested interest in increasing immigration and improving integrative measuresin order to expand their services.
Until the new Alien Act was ratified in 1990, all parties and ministries agreed on the necessity of
improving the integration of foreigners, thus practically accepting Germany as a country of immigration. But while slow improvements were made with respect to naturalization requirements or family
reunification, policies continued to be piecemeal and ambiguous as a whole. After the Fall of the
Berlin Wall, the party system further differentiated into five parties including the leftist Green party
and the PDS. Under the CDU-led government of Kohl, however, the party and interest group efforts
to legitimate a more multi-cultural society stalled and the CDU/CSU, SPD and FDP agreed upon anew, restrictive asylum policy. Political coalition on immigration and integration were formed along
the following lines: between the SPD and unions; the FDP, parts of the CDU and employers; andbetween the Green party, parts of the SPD and NGOs. Immigrant associations were a somewhat independent force although generally tending towards social-democratic or leftist policies while almost
all parties and welfare organizations founded their own immigrant organizations. Conservative attitudes were represented by the CSU, parts of the CDU and outsider right-wing parties.
(3) Elite consensus and limited paradigm change: With the inauguration of a new social-democratic/Green coalition government, the political circumstances were created to reform immigration

Torben Krings, “Bewegungsfreiheit in einem Ungleichheitsraum: Gewerkschaften und transnationale Arbeitsmobilität
in der erweiterten Europäischen Union,” in Horizontale Europäisierung im Feld der Arbeitsbeziehungen, ed. Susanna
Pernicka (Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2015): 87–110, 93.
758

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and integration policies. Employer organizations led the discussions on the Green Card initiative for
IT specialists with the powerful, public-private Initiative 21 network. The program was establishedwithout a parliamentary debate under the leadership of Chancellor Schröder, who won the tacit agreement of unions after promising the temporariness of the stay of skilled labor and additional investments in the training of German labor. Accordingly, the Green Card initiative stimulated a societal
debate on immigration and led to the formation of the Süssmuth commission in preparation for a newimmigration reform. The final report included proposals for a point system, the liberalized treatmentof asylum cases, and far-reaching integration measures. It was representative for a consensus on immigration and integration policies between the SPD/union coalition, the FDP/CDU/employers coalition, immigrant associations, and the NGOs/SPD/Green party coalition. This elite consensus was opposed only by conservative parts of the CDU/CSU and parts of public opinion.
Ultimately, however, the institutional and federal constraints were strong enough to make the ratification of the law dependent on the position of state CDU branches who could block legislation
within the Bundesrat, supported by an ambiguous public opinion. Therefore, the final version of thelaw by the SPD-led BMI was more restrictive than the original elite consensus would have suggested.
The law was additionally modified in 2004 in order to win the agreement of key CDU-led states eventhough it also recognized some of the demands from the Süssmuth commission. Both government
and CDU representatives later regarded the law as a success for each respective party.759
Under Merkel, integration and the inter-religious dialogue finally became a national priority although the outcomes remain still ambiguous today in a climate of new conservative forces. The recent
re-organization of public opinion in new conservative groups and parties due to the disappearance ofconservative elements within the CDU might influence future government policies to restrict refugee
policies again and promote a more assimilationist view on the coexistence of foreigners and Germans.
In sum, it becomes clear that an elite consensus among all major interest groups has not been sufficient to enforce a paradigm change in immigration and integration policies. Instead, the federal structure of Germany’s political system has encouraged the populist opposition of regional, conservativeinterests with the support of public opinion in order to limit change. A relative consensus, however,has been found on the general necessity to integrate immigrants into the German society after all
attempts to support the repatriation of foreign workers have proven illusionary. What continues to bedebated around parties and public opinion is the question is the goal of integration: Should it lead to759

Müller, Flucht und Asyl in europäischen Migrationsregimen. Metamorphosen, 178.

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the assimilation of foreigners? Or is a multi-cultural coexistence acceptable, too? The various answers
to these questions still splits the German population and the party landscape.
Comparing the development in Germany with that in Japan reveals a different experience of a country with a strong ethnic tradition that faced similar challenges of reconstruction after the war and theadverse consequences of an ageing society several decades later. While the contents of discussing
immigration policies were quite similar in both Germany and Japan, the outcome clearly diverged.
First of all, the structure and institutional embedment of interest groups was not conducive to exertpressure on the Japanese government. Employer organizations were fragmented between associationsof SMEs that were strongly affected from labor scarcities and large corporations that had a sufficientpool of labor. Both organization types have not acted with one voice until the 2000s. Furthermore,
the main umbrella organizations of the enterprise unions that were later unified in the rengō constantly
opposed the admission of low-skilled labor immigrants and only recently formulated general goals
for the integration of immigrants. While their political power was generally limited, the consensual
negotiation style within businesses might have additionally prevented the employer organizations
from taking a proactive stance on immigration as long as the unions’ organization rate was highenough. Korean immigrant associations were strongly oriented towards protecting their identity inJapan and acting as quasi-representative organizations for the South and North Korean governments
rather than advocating the protection of their political or civil rights. Only since the 1980s, the South
Korean mindan began to take a more political voice together with grassroots zainichi organizations.
But even then, their political success on the national level was limited, in accordance with the restrictive rules for NGOs in Japan. Instead, NGOs and immigrant associations mostly worked through thelocal level where they could achieve a better political representation and improved services.
Secondly, political coalitions between interest groups and parties either did not form or were formed
only loosely and relatively late in the mid-1990s. The party that campaigned early for the rights andthe proactive integration of foreigners and mirrored some of the mainstream proposals in Germany
was the JCP – a party from the very outskirts of Japanese politics. Until the foundation of rengō,
unions were split between two different social-democratic parties (JSP/DSP and SDP, respectively)
and found themselves in both the government coalition and in the opposition after the 1996 parliamentary elections. Even though rengō is now loosely associated to the DPJ, the DPJ only recently
articulated a position on immigration supported by the kōmeitō and leftist parties while the LDP remains split between different factions. Coalitions between parties and interest groups have been loose,ad hoc and generally less important than the associations of interest groups to ministries.

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Thirdly, bargaining and negotiating processes have mainly taken place amongst ministries insteadof amongst parties as in Germany. But even under these circumstances, there have been no long-term
coalitions between ministries in order to encourage or prevent immigration reform, but rather a fragmented structure of ministerial interests. The MHLW and MOJ, for instance, which represent a rather
negative perspective on immigration, have competed with each other on proposals for immigration
reform in 1990. Similarly, METI and MOFA have not been consistently involved in the debate. This
disunity left backdoors for low-skilled labor immigration such as the entertainer and trainee visa open
until foreign pressure accumulated to demand reforms and prevent exploitation. The nikkeijin system
was only ex post legitimized as a labor market measure while the original proposal of MOJ wasdrafted due to foreign policy considerations without seriously reflecting on the possibility of longterm settlement. Refugee policies did not even exist until foreign pressure was exerted and they arestill severely restrictive today. Even the administrative reform has not let to an improved consensusfinding between the ministries. Moreover, similar as in Germany every progress in specific areas ofimmigration policies was usually complemented with restrictions in others such as the campaign
against illegal immigrants in Japan or against refugees in Germany.
In the 2000s, similar to Germany, immigration policies were debated extensively amongst different
actors within the ministries, the LDP, universities and interest groups. The proponents for immigration reform found themselves fragmented in different commissions and working groups, but could
not formulate a common position. In Germany, the Süssmuth commission was instead created actively by the BMI to channel the different interests even though the final draft of the law only partly
recognized their opinions. Without the support of the MOJ, the MHLW or a clear majority within the
LDP, the proposals of the highly decentralized commissions in Japan did not find enough resonanceto be considered. Instead, the main immigration program of the 2000s took place within bilateralagreements between Japan and Southeast Asian labor-exporting countries and arose essentially out
of foreign pressure. Institutionally, Japan’s position was outsourced from the ministries to centralizedcommissions under the Prime Minister that essentially ignored the concerns of the ministries in orderto make a decision. Centralized executive decision-making was also a strategy of Schröder to enforce
the Green Card initiative, but a broader societal consensus was necessary to reform legislation.
This lack of an elite consensus in Japan contrasts with Germany where the neo-corporatist inclusionof societal groups in government institutions, the necessity to compromise between the federal andthe state level and between the coalition government itself, the lack of conflict between ministries
with respect to their jurisdiction, and the close formation of political coalitions between interest

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groups and parties prepared a more consensual orientation in immigration and integration policymaking. Local, regional and federal interests were coordinated closely in commissions and throughthe federal structure of the German political system. The limited outcomes in Germany ultimately
arose out of a combination of party competition and federal veto players. In Japan, on the other hand,the fragmentation of interest groups and ministries led to a variety of either reactive (entertainer visa,
trainee system, refugee policy) or foreign policy-related (nikkeijin system, guest worker policies
within EPAs) immigration policies without a proactive vision of immigration or integration. Due tothe fragmentation of interests and the resistance of MOJ, political coalitions in favor of immigration
reform were often only strong enough when immigration received an “international” dimension. This
result is especially striking when we consider that the majority of the Japanese public was neverconsistently opposed to the admission of low-skilled labor immigrants for economic reasons. Skepticism rather arose out of recent concerns related to public security. 760 Even though there are only fewveto players in the Japanese political system under the conditions of LDP dominance, it is this lackof an elite consensus rather than the somewhat ambiguous public opinion that constraints the possibilities of introducing significant reforms. Indeed, this lack of a “national consensus” was mentionedby the government itself as one of the central reasons why reforms could not be introduced. 761
It thus becomes evident that depending on the structure of interest groups and the institutional conditions in ethnic nation-states, policy-making outcomes can diverge even though the economic or
historical pressures seem similar on first sight. The view on the political process in both countries has
shown that ethnic arguments have surely played a role, but also that these played a rather small partin the negotiations amongst the interests of labor, employers, NGOs, immigrants, parties, ministries,
public opinion and individuals that interacted with each other within a historical and institutional
environment. while this view does not allow for the summarization of both countries’ immigration
policies in an abstract concept, it demonstrates the indeterministic and open nature of democratic
policy-making that can change and adapt depending on the relative circumstances of political coalitions and institutions in a specific country. The immigration and integration policies of Germany andJapan show the constraints that each country faces: While Germany could establish a consensus on
the elite level, institutional factors in the ratification phase limited the change. On the other hand,
while Japan did not face any severe institutional constraints due to the dominance of the LDP, thelack of an elite consensus similarly prevented change – but even more substantially.
760
761

Tsuda and Cornelius, “Japan: Government Policy, Immigrant Reality,” 472.
Milly, New Policies for New Residents, 73.

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