Germans or Foreigners? Attitudes Toward Ethnic Minorities in Post-Reunification Germany

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Ausländer in the Heimat: Ethnocentrism in Contemporary Germany

   • Richard Alba, Peter Schmidt, Martina Wasmer

   Pages 1-17

3. The Ethnic and Demographic Structure of Foreigners and Immigrants in Germany

   • Rainer Münz, Ralf Ulrich

   Pages 19-43

4. On the Economic and Social Situations of Immigrant Groups in Germany

   • Stefan Bender, Wolfgang Seifert

   Pages 45-67

5. Ethnocentrism in Germany: Worldview Connections and Social Contexts

   • Michael Terwey

   Pages 69-94

6. Foreigners as Second-Class Citizens? Attitudes Toward Equal Civil Rights for Non-Germans

   • Martina Wasmer, Achim Koch

   Pages 95-118

7. Measuring Contemporary Prejudice Toward Immigrants in Germany

   • Richard Alba, Michelle Johnson

   Pages 119-141

8. The Others and We: Relationships Between Germans and Non-Germans from the Point of View of Foreigners Living in Germany

   • Steffen Kühnel, Jürgen Leibold

   Pages 143-162

9. Anti-Semitism in the Late 1990s

   • Werner Bergmann, Rainer Erb

   Pages 163-186

10. Authoritarianism and Ethnocentrism in East and West Germany: Does the System Matter?

    • Aribert Heyder, Peter Schmidt

    Pages 187-209

11. Ethnocentrism and Support for Extreme-Right Parties

    • Ulrich Rosar

    Pages 211-232

12. Social Distance and Physical Proximity: Day-to-Day Attitudes and Experiences of Foreigners and Germans Living in the Same Residential Areas

    • Ferdinand Böltken

    Pages 233-254

13. Regional Influences on Attitudes Toward Foreigners

    • Jürgen H. P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik

    Pages 255-268

14. Back Matter

    Pages 269-308

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This book examines contemporary attitudes towards ethnic minorities in Germany. These minorities include some of immigrant origin, such as Italians, Turks, and asylum seekers, and the principal non-immigrant minority, Jews. While the findings demonstrate that intense prejudice against minorities is not widespread among Germans, many of whom in fact can be considered immigrant- and minority-friendly, a crystallization of attitudes is also evident: that is, attitudes towards immigrants are strongly correlated with anti-Semitism and with other worldview dimensions, such as positioning in the left-right political spectrum. In this sense, the fundamental question of whether immigrants and other minorities should be regarded as fellow citizens or ethnic outsiders remains relevant in the German context.

• authoritarianism
• civil rights
• crystallization
• demography
• German
• Germany
• migrants
• minority
• prejudice

"Alba, Schmidt and Wasmer have assembled an impressive group of

well-informed authors whose contributions provide much-needed insight

and clarification about the situation in which ethnic minorities find

themselves in post-reunification Germany. Combining statistical evidence

with in-depth qualitative analysis, this volume is an excellent example

of how scholarship can be relevant and readable at the same time. This

book is essential reading for academics and students interested in

contemporary Germany and its minorities."

- Stefan Wolff, University of Bath

In this carefully researched and balanced analysis, Richard Alba and his German colleagues present powerful evidence concerning so many of the key issues in the debate about Germany's current attitudes towards diversity. Various chapters provide insight and analysis of

ethnocentrism, civil rights, anti-semitism, authoritarianism, the Far Right, and the legacy of regional divisions. This is a fascinating and authoritative study for anyone wishing to understand the complexity of contemporary Germany and the ethnic dynamics of the new Europe. - John Stone, Boston University

Focussing on immigration demographics and the social and psychological determinants of mass-level German xenophobia, this edited volume gives English-speaking readers unparalleled access to the work of Germany's top scholars of ethnic attitudes. Especially path-breaking are the authors' application of "symbolic racism" theory in the German context and their findings that current German anti-Semitism is linked to anti-Muslim sentiment and that Germany's proportion of immigrants is higher than even the United States'. This book is mandatory reading for all students of contemporary German public opinion, immigration politics, and ethnic relations.

- Joel S. Fetzer

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Pepperdine University, and author, Public Attitudes toward Immigration in the United States, France, and Germany

• University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

  Richard Alba

• Institute for Political Science, Justus Liebig University, Gießen, Germany

  Peter Schmidt

• ALLBUS department of the Center for Survey Research and Methodology (ZUMA), Mannheim, Germany

  Martina Wasmer

STEFAN BENDER Institut fur Arbeitsmarkt, Nurnberg, Germany WERNER BERGMAN Center for Anti-Semitism Research, Technical University, Berlin, Germany FERDINAND BOLTKEN German Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning, Berlin, Germany RAINER ERB Center for Anti-Semitism Research, Technical University, Berlin, Germany ARIBERT HAYDER Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA), Mannheim, Germany JURGEN H.P. HOFFMEYER-ZLOTNIK Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA), Mannheim, Germany MICHELLE JOHNSON State University of New York, Albany, USA ACHIM KOCH Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA), Mannheim, Germany STEFFEN KUHNEL Giessen University, Germany RAINER MUNZ (Humboldt University) ULRICH ROSAR Cologne University, Germany WOLFGANG SEIFERT (Landesregierung Nordrhein-Westfalen) MICHAEL TERWAY Cologne University, Germany RALF ULRICH University of Bamberg, Germany

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