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Xenophobia in a Multicultural Society Without Multiculturalism

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Xenophobia in a Multicultural Society Without Multiculturalism Richard Alba, Peter Schmidt, Martina Wasmer, eds.. Germans or Foreigners? Attitudes Toward Ethnic Minorities in Post-Reunification Germany. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. x + 308 pp. $59.95, cloth, ISBN 978-1-4039-6378-9. Reviewed by Daniel Levy Published on H-German (March, 2005) This book is about attitudes of Germans to‐ The book is well organized and the perceptive ward ethnic minorities in post-reunification Ger‐ introduction by the editors presents the political, many. Based on the study of survey materials, the cultural, and economic background against which volume offers detailed analysis and important in‐ majority-minority relations unfold. Germany, like sights into various facets of xenophobia, ethno‐ other countries in Europe, they suggest, "needs centrism, and the continuous obstacles migrants steady immigration to maintain economic face in their quest for full integration. Most of the strength and support a growing population past articles are based on the analysis of the 1996 "All‐ the age of work, but it has not yet created the poli‐ gemeine Bevoelkerungsumfrage der Sozialwis‐ cies and cultural climate that would generate reg‐ senschaften" (General Population Survey of the ular streams of economic immigrants" (p. 4). Con‐ Social Sciences), commonly referred to as ALL‐ trary to some of the rhetoric populist right-wing BUS. Comparable to the "General Social Survey" in and some mainstream parties across Europe are the United States, ALLBUS consists of a series of voicing about alleged clashes of civilization and regularly repeated bi-annual surveys. It frequent‐ identity politics geared toward self-segregation ly contains a special topics module. In 1996, pri‐ rather than inclusion, the editors (and, for that marily in response to widely publicized physical matter, the fndings presented in this volume) attacks against foreigners during the early 1990s, leave little room for doubt that the lack of integra‐ a section about attitudes toward immigrants and tion (primarily remains) a function of ethno-cen‐ ethnic minorities was added. Some of the articles tric cultural assumptions in the host society and complement their analysis with additional data persistent xenophobia among the native majority sets--most notably the Eurobarometer, a survey population. that collects data on a European scale, underscor‐ Preceding the different presentations of the ing the value of comparative data that allows for ALLBUS fndings are two chapters outlining the inferences outside the national container. demographic and socio-economic background (of H-Net Reviews immigrants in Germany). Rainer Muenz and Ralf disproportionately high number of self-employed Ulrich provide a comprehensive picture of the among migrants. "Ethnic and Demographic Structure of Foreigners The remaining chapters focus their attention and Immigrants." Their measurements about the on Germans' attitudes toward foreigners, mi‐ size of Germany's immigrant population are a grants, and diversity in general. They feature an welcome corrective to published fgures by the impressive range of explanations, involving a host state. They include ethnic German re-settlers from of structural and biographic variables. Socio-eco‐ Central and Eastern Europe. Since official data nomic measurements as well as generational, ed‐ about migrants are based on nationality, and giv‐ ucational, and geographical factors explain the en that ethnic Germans are entitled to German cit‐ broad specter of xenophobia. Aribert Heyder and izenship upon arrival, they are usually not count‐ Peter Schmidt explore links between authoritari‐ ed as immigrants. Conversely, until recently long- anism and ethnocentrism in discussing the extent time non-national residents (such as second- and to which different forms of political socialization third-generation Turks born in Germany) fre‐ in the former West and East Germany have affect‐ quently remained "foreign" de jure. Although this ed xenophobic attitudes. In both cases, authoritar‐ state of affairs is gradually changing due to new ianism and ethnocentrism are highly correlated. citizenship regulations, the rate of naturalization The significance of spatio-cultural differences also has remained relatively low. informs the chapter by Ferdinand Boeltken, who As Stefan Bender and Wolfgang Seifert point examines the impact of social distance and physi‐ out, problematic integration should be attributed cal proximity on attitudinal dispositions. He to structural features of the labor market and con‐ shows that actual contact reduces the likelihood comitant socio-economic disadvantages that char‐ of ethnocentric orientations. Applying spatial con‐ acterize the status of immigrant groups. Massive siderations to a regional unit of analysis, Juergen labor migration of so-called Gastarbeiter (a term H. P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik points to a rural-urban di‐ that reveals the ideological preference of the host vide with significantly lesser degrees of ethnocen‐ society envisioning a temporary rather than a trism among urbanites. permanent stay for this population) during the Xenophobia and (to a much lesser degree) 1960s and 1970s resulted in the ethnic segmenta‐ racism usually receive widespread attention tion of the German labor market. Bender and around electoral successes of the far right in Eu‐ Seifert show that foreigners have lower levels of rope, especially Germany. While commendable, education, are placed at the bottom of the occupa‐ this episodic approach is misleading, since it fre‐ tional hierarchy, and are thus more susceptible to quently implies comparisons to interwar fascism unemployment. Overall, these factors have limit‐ or Nazism. The Weimar Republic operates as a ed their occupational mobility rates. This disad‐ dual signifier for memories of a functioning vantage is institutionally reinforced through Ger‐ democratic state and the perils of a dysfunctional many's educational system, which features a dual democracy. By setting such a high threshold, the track of educational and vocational trajectories. episodic comparison undermines good intentions The latter, especially in the context of an increas‐ to reign in racist outburst. The benign electoral ingly credential society, in effect, reinforces a high success of far-right parties and the widespread of‐ rate of class reproduction. As a result, migrants ficial condemnation by mainstream politicians re‐ are more vulnerable than natives to structural ad‐ inforces a sense that the margins (and by associa‐ justments, and their integration remains defi‐ tion xenophobia) are under a tight grip of political cient. Such structural factors also help explain the and state control. This volume largely clarifies 2 H-Net Reviews that the two are not necessarily co-extensive. approaches related to different experiences in the State-sanctioned opposition to right-wing extrem‐ West and the East. While they point to a conflu‐ ism and the widespread persistence of anti-for‐ ence of antisemites among the older (Nazi) gener‐ eigner sentiments are not mutually exclusive. Per‐ ation and broad support among the less-educated, sistent discrepancies between private and official their main fnding is prescient in that it stresses attitudes are hardly limited to the topic of xeno‐ the increasing significance of antisemitism as an phobia. The public-private discrepancy is also ideological complex, rather than merely a social echoed in how the National Socialist past is re‐ reflex. As such, it resonates with a post-9/11 devel‐ membered. Despite ongoing state-sponsored edu‐ opment that seems to fortify affinities between cational and political efforts informed by collec‐ anti-Americanism and antisemitism.[2] The link tive responsibility, atonement, and restitution, of antisemitism and anti-Zionism to anti-capital‐ memories generated in non-official and private ism and anti-Americanism existed in both parts of contexts frequently remain resistant to the official Germany. In the GDR it was mostly a state-spon‐ moral pedagogy. The album of family memories sored affair, whereas in the FRG it was primarily often involves a denial of actual participation in cultivated at the grassroots level on the fringes of the Nazi past.[1] Greater awareness of this situa‐ the left and the right. These developments sup‐ tion is surfacing in recent controversies about the port the argument that a deliberate ideological role of German victimhood, mostly in conjunction choice rather than clear-cut social determinants with the sixtieth anniversary of Allied frebomb‐ help explain the persistence of antisemitism in ings of Dresden and other German cities. unified Germany. Official sanctions say little about To be sure, a relationship between ethnocen‐ the deeper cultural and social sources of anti-for‐ trism, xenophobia, and party preference exists, as eigner sentiments. One of the many merits of this Ulrich Rosar shows in his chapter, "Ethnocentrism volume then is that it neither succumbs to the and Support for Extreme-Right Parties." But even aforementioned episodic approach, nor does it, here, when exploring the entire ALLBUS series for the most part, focus its empirical attention on and thus placing ethnocentrism in historical per‐ the fringes. It thus avoids the misleading conclu‐ spective, Rosar suggests that the link between eth‐ sion that if xenophobia and racism remain politi‐ nocentrism and support for parties on the ex‐ cally inconsequential, their cultural and social im‐ treme Right is somewhat tenuous. Werner pact cannot be lasting either. Bergmann and Rainer Erb's fndings about,"Anti-
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