THE WHYS AND WHEREFORES OF THE POLICY OF MULTICULTURALISM IN GERMANY
Филина Н.В.
Студентка, Санкт-Петербургский Государственный Университет
ИСТОКИ И РАЗВИТИЕ ПОЛИТИКИ МУЛЬТИКУЛЬТУРАЛИЗМА В ГЕРМАНИИ
Аннотация
В статье рассматривается происхождение и развитие политики мультикультурализма в целом и в Германии в частности в контексте крупномасштабной иммиграции, обусловленной мировой экономической ситуацией; обращается внимание на расхождения во взглядах на феномен мультикультурализма. В статье анализируется опыт Германии и отмечается возрастающая в политике европейских стран тенденция к поиску новых путей эффективного диалога между иммигрантами и коренным населением принимающей страны.
Ключевые слова: мультикультурализм, иммиграция, интеграция, ассимиляция, этнокультурная специфика.
Filina N.V.
Student, St. Petersburg State University
THE WHYS AND WHEREFORES OF THE POLICY OF MULTICULTURALISM IN GERMANY
Abstract
The article considers the origin and development of the policy of multiculturalism in general and in Germany in particular in the context of a large-scaled immigration caused by the world economic climate, draws attention to the discrepancies in the views on the notion, analyses the German experience and mentions the increasing tendency in the policy of the European countries to find new ways of effective dialogue between the immigrants and the citizens of the host country.
Key words: multiculturalism, immigration, integration, assimilation, ethnocultural specificity.
Multiculturalism is not a novelty. In fact it is known to have existed with varying degrees of activity through the history of the mankind. Nowadays multiculturalism is a tricky issue inseparable from that of large-scaled immigration from developing countries to the highly developed ones.
Discrepancies in views on multiculturalism emphasize its different aspects – political, ideological, social. Multiculturalism is either identified with the ethnic, lingual, religious and life varieties of the society or considered as an administrative-political practice and system of measures for supporting cultural variety; or a kind of doctrine, ideology; or integration and accommodation of one’s cultural values to those of the host society; or the belief and practice of giving equal importance to each of the different cultures in a society [1]. But on the whole, multiculturalism promotes integration which does not imply any assimilation. The active usage of the term “multiculturalism” began in the 60s of the XXth c. in connection to the ethnopolitical and ethnocultural situation in Quebec, a province of Canada. The francophone Quebec’s strive for separation led to the Canadian government’s decision to keep to the policy of multiculturalism. As it stands in Article 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982): This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians [2]. Australia and the USA also rely on the model of multiculturalism.
Speaking of the origins of multiculturalism in Western Europe and, in particular, in Germany, we must point out that throughout their long history West-European states had more or less homogeneous ethnic structure and did not face the necessity of mutual integration of various ethnic groups. The phenomenon of multiculturalism was connected on the whole with the worldwide process of globalization, which has strengthened both interrelation and interdependence of states since the second half of the XXth c.
According to the UN estimates of 2013, Germany ranks third (after the USA and Russia) among the countries with a large immigrant population, with the total number of about 9,8 mln. immigrants living on its territory [3]. Since the considerable number of immigrants are Muslims with their own ethnic identity, German multiculturalism faces problems. Now it seems to have been unobtrusive, rather disintegrating or isolating the immigrants, but not integrating.
The influx of immigrants to Germany reached its peak in the 60-70s of the XXth c. It was labour immigration for it gave the country a good supply of cheap, unskilled labour, the so-called “Gastarbeiters”. The immigration process was initiated by the government of the FRG when it signed the agreements with the governments of such countries as Italy, Spain, Greece, Republic of Yugoslavia and Turkey. After the energy crisis of 1973, which lowered the economic efficiency of Germany, the government of the FRG stopped hiring foreign unskilled workers [4, p. 228]. At that moment the number of immigrants of the Turkish origin in Germany reached 910 500 people [5]. According to the German politician and publicist Thilo Sarrazin, most “Gastarbeiters” returned to their home countries after some years of work in Germany. However, this was not typical of immigrants from Turkey. The largest part of Turkish immigrants decided to stay in Germany, and, moreover, about 900 thousand immigrants from Turkey obtained the right to reunite with their families and invite them to permanent residence in Germany [4, p.230]. Most of them have used this opportunity.
Today the group of immigrants in Germany consists not only of labour immigrants and their families, but also of refugees and asylum-seekers, most of them coming from the rebellious regions of the Middle East and Africa.
German multiculturalism as a policy of integration was adopted at the end of the 90s of the XXth c. From the very beginning, this policy did not put immigrants in the strict frameworks – they were neither obliged nor expected to completely assimilate – and, as a result, they did not strive and did not volunteer to make an inseparable part of the German society, to acquire a good knowledge of the German language, German history and traditions. In other words, the immigrants initially were not stimulated to play an active part in the life of the German society. This situation could not help resulting in disintegration instead of integration of immigrants.
In 2010, Chancellor Angela Merkel recognized the utter failure of German multiculturalism by saying that “the measures taken in order to implement multiculturalism in German society were not sufficient enough” [6]. At present, most of the European states which earlier kept to the policy of multiculturalism are refusing from this method of interrelations with immigrants and are in search of alternative ways of adjusting a dialogue between the immigrants and the power, the immigrants and the native citizens.
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- Sinico S., Kuebler M. Chancellor Merkel says German multiculturalism has ‘utterly failed’ // Deutsche Welle, 17.10.2010 URL: http://www.dw.de/chancellor-merkel-says-german-multiculturalism-has-utterly-failed/a-6118859 (access date: 20.07.2015).