Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany: Negotiating Membership and Remaking the Nation

German migration policy now stands at a major crossroad, caught between a fifty-year history of missed opportunities and serious new challenges. Focusing on these new challenges that German policy makers face, the authors, both internationally recognized in this field, use historical argument, theoretical analysis, and empirical evaluation to advance a more nuanced understanding of recent initiatives and the implications of these initiatives. Their approach combines both synthesis and original research in a presentation that is not only accessible to the general educated reader but also addresses the concerns of academic scholars and policy analysts. This important volume offers a comprehensive and critical examination of the history of German migration law and policy from the Federal Republic’s inception in 1949 to the present.

Douglas B. Klusmeyer teaches in the Department of Justice, Law and Society in the School of Public Affairs at American University, Washington, DC. He has both a PhD in modern European history and a JD in law from Stanford University. Previously, he was the codirector of the Carnegie Endowment’s Comparative Citizenship Project and an associate with the Endowment’s International Migration Policy Program. His publications focus on migration, citizenship, political ethics, and international politics.

Demetrios G. Papademetriou is President and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a Washington-based think tank dedicated exclusively to the study of international migration. He is also President of Migration Policy Institute Europe, a nonprofit, independent research institute in Brussels that aims to promote a better understanding of migration trends and effects within Europe; and serves on MPI Europe’s Administrative Council.  He is also the convener of the Transatlantic Council on Migration, which is composed of senior public figures, business leaders, and public intellectuals from Europe, the United States, and Canada. He also convenes and co-directs the Regional Migration Study Group, an MPI and Woodrow Wilson Center-convened initiative that in 2013 will propose new regional and collaborative approaches to migration, competitiveness, and human-capital development for the United States, Mexico and Central America.