Inhalt: Das vorliegende Arbeitspapier stützt sich auf Erkenntnisse aus dem europäischen Forschungsprojekt "POLITIS - Europa aufbauen mit neuen Bürgern" sowie auf eine ausführliche Literaturrecherche, die die Autoren im Sommer 2007 durchgeführt haben. Nach einer kurzen Zusammenfassung zum Stand der Forschung fragen sie zunächst, warum die Förderung der politischen Integration von Migrantinnen und Migranten wünschenswert ist, und skizzieren die generelle Thematik mit Bezug auf die internationale und nationale Diskussion. Sie betonen, dass es vor allem von den Erwartungen und Zielsetzungen abhängt, welche Maßnahmen zur Förderung politischer Integration ergriffen werden. Die Autoren stellen anschließend drei konkrete Maßnahmen zur politischen Integration vor: die erleichterte Einbürgerung, das kommunale Ausländerwahlrecht und die Beteiligung in Ausländer- bzw. Integrationsbeiräten. Abschließend werden einige Schlussfolgerungen gezogen und Empfehlungen für Konsultationsgremien gegeben. (ICI)
Inhalt: "This discussion paper reviews and develops arguments why political participation of immigrants should be promoted and discusses some measures of promotion in the light of these arguments and on the background of experiences in Germany and Europe. POLITIS materials have been used to develop and illustrate part of the arguments. Key ideas: The political integration of immigrants is a declared objective of democratic states, and immigrants are expected to participate in politics and the society. However, the level of participation is currently lower for immigrants than for natives. Lower participation may be caused by the socio-demographic features of the immigrant population (e.g. lack of proficiency in the language of the receiving country, low education, short residence), in the migration situation (activities bound by coping with every-day-life) and in restricted legal rights of immigrants. Are there justifications for a promotion of political participation of immigrants? International and national discussions indicate normative, functional and symbolical reasons for an expansion of participation rights and opportunities. In a normative dimension, democratic legitimacy depends on the fact that all those who are subject to collective decisions for substantial time should be allowed to participate in decision-making. In a functional dimension, political participation of immigrants a flow of information between the policy-making system and new immigrants in both directions, including articulation of problems, consultative search for solutions and feed-back about policies. In a symbolic dimension, immigrants who are visibly active are perceived as a role-model for their communities and contribute to social cohesion. Measures to promote political integration include timely and transparent access to naturalisation, rights to vote and stand for office at the local level, and the formation of consultative bodies. Easier access to naturalization and communal voting rights are measures to improve the normative dimension of political integration. Political activists with immigrant background are approached as mediators between majority and minority groups and usually play such a role, even if they originally did not intend to do so. Double citizenship could support their bridging function. Voting rights for foreign nationals on the local level have not lead to problems in any member states, but rather encouraged political parties to take an interest in immigrants and their concerns. In Germany, several initiatives would favour local voting rights, but it would require a change of the constitution. Consultative bodies are not suitable to substitute for political rights as they have no direct decision-making power. The election of representative bodies encourages this interpretation and may lead to false expectations and frustration on the side of the immigrant activists and their voters. However, consultative bodies are functional for the political system and may increase social cohesion by the appreciations of immigrants' advice." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Europa; Migration; politische Integration; Maßnahme; Handlungsorientierung; Migrationspolitik; EU; Förderung; Einbürgerung; Wahlrecht; Gemeinde; Beratungsgremium; Ausländerbeirat
CEWS Kategorie:Migration und Migrantinnen
Dokumenttyp:Graue Literatur, Bericht