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

RICHARD ALBA is Professor of Sociology at SUNY Albany. His books include Ethnic Identity: The Transformation of White America (1990) and Italian Americans: Into the Twilight of Ethnicity (1985). He has also served as vice-president of the American Sociology Association. - PETER SCHMIDT is Professor in the Institute for Political Science, University of Giessen. He is the author of four books in German. - MARTINA WASMER works at ZUMA (The Center for Survey Research and Methodology), Mannheim.

• Introduction; R.Alba The Ethnic and Demographic Structure of Foreigners and Immigrants in Germany; R.Munz & R.Ulrich On the Economic and Social Situations of Immigrants Living in Germany; S.Bender & W.Seifert Ethnocentrism in Germany: Worldview Connections and Social Contexts; M.Terwey The Others and We: Relationships between Germans and Non-Germans from the Point of View of Foreigners Living in Germany; S.Kuhnel & J.Leibold Measuring Contemporary Prejudice Towards Immigrants in Germany; R.Alba & M.Johnson Anti-Semitism in the Late 1990's; W.Bergmann & R.Erb Foreigners as Second Class Citizens?: Attitudes Toward Equal Civil Rights for Non-Germans; M.Wasmer & A.Koch Authoritarianism and Ethnocentrism in East and West Germany: Does the System Matter?; P.Schmidt & A.Heyder Ethnocentrism and Support for Extreme-Right Parties, 1980-1996; U.Rosar Social Distance and Physical Proximity: Day-to-Day Attitudes and Experience of Foreigners and Germans Living in the Same Residential Areas; F.Boltken Regional Influences on Attitudes Towards Foreigners; J.H.P.Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik

"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