The return of the concept of ‘Deutsche Leitkultur’ following current integration plans of immigrants within Germany

  • María Elósegui Itxaso
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-63(1)-2015pp267-286
Keywords: new German citizenship, criteria of acquisition of nationality in the German Civil Code, German integration plans, deutsche Leitkultur, assimilation, multiculturalism

Abstract

This article presents the legal debate in Germany about the concept of the integration of immigrants and new naturalized Germans. The jurists are divided between those who believe that integration means assimilate into the dominant culture German (deutsche Leitkultur) and who understand integration as respect for constitutional values, following the line of Rudolf Smend, creator of the term. The reform of the German criminal code of 2000 with the new criteria for acquiring German citizenship, new integration plans and the German constitutional model based on an integrated intercultural model and not on an ethnocentric assimilation model. However, the jurisprudence of the German Constitutional Court and administrative courts show the division between judges when faced with tolerance and agreement of the practices of German citizens of Muslim religion. A reference is made to the controversial ruling of the German Constitutional Court in 2003 on wearing the Islamic headscarf in teachers, Ludin case, and the recent ruling of March 13, 2015 on the same subject.

Published online: 13 July 2015

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Published
2015-07-13
How to Cite
Elósegui Itxaso, María. 2015. “The Return of the Concept of ‘Deutsche Leitkultur’ Following Current Integration Plans of Immigrants Within Germany”. Estudios De Deusto 63 (1), 267-86. https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-63(1)-2015pp267-286.
Issue
Vol. 63 No. 1 (2015)
Section
Studies

Last update: 08/02/2022

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