How Berlin’s local politicians of Turkish background perceive their access to party networks and ability to succeed?
How Berlin’s local politicians of Turkish background perceive their access to party networks and ability to succeed?

Author(s): Floris Vermeulen, Ayten Doğan
Subject(s): Politics, Government/Political systems, Migration Studies, Politics and Identity
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Germany; Turkey; Berlin; local politicians; party network access; Turkish background; immigrants; political incorporation;
Summary/Abstract: For immigrants and their offspring, being incorporated into the local political system of a European city is in many respects an uphill battle. Newcomers and their descendants do not feature prominently among Europe’s parliamentarians or city councillors (Bloemraad, 2013; Bloemraad and Schönwälder, 2013). Political parties seem to have difficulty adapting to the new demographics in which people of immigrant background comprise a large percentage of the city population – or in some cases, like that of Amsterdam, even form the majority. The absence of immigrants from political institutions does not seem to be just an innocent reflection of their recent arrival or slow acquisition of citizenship. More likely we feel it reflects the inability of existing political institutions to adapt to a changing demographic situation.

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