Popular opposition forced German citizenship reform into a weaker compromise

Evidence

The reforms were significant, inasmuch as they accepted the principle of jus soli for the first time. Yet center-right and popular opposition to the Schröder government’s more radical proposals, which included the recognition of dual citizenship, forced the compromise that became law. In the years since, the still lengthy process and cost of naturalization has raised questions as to the new law’s effectiveness in creating new citizens. Moreover, evidence of persistent inequality and long-term unemployment, especially among Germans with a ‘migration background’, suggests that barriers to equal life chances remain between native Germans (primarily western Germans) and Germans with foreign-born parents. — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 209

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Germany adopted birthright citizenship for immigrant children only in 2000 — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 208