Securitization of Immigration and Multiculturalism: The Case Study of Germany

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the process of securitization of immigration and multiculturalism within the framework of migration, immigration and integration policies focusing on the case of Germany. Using the migration-security nexus as a primary theoretical foundation, I argue that within the policies and legislations related to immigration, German governments ultimately perceive immigration as a threat at the level of state security as well as Germany's national identity. The first government I have selected for my analysis is the cabinet led by Gerhard Schröder (1998 - 2005) who challenged the romanticized perception of the German nation as a "nation of descent" by saying that "Germany is a country of immigration." Secondly, I focus on the chancellorship of Angela Merkel whose approach toward the Syrian asylum seekers in the context of the current migration crisis (9/2015 - 11/2016) has been called "Wilkommenskutlur" (or "Welcome culture"). Nonetheless, by studying the policies related to immigration as well as governments' discourses, I argue that in both cases, immigration and multiculturalism are indeed linked to security issues. Hence, immigrants are perceived as a threat to Germany's national security and its identity