The Link between Integration and Political Trust among German Citizens with Migrant Backgrounds.
P2-S32-1
Presented by: Jessica Kuhlmann
While previous studies indicate that immigrants have higher levels of political trust than natives, political trust decreases with time spent in the host country, eventually converging with the trust levels of natives (Adman & Strömblad, 2013). This decrease in trust is often attributed to immigrants integrating into the host society and becoming more similar to natives, suggesting that integration is corrosive to political trust (Michelson, 2003). In this study, I examine immigrant citizens in Germany and investigate the influence of integration on their political trust, arguing that the influence of integration into the host country and its facets, such as economic or social integration, need to be examined more closely. I systematically compare different facets of integration and their influence on political trust. These are economic (e.g., income), cognitive/identificatory (e.g. language proficiency), and social integration (e.g., native partners). To analyze the relationship between integration and political trust among immigrants, I use data on German citizens with Turkish and Soviet backgrounds from the 2017 Immigrant German Election Study, comparing 1st-, 1.5th-, and 2nd-generation immigrants and the influences of integration on their political trust. Overall, my results indicate no corrosive effect of integration on political trust. Instead different facets, particularly cognitive/identificatory integration, are positively associated with political trust for 1st-generation immigrants. Meanwhile, integration appears to have less influence on political trust for other immigrant generations. This implies integration, rather than harming political trust, promotes political trust for 1st-generation immigrants while having less of an association with trust for 1.5th- and 2nd-generation immigrants.
Keywords: Political Trust, Integration, Quantitative Methods