The Relationship between Social Identity and Political Knowledge Among Germans with Immigrant Background.
12
Presented by: Jessica Kuhlmann
Immigrants, on average, have less political knowledge about the host society compared to the majority group. This unequal distribution of political knowledge between societal groups is problematic as it can lead to disadvantages in the political process. However, research on the political knowledge of immigrants is lacking, with migration-related characteristics like social identity often not included in analyses. Social identities, which are shown to be important for various forms of political attitudes and behaviors like turnout, may be able to explain not only individual differences in political knowledge in immigrants but also systematic differences between immigrant groups.
I analyze data from the German Immigrant Election Study, a national survey conducted among German citizens with Turkish and Soviet backgrounds in 2017 (N = 1,020) to explain, how social identities affect the political knowledge of Germans with Turkish and Soviet backgrounds. I calculate regression models for two questions regarding political knowledge of the German electoral system.
My initial results indicate a significant political knowledge gap between both migrant groups. Turkish migrants tend to be better informed about the German electoral system than Soviet migrants. Despite this, Turkish immigrants have a comparatively lower sense of belonging to Germany and tend to feel more attached to their country of origin than those with a Soviet background. While the sense of belonging to Germany has no significant effect on the political knowledge of Germans with immigrant backgrounds, feelings regarding one’s country of origin do have significant effects. In particular, a stronger identification as Turkish corresponds with less political knowledge. Overall, my study demonstrates the need to include migration-related variables when researching the political knowledge of immigrants.