Who can participate? #2
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 21.85 million people in Germany have a so-called “migration background”. Despite this substantial number, despite increasing criticism towards generalizing portrayals of people with migration histories, and despite research demonstrating and confirming the opposite, those very people with migration histories are still frequently portrayed as a homogenous group in public discourse in Germany.
In our new research note “Who can participate? #2”, we once again show their versatility and diversity using the example of the party preferences of people with migration histories in Germany. Contrary to the often-widespread assumption that people with migration histories prefer certain parties, the opposite turns out to be true. People with migration histories have just as diverse party preferences as people without a migration background. Moreover, when it comes to the question of political participation of people with migration histories, it is not the so-called “migration background” that turns out to be the decisive factor. Rather, other intersecting factors such as gender, socio-economic status, education, or experience of discrimination can be just as important.