Expert Commissions on Migration Policy Framework in Germany

Abstract

The article addresses one of the most urgent current problems of the German society, which is to search for the most optimal formats of the integration of migrants into the receiving society; in other words, the interaction of “new” and “old” citizens and residents of Germany through the construction of a new inclusive civic identity. Alternative models of such coexistence have been at the center of the State’s attention for many years, with the active involvement of independent experts in shaping and evaluating policies in this area. Back in the early 2000s. an expert commission on migration and the integration of migrants, whose ideas were groundbreaking for the time, was established in Süssmuth. Issues of expert support of migration policy became even more important after the migration crisis in the European Union, when Germany decided to host a large number of refugees and led the development of a policy to address this challenge for the whole integration association. Large-scale migration flows had led to a new awareness of Germany as a country of immigration, necessitating the development of new policies for the integration of migrants. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of these special expert commissions in the Federal Republic of Germany on migration and the integration of migrants into the host society, in particular, to study the work of the Independent Expert Commission on the framework conditions of integration potential based on content analysis of the Commission’s reports, relevant official documents, and media materials. The instrumentalization of expert commissions undoubtedly provides an opportunity for the state as well as its citizens, represented in the form of independent highly qualified specialists on the relevant topics, to discuss ways and means of dealing with the issues of development of multicultural, complex modern societies. As practice has shown, the state uses such expert groups both to sensitize citizens to certain public challenges and to demonstrate willingness to involve non-state actors in the decision-­making, including the promotion of government-­brokered policies. Of course, Germany’s experience in this area, as well as the translation of expert recommendations into many foreign languages, help other European Union member states facing a similar problem, rethink the search for a common collective identity.