2017
In general, the number of asylum requests declines in comparison to the preceding year. In 2015, 890,000 refugees were registered; in 2016, only 280,000; in 2017, only 140,000. In comparison to the rest of Europe, Germany remains one of the top destinations: in 2016, Germany had 60% of all asylum requests within the EU-28. The majority of refugees come from acute crisis regions: Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are the top three. As in the preceding years, Germany struggles to keep up with the sheer volume of asylum requests. Waiting times can last up to a year longer than the supposed seven months and make a successful integration difficult. Moreover, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) lack resources and personnel to process requests effectively.
Petitions can also make the processing of applications difficult. Between June 30th, 2016 and June 30th, 2017, German courts record more than 320,000 cases. In 2017, the number of deportees sinks by 5.6 percent in comparison to 2016 (23,966). Still, individual cases often come to the public eye. For example, a student of a German occupational school was to be deported to Afghanistan. His peers, however, mounted a resistance to police, eventually resulting in an official lawsuit against the refugee in January. The question persists in German politics, whether Afghanistan can now be considered safe for refugees to return. The same question applies to other countries such as Hungary, which is ultimately deemed unsafe, despite the Dublin system, due to poor living conditions for refugees residing in the country.
Another point of discussion in 2017 is the falsification of information on part of the refugees. Specifically, asylum-seekers might give a false age, as adults and minors are processed differently from a legal standpoint. In 2016 alone, 46,786 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in Germany and, moreover, it is hard to say how many declarations of age were true. Countries propose to screen the age of refugees more exactly by possibly introducing a hand-scan that would reveal the individual’s true biological age. However, this method is met with much criticism, as it is not clear from a medical standpoint how accurate such tests are.
Past transgressions in the country of origin also become part of the debate. German law states that the asylum-seeker may not be deported if they are threatened with the death penalty in their home country (according to the Right to Life, Art. 2, Paragraph 2, Sentence 1). Therefore, the extent of criminal activity is hard to accurately and statistically determine. This leads to cases in which refugees might confess to serious crimes in order to not be deported.
On January 18th, Joachim Gauck gives a speech at the end of his time in office as federal president, in which he calls for tolerance and a unified Europe. At a March 25 summit in Rome, Germany along with the other European nations celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the European Union.
After a failed coup attempt in Turkey in the summer of 2016, a indefinite state of emergency is announced by the Turkish government, which is in turn met with strong criticism from the UN. In the following widespread arrests of 2017, many oppositional activists, judges, and journalists find themselves among the 50,000 people who are affected. In 2018, leading employees of Cumhuriyet (a newspaper critical of the government), are given multi-year prison sentences. This is met with international criticism as the arrests contradict article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In line with two cases (1 and 2) decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in which Turkish journalists were arrested, criticism of the government cannot count as terrorist support. Because Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe, it is theoretically obligated to accept the ruling of the ECHR.
The organization “Reporters Without Borders,” which fights for international freedom of information, places Turkey at 154 of 180 possible countries in terms of respect for freedom of the press. The course of action against journalists in Turkey affects German journalists as well. 154 Journalists are still in prison, among whom is Deniz Yücel, perhaps the most prominent case.
On February 14th, 2017, Deniz Yücel is arrested in Istanbul. The arrest is based on an interview with the leader of the PKK as well as a later article in which he expresses doubt that Fetullah Gülen was behind the military coup of 2016. He then fights for his freedom for a year, receiving support not only from his family, but from socialites and the social media hashtag #freedeniz as well. For instance, a commemorative motorcade is organized and his book Wir sind ja nicht zum Spaß hier (We’re Not Here To Have Fun) is published. In the evening of the event, German socialites, including Herbert Grönemeyer and Anne Will, read his texts aloud. After a year in Turkish prison, without an official lawsuit, Yücel is released February 16th, 2018. This happens not least due to the pressure and negotiations of German politics as well as increasing public concern. In the same month, the indictment against Yücel is lifted. The indictment, common to many of Yücel’s colleagues who are also detained, references incitement of the masses as well as terrorist propaganda for the banned, Kurdish worker party PKK. The office of the state’s attorney demands 18 years in prison.
On February 17th, the Germanist Borchmeyer publishes his book Was ist deutsch? Eine Nation auf der Suche nach sich selbst (What is German? A Nation on the Search for Itself), in which he tries to pursue the question of national identity.
Violence against refugees sinks in 2017. Already in the first quarter, according to the BKA, there are 93 fewer attacks on refugee homes than the previous year, which had 165. Most of the crimes are registered in Brandenburg.
In April of 2017, President Erdogan calls upon Turkish people living in Germany to vote on the implementation of the new presidential system. However, this provokes much critique, as the new system gives the president more power than ever before. Among many changes, some of the more notable include: the president is allowed to stay party leader, may enact indirect influence on official appointments within the justice system, and is the only one who may declare a state of emergency. In Germany, these changes are viewed critically. Cem Özdemir, leader of the Green Party and son of a Turkish guest-worker (‘Gastarbeiter’), calls upon all those of voting age to vote against the new system. According to official reports, Erdogan wins with just 51.41% of the vote; 63.07% of Turkish expatriates living in Germany vote for the new presidential system.
On the international stage, the vote is seen negatively. The fact that the majority of Turkish expatriates in Germany voted for the new system irritates Germans and casts doubt on the success of German integration programs. Yet, as Prof. Dr. Ferhad Seydar or migration researcher Serhat Karakayali attempt to explain, the problem of integration and identification is much more complex and multi-faceted. Soon, many in Germany doubt the legitimacy of the election results; some accuse the Turkish government of spying on Germany’s Turkish population, while others suspect voter fraud.
Despite these doubts and eventual protests in Turkey, the new presidential system is implemented. The current result ultimately has a strong influence on the question of EU-membership for Turkey.
Also in April, it is discovered that a German Bundeswehr soldier had fraudulently registered himself as a refugee with the goal of carrying out an attack in order to demonstrate the supposed danger of asylum seekers. The federal courts ultimately acquit him. The case provokes a discussion about proper and effectives procedures for processing asylum requests and ultimately results in retroactive checks for over 85,000 applications.
At the end of April, German Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière publishes his theses on German mainstream culture (“Leitkultur” in German, directly translated as “leading culture”). In the end, the CDU-politician earns more criticism than praise; his theses are not seen as entirely constructive.
On July 30, gay marriage is legalized in Germany as a majority of the Bundestag votes for marriage equality.
On the 7th and 8th of July, the G-20 Summit takes place. Argentina, Australia, Brasil, China, Germany, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the USA meet to discuss a variety of pressing global issues. In Hamburg, multiple demonstrations take place as protestors demand a more just process of globalization as well as more attention towards issues like climate change. Some protests are peaceful, others turn more violent, in which radical protestors acting independently burn cars, tear down police barricades, loot local business and destroy property. Police are also attacked. As a result, 40 million euros are made available for compensation. There are multiple arrests and just three weeks after the G-20 Summit, there are still 35 detainees who are suspected to have been involved in the riots. The leftist organization “Rote Flora” (“Red Flora”) is at first also blamed for the violent protests, but the investigation is soon dropped, as there is little substantial evidence of their involvement that could back up the public accusations.
On July 23rd, ex-politican and Vietnamese businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh is kidnapped by Vietnamese intelligence in Germany, which is a violation of German and international law. At the beginning of 2018, Trinh Xuan Thanh is sentenced in Hanoi to two life sentences for economic crimes.
On July 30th, a 34-year-old Iraqi open fires in a club in Constance, Germany. It is later established as an out-of-control family conflict, but not before provoking anxieties about criminal refugees on social media.
At the end of August, AfD-politician Alexander Gauland is the target of much criticism and is denounced by the presiding judge of the Federal Court of Justice for incitement to hatred. Other AfD members stir up controversy as well, none less than Björn Höcke, who described Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial as a “monument to shame.”
On October 3rd, the new Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier gives the yearly speech on the Day of German Unity, in which he urges, “Our path must remain in peace and friendship with our European neighbors—it can never be a return to nationalism!” He also commemorates the life of a politician, “who recognized the historical opportunity of the hour and facilitated unification in the political sphere”; Steinmeier is speaking of Helmut Kohl, the German Chancellor from 1982 until 1998, who died in 2017 at 87 years old, his passing commemorated by the first-ever lowering of the European Union flag. Roman Herzog, German President from 1994-1999, also passed away in 2017.
Also in October, the special council Bruno Jost, who was hired to investigate the 2016 terror attack on a Berlin Christmas market, publishes his findings: incompetence, unprofessionalism and general inadequacy on the side of German police and officials all contributed to the terrorist’s ability to carry out his attack.
In another major political event, the 23rd conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in Bonn from November 6-17.
On November 23rd, Fatih Akin’s most recent film “Aus dem Nichts” (“In The Fade”) opens in theaters. Based on a xenophobic attack, the film portrays the fictional story of a German woman who loses her Kurdish husband and son. Akin receives much praise for the film and wins a Golden Globe for best foreign film. Films like “Aus dem Nichts” demonstrate the complexity of issues related to immigration and forbids thinking in terms of black and white.
Throughout 2017, four important elections take place: in the Netherlands (March), France (June), Germany (September) and Austria (October). In Germany, voter participation is at 75%. The results show an increase in support for the right-populist party AfD (Alternative for Germany) with 12.9% of the vote, thus earning them 94 of 709 seats in German Parliament. Reasons for this include a pervasive fear of refugees and the AfD’s platform against political correctness.
The formation of government proves itself difficult, as the election winner, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, has few coalition partners. The only possible allies, the center-left Greens and the libertarian-leaning FDP, are unable to find common ground with the CDU. After the failure of the potential coalition between the three, named “Jamaica” for short, rumors of a snap election circulate. As a solution, a “grand coalition,” nicknamed “GroKo,” is proposed, whose fate eventually starts to look like the outcome of the previous attempt.
For a time it appears that neither a “GroKo” nor a “Jamaica” coalition are options for the government. The grand coalition between the SPD and the conservative alliance of CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, is only able to form the final government after difficult negotiations leading to agreement in multiple areas. The arduous path to forming a government also produces the word of the year, “Jamaika-Aus” (“Jamaica-Exit”), to refer to the breakdown of coalition talks in November when FDP leader Christian Lindner abruptly dropped out. The buzzword or faux-pas neologism of the year (“Unwort”) of the year, “Alternative Fakten,” is similarly of political origin.
The overall picture, at any rate, is of a more and more politically divided Germany, mirroring trends in neighboring countries France, Austria, and the Netherlands, where an ascendant anti-immigrant far-right casts the centrist parties as an elitist establishment with varying degrees of electoral success.
There is significant overlap between this far-right and the “euroskeptic” and anti-EU positions of different parties, not only in parts of Eastern Europe like Poland and Hungary, but also Western European parties like Front National in France, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, and the Lega Nord in Italy.
On the other hand, one pro-European sign is provided by centrist Emanuel Macron’s victory in France’s presidential elections and his movement “En Marche.” At his victory speech, Macron walks out to the anthem of Europe, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” before the traditional performance of “La Marseillaise.” In doing so he sent a clear signal to Europe.
In early 2018, RWI Essen shows that there was no increase in criminal activity among asylum-seekers in 2017. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) confirms these numbers.
