Social Integration without Elites?

Against the backdrop of the underrepresentation of East Germans and people with a migration background in elite positions, the project pursued several interrelated research objectives with an explicitly comparative perspective. It first aimed to collect comprehensive biographical data on members of the German elite, with a particular focus on East Germans, in order to assess the extent and structural causes of their underrepresentation, as well as that of individuals with migration backgrounds. It also examined how this underrepresentation is perceived, explained, and evaluated by the general population, analyzing its implications for political culture in East Germany and within migrant communities. Complementary data were collected on possible causes of underrepresentation by investigating attitudes toward elites and orientations toward social mobility. Finally, the project sought to disseminate its findings to both the (political) public and the academic community.

To date, the available data on representation in elites did not allow for reliable conclusions. The project provided robust, sector-specific evidence on underrepresentation as well as on how this underrepresentation was perceived and evaluated by the general population.underrepresentation.

(a) a comprehensive survey of biographical data on members of the German (and specifically East German) elite in order to initially assess the extent and structural causes of the underrepresentation of East Germans and people with a migrant background;

(b) recording the perception, explanation, and evaluation of personal underrepresentation in the population in order to analyze its consequences for the political culture of East Germany and in migrant milieus;

(c) communicating the results to the (political) public and in expert discussions.

The project consisted of three interrelated modules.

(a) Project Module I aimed to conduct a comprehensive collection of biographical data on members of German elites (with a particular focus on East German elites) in order to assess the extent of the underrepresentation of East Germans and people with a migration background and to identify its structural causes.

(b) Project Module II examined how this underrepresentation is perceived, explained, and evaluated by the general population, and analyzed its implications for political culture in East Germany and within migrant communities. In addition, this module provided complementary data on possible causes of underrepresentation by investigating attitudes toward elites and orientations toward social mobility.

(c) Project Module III focused on disseminating the project and its findings to the (political) public and to academic audiences.

East Germans make up one-fifth (19.4 percent) of the population, but only 10.1 percent of elite positions. The disparity is even greater among people with a migrant background (26 percent of the population, 9.2 percent in elite positions). There are significant differences depending on the social sphere. The population is aware of this imbalance and sees it as a problem. Special support measures for East Germans are slightly more popular than comparable measures for people with a migrant background.