Political institutions in societal change. Naturalization procedures: Between immigrant expectations and institutional specifications in present-day Germany

This paper benefits from institutionalist concepts in order to reconstruct changes in political incorporation. The reinstitutionalization of citizensh ip will be considered with reference to the reform of German naturalization procedures. On the institutional side (the state) we discuss the reform of naturalization law; on the immigrant side we use panel-data to discuss exp ectations. Against this background changing concepts of citizenship will be contextualized in a global frame of reference. It will be argued that glob al structural effects are contributing to a decomposition of national insti tutions.