Politically minded: the case of Aussiedler as an ideologically defined category

Das Bürgerschaftsgesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gilt als veraltet und ethnisch determiniert. Tatsächlich aber sieht die rechtliche Regelung der Zuerkennung vor, dass ein oder beide Elternteile die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft besitzen müssen. Demnach stellt die Ethnizität weder einen exklusiven noch inklusiven Faktor dar. Die Aussiedler als eine Kategorie der deutschen Bürger erhalten jedoch ihre Staatsbürgerschaft teilweise aufgrund der Ethnizität. Vor diesem Hintergrund betrachtet die Autorin in ihrer Untersuchung die Gruppe der Aussiedler stattdessen als eine ideologisch definierte Gruppe, deren Bestimmung aus der Phase des Kalten Krieges resultiert. Somit beruht die Inklusion der Aussiedler nicht auf einem jahrhundertealten Verweis auf die Ethnizität, sondern vielmehr auf ideologischen Gründen. Dem gemäß gliedern sich die Ausführungen in drei Abschnitte: In einem historischen Überblick wird zunächst die Politik der Staatsbürgerschaft in Deutschland von 1842 bis heute beschrieben. Thematisiert werden in diesem Zusammenhang (1) das Gesetz über den Erwerb und den Verlust der Bundes- und Staatsangehörigkeit von 1870, (2) das Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz von 1913 sowie (3) das Bundesvertriebenen- und Flüchtlingsgesetz (BVFG) von 1953. In einem zweiten Schritt gilt das Hauptaugenmerk der Aussiedlerpolitik in Deutschland von 1954 bis 2000. In einem dritten Schritt erfolgt die Erörterung der Deethnisierung der deutschen Staatsbürgerschaft nach dem Kalten Krieg. Die Darstellung des (rechtlichen) Umgangs mit der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit macht deutlich, dass im Rahmen der Staatsangehörigkeitspolitik nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg die ideologische Komponente stärker ausgeprägt ist als die ethnische Komponente. Die Gesetze, die auf eine Privilegierung der Aussiedler nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg ausgerichtet sind, helfen nur Aussiedlern in kommunistischen Ländern, nicht aber beispielsweise jenen in Nord- oder Südamerika. Es zeigt sich, dass die deutsche Akzeptanz gegenüber ethnischen Deutschen sich entsprechend der Politik in Osteuropa verändert. So hat die Periode nach dem Ende des Kalten Krieges unter anderem für eine Neuausrichtung der Politik nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg gesorgt. (ICG2

Federal Structure and Party Politics as Simultaneous Opportunity and Constraint: Transnational Political Engagement of overseas Americans

This chapter examines the differential inclusion of overseas Americans in the American polity; overseas Americans are included, and vote, as individual citizens in all primary and general elections but are recognized as a distinct overseas constituency only in the Democrats Abroad Global Primary. Constitutional, federal and state law shapes this differential American inclusion. The right to vote was extended on the basis of a constitutional right to electoral equality. On the other hand, an overseas constituency in which US citizens voted for dedicated representatives would be possible only with a constitutional amendment. In a state with a strong sense of itself as an immigration country, and not as a state with a diaspora identity, such an amendment is unlikely. The contestation of the profile of the overseas American population feeds into this discussion. Party-led inclusion is the strongest way in which overseas US citizens can be included as a distinct constituency

The Disinterested State: Negative Diasporic Policy as an Expression of State Inclusion and National Exclusion

This article engages with the understudied phenomenon of the “disinterested, denouncing” (Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004) or “indifferent” (Ragazzi 2009) diaspora state. Focusing on US citizens abroad, the article argues that there is negative diasporic outreach on the part of the state—“disinterested” from the state’s perspective, but “denouncing” from that of the diaspora. Negative diasporic outreach is exemplified by the 2010 FATCA legislation, which sought to root out tax evaders resident in the US, but has, instead, affected millions of American emigrants through increased financial control and the repercussions of those policies, and has resulted in sharply higher citizenship renunciation figures. Impact on an American diaspora was not considered in the law’s proposal, debate and passage into law. Second, the article argues that this negative diasporic outreach, in combination with the continued facilitation of the right to vote, is a reflection of the inclusion of these American emigrants in the American state, but their simultaneous exclusion from the American nation

Diaspora Policies, Consular Services and Social Protection for German Citizens Abroad

This chapter presents an overview of German policies vis-à-vis German nationals living abroad. For the most part, the German Government does not reach out to or encourage engagement from or with German nationals living abroad. This is in contrast to a concerted cultural outreach to ethno-national German minorities in Central and Eastern Europe. Rights in Germany are largely residence-based, and access to rights is thus associated with (legal) residence in Germany, rather than with holding German citizenship. There are two clear exceptions: one is a robust system that enables voting from abroad for German citizens, and the other is facilitated access from abroad to pensions for years worked in Germany. With respect to other measures of social protections, no clear policy can be said to exist. Access to other forms of social protection is on the basis of exception, with consular officials exercising discretion in such cases

Branching patterns of the foetal popliteal artery

Background: The objective of the study is to evaluate the popliteal artery topography and the origin variability of its branches in human foetuses at the gestational age of from 4 to 9 months. The basis for the analysis are direct observations of classic anatomic dissections of the popliteal fossa. Possible dimorphic and bilateral differen- ces, as well as the gestational age variability at the foetal period, were considered. A typology of popliteal artery branches will be made on the basis of the studies.  Materials and methods: The research material of this study comprises 231 foetuses (including 116 males and 115 females). The foetuses were divided into five 28-day age classes. The vessels of the lower extremity were injected with LBSK 5545 latex through the femoral artery. The bilateral dissection of the po- pliteal artery along with its branches was performed. No visible malformations were found in the research material, and the foetuses came from spontaneous abortions and premature births.  Results and Conclusions: Ten per cent of the cases featured the variations of popliteal artery terminal branches. Three most commonly seen variations are the trifurcation, anterior tibial-peroneal trunk, and high terminal division of the po- pliteal artery. The most common course of the superior muscular branches is that there are two large branches which are distributed from the popliteal artery at the height of the knee joint cavity and they do not distribute cutaneous branches. Sural branches are also present as two large vessels without cutaneous branches. The genicular anastomosis branches that run on their own are a typical topographic system of these branches.

Modeling American Migration Aspirations: How Capital, Race, and National Identity Shape Americans’ Ideas about Living Abroad

Recent scholarship proposes a “two-step” approach for better understanding mechanisms underlying the migration process, suggesting we study migration aspirations separately from migration behavior and that the one does not always translate directly into the other. Research on aspirations, however, concentrates on the Global South, despite growing migration flows originating in the Global North. Here, we fill this gap, drawing on a nationally representative online survey we commissioned in 2014 in the United States. Bivariate analysis shows that fully one third of Americans surveyed reveal some aspiration to live abroad, a plurality of those primarily for the purpose of exploration. Multivariate analysis suggests that certain elements of cultural and social capital, including the networks Americans have with prior and current U.S. citizen migrants, structure these aspirations, in tandem with strength of national attachment. Further, both cultural and economic aspects of class, alongside race and national attachment, shape where American aspirants envision going and why. While existing literature addresses the motivations and profile of American migrants already living abroad, ours is the first study to examine Americans’ aspirations prospectively from the point of origin, thereby connecting the literature on Global North migration flows to that on migration aspirations

Aging in a Long-Lived Clonal Tree

Using genetic estimates of clone age in trembling aspen, this study demonstrates a significant decline in male sexual fitness with increasing age, showing that long-lived clonal organisms are vulnerable to aging

Reproductive compensation in the evolution of plant mating systems

International audience• Reproductive compensation, the replacement of dead embryos by potentially viable ones, is known to play a major role in the maintenance of deleterious mutations in mammalian populations. However, it has received little attention in plant evolution. Here we model the joint evolution of mating system and inbreeding depression with reproductive compensation. • We used a dynamic model of inbreeding depression, allowing for partial purging of recessive lethal mutations by selfing. • We showed that reproductive compensation tended to increase the mean number of lethals in a population, but favored self-fertilization by effectively decreasing early inbreeding depression. When compensation depended on the selfing rate, stable mixed mating systems can occur, with low to intermediate selfing rates. • Experimental evidence of reproductive compensation is required to confirm its potential importance in the evolution of plant mating systems. We suggest experimental methods to detect reproductive compensation