Annual Report

Different countries, different customs? The cultural differences refugees perceive – and how they deal with them

Policy Brief | September 2019

More than 1.8 million people applied for asylum in Germany between 2014 and 2018. As yet, however, there are only few studies which have investigated refugees’ cultural attitudes. The SVR Research Unit and Robert Bosch Stiftung asked refugees whether they perceive any cultural differences between people in Germany and people in their respective country of origin and how they deal with those differences. Issues addressed included the rule of law, gender equality, the role of the family, homosexuality and how the elderly are treated. The survey was conducted as part of the 2018 Integration Barometer.  

Can the European Union deliver feasible options for legal migration? Contradictions between rhetoric, limited competence and national interests

To The Point | June 2019

The European Union (EU) has a limited scope of action in the policy field of legal migration for work and training. While it upholds a rhetoric of comprehensive migration policy, including legal migration options as a core element of its broader migration management cooperation with third countries, its competence in the external dimension of legal migration policy is restricted by Member States’ interests. This To the Point describes the discrepancies the EU is facing with regard to its internal and external legal migration policymaking. The SVR Research Unit comes to the conclusion that while full harmonisation within this policy field is not yet in sight the EU and its Member States would be better advised to showcase the value added of joint initiatives and to start living up to their promises of promoting legal migration for work and training among its partner countries. 

The publication is part of the project “Legal Migration for Work and Training: Mobility Options to Europe for Those Not in Need of Protection”.

In touch with politics? How people with and without a migration background perceive their political self-efficacy

Policy Brief | April 2019

Currently, around one fifth of the German population has a migration background, and that share is set to continue rising. That is why, when it comes to ensuring that democratic decisions get broad backing, it is important that both people with and those without a migration background are willing to actively participate in political life. Whether they actually do so or not depends, among other things, on how people perceive their political self-efficacy, that is to what extent the two groups believe they both understand political issues on the one hand and feel that politicians are actually interested in people’s concerns on the other. To investigate this issue further, as part of a cooperation project with the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM Institute) the Expert Council’s Research Unit therefore analysed data from a nationwide survey conducted between July 2017 and January 2018 for the 2018 Integration Barometer. More than 9,000 people with and without a migration background were surveyed. The data collected are representative both for these two groups and for specific groups of origin. The Policy Brief was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ).

Countering demographic decline – How Germany’s shrinking universities attract and retain international students

Study | March 2019

More students than ever before are studying for a degree in Germany. Nevertheless, low birth rates and the depopulation of certain regions of the country are already leading to a drop in student enrolment at some German universities and universities of applied sciences. A number of these shrinking universities are bucking this trend by taking steps to attract international students. The SVR’s Research Unit conducted a study to find out what shrinking universities can do and are doing to attract international students, to prepare them for their courses of study, and then retain them in the local labour market once they graduate.

Alternatives to asylum? Legal migration channels to Germany for thirdcountry nationals not in need of protection

Study | December 2018

Low- and medium-skilled third-country nationals still have very few legal mobility options. The study analyses both the scope of and framework conditions for existing entry channels to Germany for this group of migrants and it outlines current cooperation mechanisms with countries of origin. It also makes recommendations for action for the relevant actors in politics and administration when it comes to designing future legal migration options for work and training and examines the instruments available for controlling these processes.

Migrantsʼ political party preferences: Changing patterns

To The Point | September 2018

(Only available in German)

The data in the SVRʼs 2018 Integration Barometer show that over the past two years the political affiliation of people with a migration background has shifted – in some cases quite considerably. What the analysis shows is that the growing group of migrants in Germany are no longer clearly aligned to any particular political party. Traditional political affiliations are weakening. The 2016 finding that the majority of people with a migration background tend to vote for left-of-centre parties no longer applies.

So many questions – too many answers? The transparency of the German asylum and admissions system for refugees

Policy Brief | June 2018

One of the key factors for integration to succeed is how well refugees understand what regulations and procedures apply and which bodies are involved in the asylum and admissions process. The Policy Brief, which is based on an interview study of asylum seekers carried out by the SVR Research Unit and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, concludes that refugees know too little about the asylum and admissions system. The Policy Brief examines why that is the case and how information is currently provided to refugees. It also includes recommendations for action for all those involved in refugee integration, the aim being to support refugees in understanding the asylum and admissions system and to thus empower them in this process.

EASO Reloaded: Can The New EU Asylum Agency Guarantee A Standardised System of Protection?

To The Point | June 2018

It is unclear whether the EU will agree on a comprehensive reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) by the end of the current legislative period in 2019. Some key proposals are still being negotiated. However, one aspect of the planned reforms is confirmed – the establishment of a new European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) with increased powers to bring the work of asylum authorities in member states into alignment and to ‘Europeanise‘ the asylum system as a whole. This is not to say that the new agency will instantly be able to resolve all the difficulties experienced by member states in implementing EU legislation. But the EUAA has the potential to help member states make decisions more consistently in future, developing shared standards for assessment to guide government organisations in their task. This is the conclusion arrived at by the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) Research Unit in its current summary report.