Transnationalism within? The social networks of urban Germans

To what extent and in what ways have immigration and the growth of global connectedness made the social interactions of individuals more transnational? The article offers the first wide-ranging assessment of this question for Germany. It starts from the assumption that interactions between people of different national origins are not limited to cross-border interactions, but can arise from the multiple opportunities created by immigration processes available within one country. The paper shows that in spite of limited mobility, the urban population has 'border-crossing' connections that extend those to people in other countries. Four out of five respondents without immigrant backgrounds have friends or acquaintances with immigrant backgrounds. Clearly interactions between people of different national origins are not solely based on communication across national borders and not restricted to immigrants. The organization of networks reflects major structures of immigration to Germany. Among the ten most prominently represented countries are South and East European countries of immigrant origin, with Turkey in the lead. Apart from opportunity structures, cultural and social factors determine how strongly people from different national contexts are represented in personal networks. It seems that numbers, presence over time, cultural and political bonds, as well as positive and negative attitudes concerning people from different countries play a part. The article offers empirically grounded hypotheses in a under-researched field and aims to encourage further research. Data are drawn from a representative survey in German cities with 2500 respondents.