The making of the German-Turkish economic elite

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is the rise to prominence within the German-Turkish community of a distinctive economic elite composed of successful business leaders, lawyers and doctors, established within two generations since 1961 when the large-scale arrival of Turkish workers into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) began. The general objective of the research is to explain the rapid emergence of this newly formed German-Turkish economic elite. Specifically the thesis explores: (1) how a minority of German-Turks have overcome evident social constraints to occupy elite economic positions and the strategies deployed to achieve upward social mobility; (2) the reasons for the virtual confinement of the German-Turkish economic elite to ethnically protected markets; and, (3) the formation of social networks among the German-Turkish economic elite and the ways in which such networks are used to further individual and community interests. The term economic elite refers to men and women who hold highprofile, prestigious positions within the fields of business, law and medicine. In focusing on the social ascension of a minority and consequent stratification within the German-Turkish community, my aim is to add a new layer of complexity and sophistication to the debate over constraints to social mobility within minority communities. The findings presented stem from analysis of 45 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with German-Turkish business leaders, doctors and lawyers (15 interviews with members of each group). These are analysed first and foremost through the theoretical lens of the French social theorist Pierre Bourdieu and the later conceptual refinements and elaborations of elite theorists, notably Mairi Maclean and Charles Harvey. An important paradox is revealed: upward social mobility within the GermanTurkish minority community is not matched by the same degree of mobility of GermanTurks across German society. In other words, there remains a considerable degree of social confinement, exclusion and lack of integration despite the emergence of pronounced social hierarchy within the German-Turkish community itself.