Can the North American Model of Ethnicity Be Applied to Europe ? The German Example

In the last decade of the 20th century, the self-perception of many continental European nations has shifted dramatically. Terms like diversity, multiculturalism and, last but not least, ethnicity are increasingly used to describe group structures and inequalities in these countries. This is especially surprising in the case of Germany. In sociological folklore, Germany epitomizes a nation which sees itself as an ethnically homogeneous people (among many see Brubaker 1992).