Social Integration, National Identity, and German Unification
Documents the increased attention by macrosociologists to the concept of social identity, attributing this to increased global attention to national identity & collective interests. Some definitional issues are addressed, including the construction of "we-groups," notions of "us" vs "them," & the social labeling process, which strengthen national identity via the exclusion of outsiders; resultant xenophobia & ethnocentrism are examined. Social integration is discussed in terms of its individual, structural, & moral components, & further distinguished from systemic integration at the level of the nation-state (which generally follows a Western democratic model). These points are considered in an analysis of the situation in contemporary postreunification Germany. K. Hyatt Stewart