Deutschland, Start Voting! Germany’s Treatment of Eurovision and How it Reflects Nation Identity

The Eurovision Song Contest is a unique event that each participating country approaches differently – some use the contest to make appeals to the European in-group while others make a mockery of the spectacle. Germany takes the song contest at face value and puts forth their best effort to succeed at the final each year. As determined in my second blog post titled “Inglorious Ballads”, Germany’s Eurovision performances from 2010-2014 are mostly radio-pop songs void of particularly German elements. While the songs themselves do not reflect the German national identity established by my first blog post, the process by which they are selected demonstrates the Germans’ commitment to democratic principles. Additionally, Germany has figured out how to reap economic benefits by holding an annual national selection contest which aligns with the idea that Germany takes pride in having a strong economy.

Borrowing from the work of Anna Triandafyllidou, national identity can briefly be described as the psychological feeling of belonging shared by individuals of a given nation (595). As established by my first blog post, the modern German national identity, rather than being characterized by feelings of national superiority, is centered around Germans’ pride in preserving the democratic principles and prosperous social market economy established during the days of the Bonn Republic. Upon first inspection, this national identity does not seem aligned with Germany’s activity in Eurovision between 2010-2014. As mentioned in “Inglorious Ballads”, all of Germany’s Eurovision songs during this period were radio pop songs. A theme that is not mentioned in my second blog post is that four of the five songs are about relationships and love to some extent. “Standing Still” and “Is It Right” are both about lost love, “Satellites” is about being in love, and “Taken by a Stranger” is a story about a one night stand. While this theme could suggest the German people enjoy love songs, it does not reflect any meaningful aspects of their modern German national identity. However, a look at how Germany selected their Eurovision representatives during this period reveals that an alignment between their treatment of the song contest and their national identity does indeed exist.

Most countries determine their Eurovision entries by either holding a national selection competition or internally selecting an act on behalf of its citizens. The German national broadcaster, the ARD, allows the German people to choose their Eurovision representatives each year by hosting a national song competition that mirrors the Eurovision final. Since Germany is committed to upholding their citizens’ democratic rights, it is unsurprising that the ARD lets the German people determine their representation rather than internally selecting acts. However, in 2011, the ARD partially took this privilege away from the German people.

After Lena won Eurovision 2010, the ARD internally decided to give her the opportunity to defend her crown. One might argue this action contradicts the previously established notion that Germany is committed to democratic principles, but the ARD still allowed the German people to have the final say in their representation at Eurovision 2011 by holding an open song-selection contest. In this contest, the German people were given twelve songs written by different artists to choose from and ultimately selected “Taken by a Stranger” written by Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier, and Monica Birkenes (“Germany in Eurovision 2011”). Even though an artist was chosen on behalf of the German people during this year, they still got to choose what song they wanted to be represented by at Eurovision which bears more weight than choosing the artist. A song’s meaning does not depend on who performs it but rather comes from its musical and lyrical content. While the process by which Germany’s Eurovision 2011 entry was selected does not reflect the nation’s commitment to democratic principles as strongly as the contests of other years, the fact that the German people were given the final say in their representation still aligns with this aspect of the German national identity.

In addition to being the fairest way to select Eurovision representatives, holding a national selection competition each year has economic benefits for the ARD. While the ARD acts as the primary organizer for all things Eurovision in Germany, they regularly sold off the TV rights to ProSieben, a major private German broadcaster, in order to maximize the economic benefits of the Eurovision competition during this period year (Schader). These TV rights for the national competition are likely expensive hast to do with the popularity of Eurovision in Germany. Last year, 9.3 million Germans tuned into the Eurovision final, accounting for 36.8% of the German TV-watching population (“Eurovision attracts 204 million viewers”). The emphasis Germany puts on having a strong economy is also strongly reflected by what they did with the pre-performance postcards when hosting Eurovision in 2011.

Countries often lose money when hosting Eurovision because it is costly to put on the event. In 2011, Germany counteracted the expense of hosting Eurovision by marketing itself to tourists. They chose to display people from different countries enjoying the various attractions that Germany has to offer during their countries’ respective pre-performance postcards (“BBC – Eurovision 2011 Final”). Making an appeal to tourists from other countries in this way reflects the economic savvy that has integral to the German national identity. While this may seem like a nation-branding action at first, it turns out not to be as Germany’s main intention in appearing this way is to reap a tangible economic benefit rather than to become known as a nation that likes having a strong economy. However, Germany’s attempt to grow its tourism industry at 2011 is the closest thing it did to nation-branding between 2010-2014 at Eurovision.

While Eurovision is meant to be just a song contest, it provides a platform for countries to propagate political messages to the rest of their European neighbors. Politically-driven entries seem to regularly slip into the final despite rules meant to keep these types of entries out of the contest being in place. Fringe-European countries that have been othered by Western-Europe use the contest to make appeals to the European in-group by presenting themselves as having similar social-political beliefs or playing into Western-Europe’s skewed fantasies of their cultural traditions. Contrarily, countries within the European in-group often send radio-pop songs that say nothing about their national identities to Eurovision. This is because, by already being a part of the in-group, they have little to gain by making appeals to other European countries. Germany’s Eurovision entries are often void of significant cultural themes because they are part of and arguably the most powerful member of the Western-European in-group. Rather than trying to push a certain national brand, Germany aims to preserve the brand it has established outside of the Eurovision Song Contest.

            As I established in my first blog post, a commitment to preserving human rights is an integral part of the modern German national identity. Xavier Naidoo, a popular German R&B artist, was nominated to represent Germany at Eurovision 2016. However, his winning the national competition sparked a large public backlash as “Naidoo [had] previously been accused of using anti-Semitic slurs and homophobic language in his songs” (Polanco). Upon observing this backlash, the ARD pulled Naidoo from the competition to preserve Germany’s image as a global champion for human rights. While this event does not fall inside the period I have been focusing on, it was a significant event that garnered international attention nonetheless and needs to be included when discussing how Germany treats Eurovision.

            Germany takes the Eurovision Song Contest seriously. One action that supports this notion is Germany’s revamping of their selection process in 2010, which I discussed in my second blog post titled “Inglorious Ballads”. By appointing German megastar Stefan Raab to head talent acquisition for the national selection contest, the German national broadcaster made it clear they wanted to succeed at the Eurovision final. That same year, Lena won Eurovision 2010 for Germany with her song “Satellite”. The German national broadcaster’s attitude towards Eurovision reflects that of the German people, who thoroughly enjoy the spectacle of the event. Last year at Eurovision 2016, Germany provided more Eurovision viewers than any other country with 9.3 million German citizens tuning into the final as mentioned earlier. Despite Germany’s historically poor performance in the final, last year’s German Eurovision audience was the country’s largest since 2011, the year they hosted the contest (Eurovision.tv). Additionally, Cascada’s voluntary participation in the 2013 competition emphasizes the fact that Eurovision is not taken as a joke in Germany. Cascada was a world-famous multi-platinum group before ever taking part in Eurovision, which means they did not choose to participate because they needed exposure but rather simply because they wanted.

While Germany does not use the contest as an opportunity to affect its national brand the ways some other participants do, it takes the Eurovision song contest just as seriously as those that do. And even though most of its entries are generic and not telling of the German national identity, the ARD’s decision to hold some sort of national selection competition is representative of Germany’s commitment to democratic principles. Additionally, the ARD’s ability to generate revenue from these contests as well as the Eurovision final the year it hosted aligns with the notion the Germans take pride in experiencing economic success. If Germany did not treat Eurovision with the sincerity it does, it would be hard to observe these meaningful alignments between their actions surrounding the Eurovision Song Contests and the modern German national identity as it has come to be known.

           

------ References ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 “BBC – Eurovision 2011 Final (14 May 2011).” YouTube, uploaded by Giannis V., 27 April 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRziAqEY8cc

“Eurovision Song Contest attracts 204 million viewers!” Eurovision Song Contest, 25 May 2016, http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=eurovision_song_ contest_attracts_204_million_viewers

 “Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.” Wikipedia, 9 Mar. 2017, https://en.wiki pedia.org/wiki/Germany_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2011#Final

Schader, Peer. “Germany’s Eurovision Dilemma”. Spiegel Online, 1 June 2010, http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/germany-s-eurovision-dilemma-public-broadcasters-shudder-at-price-tag-for-2011-song-contest-a-698061.html

Triandafyllidou, Anna. "National Identity and The `Other.'." Ethnic & Racial Studies vol. 21, no. 4, 1998, pp. 593-610 SocINDEX with Full Text.

Polanco, Luis. “Controversial Contestant Xavier Naidoo Withdrawn As Germany's Contestant for 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.” Billboard, 23 Nov. 2015, www.billboard.com/articles/news/6770402/xavier-naidoo-withdrawn-germany-contestant-eurovision-song-contest.

Inglorious Ballads: A Brief Analysis of Recent German Eurovision Performances

The Eurovision Song Contest is a golden opportunity for European countries to showcase themselves to the world. Each country approaches the contest differently: some use it to share political messages while others send their countries’ most laughable pop groups. In 2010, Germany changed its approach to Eurovision. Broadcaster ARD teamed up with Eurovision aficionado Stefan Raab and network ProSieben in hopes of achieving a German Eurovision win. Raab headed preliminary talent acquisition for a revamped, nationally televised competition that mirrored the structure of the Eurovision final (“Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest”). Under the model this revitalization resulted in, Germany could ensure their representative at the Eurovision final would appeal to both critical and popular audiences alike. While Germany’s performances during the period 2010-2014 are diverse in most regards, the absence of racial diversity on stage is important to take note of.

In 2010, Lena, a young white pop artist, earned the opportunity to perform her song “Satellite” (2010) at Eurovision. Upon examination of this song’s lyrics, it can be easily identified as a love song thanks to the presence of metaphor and repetition. Lena uses metaphor in the chorus of the song to express how important her lover is to her: “Like a satellite / I’m in orbit all the way around you”. Satellites revolve around the Earth because of its gravitational pull, and if the Earth were to disappear, all the satellites in orbit would float off into the infinite abyss of space. By comparing herself to a satellite, Lena is saying she feels so deeply about this person that she would feel lost and directionless if they were to disappear from her life. Additionally, Lena employs simple repetition to drive the message home. She sings that chorus three times in total and a verse containing the lines “Love, oh love /… / … / Can’t go a minute without your love” five times.

During Lena’s performance of Satellite, certain visual effects help the song achieve its purpose as a pop hit. Blue rectangular lights were strobed in a way that made the backdrop look like a large crowd taking photographs, adding a feeling of celebrity to the performance. This performance could have come from any country as nothing on stage was recognizably “German”. Lena went on to win Eurovision 2010, the first Eurovision after the remodeling of the German national competition, with “Satellite” and quickly rose to celebrity status in Germany (“Lena Meyer-Landrut”).

After her success at Eurovision 2010, Lena won Germany’s national song competition for a second consecutive year. At Eurovision 2011, the emerging star performed yet another pop song called “Taken by a Stranger” (2011). The song tells the story of a one night stand between a woman and a stranger. At first, the woman has no interest in her mysterious suitor - in the second verse, Lena mentions that the woman “looks annoyed” by the man. However, by the chorus she is asking to be “[spun] round again”, which suggests that she has become infatuated with the stranger while dancing.

While the lyrics of this song tell the whole story, Lena’s performance helps solidify the meaning and make it easier for her audience to understand. At the beginning of the song, a small circle of spotlights illuminates Lena and her backup dancers while the rest of the arena is dark. As the performance goes on, more lights are added to the circle. After Lena sings the line “trip me up and spin me round again” for the third time, the camera pans out to reveal that the circle of spotlights is now rotating around Lena, who is dancing in the center of the stage, giving visual reinforcement to the lyrics.

After the final chorus, the arena is flooded with light, but then a shattering glass effect occurs right before the end of the song and the stadium becomes dark again. During the performance, the amount of light on stage is symbolic of the feeling of togetherness shared by the woman and the stranger. The lights going dark at the end of the performance signifies that the strangers’ night together is over. They have gone their separate ways, becoming strangers once again. “Taken by a Stranger” placed 10^th and was Lena’s final Eurovision entry as she chose not to participate in the German selection competition again (“Eurovision Voting & Points”).

In 2012, Roman Lob, a young white male, earned the right to represent Germany with his song “Standing Still” (2012), which is a ballad about lost love that could be considered radio pop. Lob uses the changing of the seasons as a symbol for the phases his relationship is going through. He sings “Winter has come along and Summer’s dead and gone”. In present day, Summer is often associated with fun, nice weather, and sunlight, while Winter is thought of as dark and depressing as people must stay inside to keep warm. Also, the year ends during the Winder. So, in saying this, Lob means the fun part of his relationship where everything was splendid has passed. His relationship is over and now he is feeling blue.

The mood of Roman Lob’s performance is an intimate one. The fact that Lob is accompanied on stage by people playing live instruments builds this feeling of intimacy – the performance truly feels human. Additionally, several warm-colored swiveling spotlights are used to add a dramatic effect to Roman Lob’s performance and further enhance the mood. While Lena’s two performances were bubbly and energetic, Lob’s feels highly personal. He connected with audience members in an honest way that forced them to feel his heartbreak, resulting in an 8^th place finish at the 2012 final (“Eurovision Voting & Points”). Lob’s honest, personal ballad was followed up by EDM group Cascada’s less sentimental “Glorious”.

When Roman Lob and Lena were elected, they were previously unknown musical talents. Cascada, the group Germany elected as their 2013 Eurovision representative, was an international success long before they entered the song contest. The high-profile group consists of female vocalist Natalie Horler and DJs Manian and Yanou, all of whom are white. Cascada easily won Germany’s national competition but did not find any similar success at the Eurovision final coming in 21^st out of 26 possible places (“Eurovision Voting & Points”).

While Cascada’s performance of “Glorious” (2013) is energetic and entertaining, it ultimately fails to tell a story or convey a meaningful message. In “Glorious”, Cascada delivers a slew of empowering lines such as “We are young at heart and we’re free / The world is ours”, “We’re running at the speed of light”, and “We can set the world on fire”. These lines are all independent messages of empowerment. Unfortunately, they are all nonsensical and receive no explanation. The rest of the song is more of the same: inspirational statements strung together with more inspirational statements that ultimately tell no story and have no larger meaning. Songs like “Glorious”, that sound fine musically but are lyrically cluttered with inspirational jargon, are common in the world of electronic music. And while Cascada pulls out all the stops in their performance with purple lights, fog machines, pyrotechnic explosions, strobe lights, swiveling spotlights, and even spark showers, the song still lacks meaning and originality. Cascada’s failure at Malmo 2013 proves that taking the Eurovision audience on an enjoyable, energetic, 3-minute ride is not enough to succeed in the competition when the song being performed has no substantial meaning. “Glorious” could have been a big hit at Tomorrowland, but unfortunately Germany chose to present it to a Eurovision audience that simply wasn’t feeling the vibe.

In 2014, the German people sent Elaiza, a formerly unknown group consisting of three white women, to the Eurovision Song Contest. Unlike the performance of Germany’s previous few acts, Elaiza’s performance of their song “Is It Right” (2014) contains certain characteristics that allow the performance to be clearly identifiable as one that is German. First, Elaiza taps into Germany’s musical roots by playing two traditional German instruments, the accordion and double bass, on stage during their performance. Additionally, the colors of the German flag were used to light the stage during Elaiza’s performance.

Because the German people are given the power to choose their Eurovision representative each year via the national competition, it isn’t surprising that most of Germany’s Eurovision representatives perform radio-pop songs with no clearly German elements – pop is short for popular by no mistake. But why did the German people want Elaiza in 2014? Perhaps a heightened sense of nationalism existed in Germany as 2014 was a World Cup year and the German national team was strongly favored in the competition. This would explain why the German people – after years of electing generic musical representatives – felt it was important to remind the rest of Europe that they are a country with a rich cultural history by sending a group like Elaiza to the Eurovision Final. Even though “Is It Right” only came in 18^th place, it was refreshing to hear a song featuring traditional musical instruments during a span that otherwise lacked musical diversity.

One thing that Lena, Roman Lob and his band, all three members of Cascada, and all three members of Elaiza have in common is their race: they are all white. Even though the majority of Germany’s population is white, only electing groups with white members during this five-year period does not send a message of inclusivity to the rest of Europe and the world. It is possible that Germany’s performances are typically racially diverse, but weren’t during this five-year period due to random chance. Today, the German public opinion towards immigrants and refugees has taken a negative turn and it is more important than ever for the nation to preserve its identity as one that fosters racial diversity and values universal human equality. Going into the future, hopefully Germany continues to send quality Eurovision representatives while simultaneously increasing both racial and musical diversity on stage.

---------- References ----------

Cascada. “Glorious,” music and lyrics by Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Andres Ballinas, and Tony Cornelissen. Germany, Eurovision Song Contest, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFuGH2Kp9dI Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.

“Cascada.” Discogs, www.discogs.com/artist/226574-Cascada.

Elaiza. “Is It Right?,” music and lyrics by Elżbieta Steinmetz, Frank Kretschmer and Adam Kesselhaut. Germany, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HYTd7WDCPg Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.

“Eurovision Voting & Points.” Eurovision World, eurovisionworld.com/?eurovision.

“Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest.” Wikipedia, 14 Feb. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#2010s.

Lena. “Satellite,” music and lyrics by Julie Frost, and John Gordon. Germany, Eurovision Song Contest, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pL9vdpSvnY Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

Lena. “Taken by a Stranger,” music and lyrics by Gus Seyffort, Nicole Morier, and Monica Birkenos. Germany, Eurovision Song Contest, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHsLnk3whxg Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

“Lena Meyer-Landrut.” Discogs, www.discogs.com/artist/1756180-Lena-Meyer-Landrut.

Lob, Roman. “Standing Still,” music and lyrics by Jamie Cullum, Wayne Hector, and Steve Robson. Germany, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cScJPH20P3A Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

German National Identity: Shaped By Historic and Current Crises Alike

It is easy for Americans born on the cusp of the twenty-first century, such as myself, to forget that Germany, as we know it today, has hardly existed for more than two decades. A modern German national identity began developing in the shadow of World War II during the Bonn Republic. National identity can be defined as the psychological feeling of belonging shared by individuals of a given nation (Triandafyllidou 595). German national identity is unique in that it is built around a commitment to democratic principles and a successful social market economy rather than patriotism or a feeling of national superiority. This comes as a direct result of German sentiment following World War II. However, modern German perceptions of Islamic immigrant populations have brought the German people’s longstanding tradition of valuing human rights over feelings of national superiority into question.

After World War II, Germany was split into two individual states: NATO-influenced West Germany – also known as the Federal Republic of Germany or the Bonn Republic – and the Soviet-influenced East Germany. Ultimately, Germany was reunified via an annexation of East Germany by the Federal Republic in the 90s. Thus, modern Germany resembles West Germany far more than it does Soviet East Germany. When drafting the Federal Republic’s constitution, the framers of the Basic Law put a special emphasis on “installing an extensive system of checks and balances which were to avoid the mistakes of the past, … human rights, … and values such as liberty and equality” (Wittlinger 2). The fact that these were the areas of emphasis in the drafting of the Basic Law comes unsurprisingly as the lack of an effective checks and balances system in pre-war Germany allowed for the central government to attain an unprecedented level of power during the Third Reich, which ultimately enabled the atrocious human rights violations of the Holocaust – which the German people have chosen to never forget – to be committed. We will come to see that the largest influence in the construction of a modern German national identity has been World War II and its resulting fallout.

During the immediate post-war era, the Federal Republic formed strong relationships with France and the United States to ensure protection from the threat of the Soviet Union but was otherwise happy to stay internationally quiet while rebuilding its economy and infrastructure. During this time, it was hard for Germans to identify with their nation due to “the Nazi past and the collective memory of its destructive nationalism” (Wittlinger 4). However, as time went on and the Bonn Republic continued to focus on growing its economic strength, its citizens became united through feelings of pride for their flourishing economic system which yielded widespread affluence throughout the state. Today, German citizens continue to take pride in being pioneers of industry and commerce, and rightly so. Germany has the strongest economy in Europe (and the fourth strongest in the world) with a GDP of four trillion USD and a per capita GDP of $48,000 (United States, IC, Central Intelligence Agency).

Germany’s economic powerhouse status has raised a contentious debate in Europe surrounding its role within the European Union. Several commentators are suggesting that Germany has turned into a hegemon, or an overbearingly dominant political force, but the prevalent German opinion is a dissenting one that suggests Germany’s place in Europe is simply as a “Chief Facilitating Officer” (Ischinger; Steinmeier). This perspective is a uniquely German one in that it concedes a degree of economic superiority while rejecting the notion of dominance. More than 70 years after the end of World War II, Germany continues to remember its darkest times as if they were yesterday and subsequently fear the development of a sense of national superiority.

Also as a result of atrocities committed during the Holocaust, a deep commitment to human rights and civil liberties is an integral component of the German national Identity today. The UN Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2016 report issued a freedom score of 95/100 to Germany, five points higher than the USA’s score of 90. Furthermore, Freedom House gives Germany a perfect score of 1 in Political Rights and Civil Liberties. However, Amnesty International criticized Germany’s treatment of refugees in their Annual Report, citing more than one hundred instances of hate crimes against asylum seeking immigrants over the course of 12 months. The current refugee crisis and subsequent actions taken by the German people and government are threatening to reshape the modern German national identity as it has come to be known.

In early 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted an open arms policy concerning Germany’s stance on the acceptance of refugees into the country (Delcker). Since then, more than 1.1 million asylum-seeking immigrants have entered the country, most of whom have come from Syria (Mortimer). Germany’s total population is estimated to be just over 80 million, so an influx of 1.1 million immigrants is truly staggering. The refugees living in Germany are by far the most relevant “other” as it pertains to the reshaping of the German national identity.

Today, Merkel’s favorability rating has tanked as a direct result of her immigration policy (Delcker). Germans see the open arms policy as a detriment to their national security and hold Merkel accountable for the occurrence of recent terror attacks such as the Berlin Christmas market massacre that killed 12 people (Al Jazeera). Through means of varying civility, ranging from peaceful protests all the way to acts of arson, the German people have made it clear to the world that a Syrian living in Germany is very much not a German. Thus, refugees are choosing to leave the country as they no longer feel welcome (Mortimer). If the German government decides to stop accepting refugees into the country, it will set a bad example for the future and go against the precedent set during the days of the Bonn Republic. Furthermore, refusing to grant safety to innocent people whose homes are being blown to rubble almost seems like terrorism in and of itself.

While German policymakers have yet to cave in and kick refugees out of their country, the German people have made their minds up as to how they want the problem dealt with: they want the refugees to go back home, even though home does not exist for most of these people. While a commitment to human rights and democratic principles is key to German national identity, current German actions towards refugees have made it apparent that Germans value their feelings of safety far more than others’ rights to those same safe feelings.

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Works Cited

Triandafyllidou, Anna. "National Identity And The `Other.'." Ethnic & Racial Studies vol. 21, no. 4, 1998: pp. 593-610 SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 19 Jan. 2017.

Wittlinger, Ruth. German National Identity in the Twenty-First Century: A Different Republic After All? Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp. 1-8.

Central Intelligence Agency. “The World Factbook: Germany.” Central Intelligence Agency, 12 Jan. 2017, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html.

Mortimer, Caroline. “Thousands of refugees successfully sue German government over partial asylum status.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 18 Oct. 2016, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-germany-government-bamf-angela-merkel-anti-immigration-a7368551.html.

Delcker, Janosch. “Angela Merkel: refugee policy misunderstood, not mistaken.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 20 Sept. 2016, www.politico.eu/article/angela-merkel-refugee-policy-misunderstood-not-mistaken-berlin-elections-migration-afd/.

Al Jazeera. “Record number of refugees opt to leave in 2016.” Germany News, Al Jazeera, 28 Dec. 2016, www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/record-number-refugees-opt-leave-2016-161228131140508.html.

Steinmeier, Frank-Walter. “Save Our Trans-Atlantic Order.” The Opinion Pages, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/opinion/save-our-trans-atlantic-order.html?smid=pl-share.

Ischinger, Wolfgang. “What is Germany’s role within the EU?” Regional Agenda - Europe - Germany, World Economic Forum, 15 Sept. 2015, www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/what-is-germanys-role-within-the-eu/.

Amnesty International. “Annual Report: Germany 2015/2016.” Amnesty International, 2016, www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/germany/report-germany/.

Freedom House. “Freedom in the World 2016.” Freedom in the World 2016, Freedom House, 2016, freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2016?gclid=CjwKEAiA8JbEBRCz2szzhqrx7H8SJAC6FjXXQxzeQk3622_QzfhkGwGY0h-14zZY_L8GwBJOj5jaPxoC_Nrw_wcB.