Am I German, am I Turkish, or both? Ethnic identity construction of third-generation people with Turkish background in Germany

An estimated 40,000 people demonstrate in Cologne (Germany) on 31 July 2016 for the current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Many of them have grandparents who came to Germany from Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s. The pro-Erdogan rally illustrates how explosive the issue of constructed ethnic identity is regarding the "3. Generation" of Turkish origin in Germany.
Due to the migration-related processes, societies have already become hybrid per se. At the micro level, more and more "cross-cutting identities" can be identified. With the use of qualitative interviews this manuscript explores these phenomena regarding the constructed identity construction of “3. Generation” of Turkish origin in Germany. The central questions of this manuscript are:
- What is the ethnic identity of the people of the "3. Generation” of Turkish origin in Germany?
- Which influencing factors and identity policies influence the identity designs?
- Are multicultural identities that consider home in both Turkey and Germany the rule or exception?
By using interviews, this manuscript confirms that the ethnic identification is a self-determined subjective construction that demands an active performance of the individual. The ethnic identity of the "third generation" of Turkish origin is constantly evolving, which is why it does not have to decide between two cultures, but is characterized by different cultural influences that partly compete. In addition, an outlook for further research is given.