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In his 2010 best-selling book Germany Is Doing Away with Itself former German Central Bank executive member Thilo Sarrazin denounced the structural integration unwillingness of the Turkish community in Germany. The book sparked a fierce controversy especially among young, liberal, German-speaking Turks who feltCEU Political Science Journal. Vol. 8, No. 2 267 deeply offended by Sarrazin’s allegations. The German unease with Islam and Turkey has cast a shadow over bilateral relations between the two states. With the rise of radical Islam and ongoing human rights violations in Turkey, tensions have been on the increase. Turkey is the only Muslim country with one foot in Europe and an active member of the Western defense alliance NATO. Despite the strong secular foundations laid by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who abolished the trappings of the Islamic state and replaced them with Western institutions, Turkey’s aspirations to become a full- fledged member of the EU have not been fulfilled as of today. Hopes that the 4 million Turkish migrants who moved to Europe would settle for good there and feel emotionally attached to their new home did not eventuate. The voluminous study by Nermin Abadan-Unat, a Turkish-German scholar who is also called the “mother of Turkish migration research” (p. xiii), has explored the intentions and actual outcomes of Turkish migration policies from a historical perspective. Her research is based on empirical surveys investigating the disillusioning and harsh experiences of Turkish migrants in Europe over a time span covering more than 50 years. Her study was initially published in Turkish (2002) before being translated into German (2005). The English edition (2011) has been substantially revised. The goal of the study is to show that labor export migration did neither improve the status of Turkish migrants nor benefit the Turkish economy for two reasons. One reason it that migration has been used by the Turkish government as a tool of “social engineering” (xxi), the second reason is that migration “primarily served to benefit migrant-accepting states and their financial capital” (p. xxiv). Though conceived as a historical study, the information is not presented in a chronological or narrative order except for the first chapter which examines the historical phases of Turkish emigration to Europe. The remaining chapters of the study are structured along major theme blocs. Chapter 2 covers migration to the Middle East and Russia. Chapter 3 presents two major empirical studies that depict the negative outcomes of migration: one is about the difficult living and working conditions of Turkish migrants in Germany, the other about difficulties Turkish migrants face when returning to their home country and resettling there. The author tells us that migrants face the challenges of “marginalized lifestyles” (p. 71) in the host country on one hand and increased levels of “dependency” (p. 82) and estrangement in the country of origin on the other hand. The subsequent chapters touch upon major themes of migration such as migrant women (chapter 4); educational challenges for the second and third generation of migrants (chapter 5); the activities of Islamic civil society organizations (chapter 6); the development of ethnic niche businesses and ethnic enterprises in host countries (chapter 7); citizenship issues and political participation of migrants (chapter 8); xenophobia trends against foreigners (chapter 9). The last two chapters are concerned with predicting future developments. In this regard, chapter 10 looks at the changingBook Reviews 268 attitudes of Turks who have grown up or settled for good in Europe (the so called Euro-Turks) while chapter 11 offers an outlook on future transnational developments in migration research. The major strength of the study is the wealth of empirical data that supports the main thesis of the book. According to the author, migration has not benefited Turkey as the goal of economic development through labor export as a way to acquire European industrial skills was never achieved (p. 23). From the perspective of the migrant it did not pay off either. Abadan-Unat argues that many of the migrants who had “respectable professions” (p. 53) in Turkey saw their socio- economic status worsening as they had to accept lower worker status in Germany. Moreover, the first generation of migrants suffered from cultural identity diffusion and “did not aspire to be integrated” (p. 114). Integration is a key concept of modern migration science, yet in the book of Abadan-Unat the concept remains somehow fluid. The author refers to it in more detail only in the final chapter of her study. On one side she defines integration as a “watered-down version of a strict assimilation policy” with all the “exclusionist elements of assimilation” (p. 224). Hence, in her concluding remarks she estimates that integration does not seem to have offered a solution to the problems of the migrant Turks in Europe (p. 241). On the other side she depicts integration as a positive concept opposed to the disadvantages of discrimination (p. 208). The theoretical arguments of the author leaves room for interpretation and leave many questions open. In the same light her comments on the head scarf issue and honor killings remain somewhat ambiguous, if not controversial. She asserts for example in the case of honor killings that “those cultural values (traditional values, PH) can sometimes be considered a resistance against assimilation” (p. 111). The author remains equally ambiguous about the importance of identifying with democratic and constitutional values in a secular state governed by the rule of law. She sees for example a trend towards an open “Islamophobia” in Europe (pp. 139, 241) and maintains that it is “impossible to realize the conditions Tibi sets forth for Euro-Islam” (142). Bassam Tibi is a German scholar of Syrian descent who has coined the concept of Leitkultur (guiding or dominant culture) in 1996 to defend liberal values against the growing Islamic cultural fundamentalism in Europe. According to Tibi values can either be imposed in coercive ways through violence and indoctrination or shared in positive ways through respect, tolerance, acceptance and mutual understanding. According to Tibi the Leitkultur concept encompasses a commitment to human rights, separation of religion and state, pluralism, human dignity and mutual tolerance. In similar terms the principle of “constitutional patriotism”, a concept associated with the liberal German scholar Juergen Habermas, posits that citizenship relies on shared, universal (republican or democratic) values, rather than on a common history or ethnic origin.CEU Political Science Journal. Vol. 8, No. 2 269 Even though Abadan-Unat does not disclose her own scientific position or offer her own compelling migration theory it is to her merit to summarize secondary independent research findings throughout her book. The point she makes is that many second and third generation Turks have overcome their conflicting identities and have come to value the culture and traditions of their European host countries (p. 206). In other words, the study opens the door to a promising perspective for critical thinking on changes in migrants’ transnational identity formation, civic values and human rights awareness.