The paradox of discourse, representation, and integration in Germany: discursive responses of four german federal parties and turkish politicians within the axis of Kanal Avrupa TV's Bakış Açısı Program (2005-2012)

This study analyzes integration and education policies in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony between 2005 and 2012, within the framework of a multifaceted struggle for hegemony between state actors and politicians of Turkish origin. Using Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology, the research examines the political discourses in Kanal Avrupa TV's Perspective program, analyzing the positioning of the immigrant subject through textual, discursive, and social practice dimensions. The analysis reveals the discursive differences among the actors representing German state rationality; in this context, a spectrum is observed ranging from the CDU's conservative paternalism to the SPD's economic rationality and the Greens' multicultural participation philosophy. On the other hand, this institutional structure creates a tense space between the German rationality, which confines the immigrant to 'individual integration performance,' and Turkey's protective discourse centered on mother tongue and diasporic identity. The harsh criticisms of Turkish politicians, particularly regarding issues such as obstacles to family reunification and Jugendamt (Youth Welfare Office) practices, demonstrate Turkey's positioning as a new and protective 'transnational actor' towards the diaspora. The study reveals that instead of being caught in this power struggle between Ankara and Berlin, third-generation immigrants are constructing their own independent discourses of 'participation' (Teilhabe) against institutional racism; therefore, what is happening is not an integration crisis, but a demand for equal citizenship.