Austria and Germany have shared jus sanguinis nationality rules and political landscape with strong Christian Democratic parties. This would lead readers to expect similar, non-multicultural policies toward Muslim inhabitants. However, Austria have maintained an official Muslim recognition regime, while there had been no such recognition in Germany. This is explained by different historical legacies, especially an experience of multi-national empire, on the one hand, and an imperial nation state, on the other.
Recently, both regimes have shown signs of fundamental institutional changes. In Austria, traditional a-liberal incorporation has been criticized for its disregard for the lack of transparency and non-democratic procedures within organizations, which eventually led to the change of laws. In Germany, increasing number of Muslim, mainly Turkish, inhabitants led to recognition of dual citizenship. In this situation, the German religious politicians have to choose between more secularization and official recognition of Muslims. In the end, the latter path has been chosen under the premiership of a Christian Democrat. These two cases show that history matters, but common pressure pushes different incorporation regimes toward convergence in the direction of Liberal Multiculturalism, at least to some extent.
