Modern states are strongly characterized by their ethnic diversity. At the same time ethnic minorities are only poorly represented in the political institution of Western countries. This paper aims to explore how parties deal with the challenges they are faced to regarding the increasing numbers of (German) citizens with a migration background. The focus will lie on the nomination of ethnic minority candidates by addressing mainly the following questions: which differences can be observed between the parties regarding the number of ethnic minority candidates? Do all parties show a vote-seeking behavior in this regard? Does ethnicity serve as a selection criterion; and if so, are there inter-party differences as well as differences regarding the institutional and political context? We will examine these questions for the case of the 2013 legislative elections in Germany by drawing on quantitative as well as qualitative data (semi-structured interviews).
