In between East and West : Eastern German Identity Construction along the East-West Binary and the Potential for Transformation

Abstract: 30 years into the existence of a unified German Republic, the emphasis of differences, the use of stereotypes and the existence of economic inequalities remain. This affects the younger post-unification generation - children that were born after 1989. The study is concerned with the investigation into the process of identity construction along the East-West binary and the effects this process has on said binary division. Thereby, the Eastern German perspective is stressed by using in-depth interviews with Eastern German respondents for a narrative analysis that is based on structural, interactional and performative principles. This thesis sees its contribution in the renewal of the deadlocked debate about the German East-West discourse by taking a postmodern stance on identity while applying a sociological theoretical framework and postcolonial concepts. The ambivalence in identity construction and the indication for a hybrid form of identity point at the existence of a Third Space, in which socio-political transformations can take place.