By comparing Habermasian and Foucaultian discourse studies; the thesis proposes a framework for studying policy-making with an emphasis on the communicative process. The framework composes two parts. First; it displays the derivation of policy proposals. The policy proposals reflect social needs; which derive from existential threats to different social identities; and these identities stem from the complex of social discursive formations. Secondly; two modes of political communicative interaction are introduced; including ”reason-oriented arguing” and ”power-oriented bargaining.” Researchers distinguish between reason-giving and power-manipulating manoeuvres by recognising whether the proposals share the same discursive formation as the reference pool. With a framework as such; German immigration policy is comprehensively studied both in terms of the origins of the policy proposals and of the actual communicative interaction.