Dynamics of Right-Wing Populism in German Electoral Politics
Summary
The rise of right-wing populism in Germany has reshaped the electoral landscape since the founding of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in 2013. Initially anchored in euroscepticism and fiscal concerns, the party rapidly reoriented towards migration, national identity and cultural anxieties. This shift has coincided with a broader fragmentation of issue competition: mainstream parties have gravitated towards valence issues such as economic competence, while the AfD and similar challengers exploit positional issues on socio-cultural dimensions. Regional patterns are stark: support is consistently stronger in the eastern Länder, where historical legacies, economic disenchantment and demographic factors reinforce nativist attitudes. Digital media and populist communication strategies amplify emotive binary framings of ‘people versus elite’ and a sense of cultural threat. Crises—from the 2015 refugee influx to the Covid-19 pandemic—have served both as opportunities and tests for adaptation. While the AfD’s early pandemic response was inconsistent, it later positioned itself as defender of individual freedom against governmental restrictions, though without proportional electoral gains. The mainstream response has oscillated between exclusionary cordons sanitaire and selective issue adoption, underlining the transformative impact of right-wing populism on policy agendas, party systems and democratic norms. Transnationally, German developments mirror a continental trend in which identity politics and anti-establishment rhetoric reshape governance, social cohesion and the resilience of liberal democracy.
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Dynamics of Right-Wing Populism in German Electoral Politics publication trend
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Technical terms
Populism: A political approach that contrasts a virtuous, homogeneous ‘people’ with a corrupt elite and claims to restore popular sovereignty.
Nativism: An ideological stance prioritising the interests of ‘native’ inhabitants and often opposing immigration and cultural pluralism.
Valence issues: Policy domains where broad agreement exists on desired outcomes and parties compete primarily on competence.
Positional issues: Contested policy questions on which actors hold divergent normative views and appeal to specific voter segments.
Socio-cultural dimension: The aspect of political competition concerned with identity, religion, migration and national belonging.
References
- It’s no longer the economy, stupid! Issue yield at the 2017 German federal election. West European Politics (2019).
- Why Is the AfD so Successful in Eastern Germany? An Analysis of the Ideational Foundations of the AfD Vote in the 2017 Federal Election. Politische Vierteljahresschrift (2020).
- The Self-Proclaimed Defender of Freedom: The AfD and the Pandemic. Government and Opposition (2022).
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