The trend reflects election surveys
Study: One in twelve Germans has a right-wing extremist worldview
September 21, 2023, 8:20 a.m
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Only a few people in Germany are openly and firmly right-wing extremists. But people are increasingly sharing their worldview again, a study shows. This is also reflected in election surveys. A trend that is worrying for the commissioning Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
According to a recent study, right-wing extremist attitudes have increased sharply among the German population since 2021. Currently, one in twelve adults has a right-wing extremist worldview, according to a study by researchers at Bielefeld University. At 8.3 percent, the share has increased significantly compared to the level of almost 2 to 3 percent in previous years.
According to the study, one cannot automatically conclude from a right-wing extremist attitude where someone locates themselves politically. “Among those who clearly position themselves as ‘left’, there are more people who share a solid right-wing extremist worldview (12 percent) than is the case in the political center (7 percent),” say the researchers led by Andreas Zick firmly.
The proportion of respondents who see themselves as right-of-center has also increased, according to the study entitled “The Distant Center.” While 15.5 percent of the population currently see themselves as right-of-center, in the previous survey it was just under ten percent.
“Völkisch positions are on the rise”
The study shows “that parts of the middle of society are distancing themselves from democracy or have lost trust in functioning institutions,” explained Martin Schulz, the chairman of the SPD-affiliated Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is responsible for the “Mitte Study”. Every two years, right-wing extremist attitudes in particular are examined with a representative survey. “Populism and anti-democratic and ethnic positions are on the rise.”
This is not surprising if you look at the results of the voter surveys of the past few weeks. There, the right-wing populist AfD is around 22 percent nationwide. In principle, election surveys only reflect opinions at the time of the survey and are not predictions of the election outcome. They are also always subject to uncertainty.
The authors define the central feature of right-wing extremism as “an ideology of inequality and violence or the approval of violence to enforce the ideology.” Compared to previous years, the accusation of curtailed freedom of expression is shared by significantly more respondents, according to the study. “The same applies to the ethnic demand that different peoples should not mix with one another.”
“Shocking” results
The 2,027 participants in a telephone survey conducted by the UADS Institute in Duisburg between January 2nd and February 28th of this year were asked to take a position on certain statements, such as whether they would support a dictatorship. Based on the total sample, the error margin is, according to the authors, +/- 2.2 percent.
According to the information, 30 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement “The ruling parties are deceiving the people” – almost twice as many as two years earlier. The proportion of those who approve of political violence has more than doubled. According to the study, it is currently 13.2 percent. Two years ago, 5.3 percent of respondents held this view.
“These results are not only frightening, but also require consistent action – from politicians, but also from society itself,” explained Schulz. The people rightly demanded a strong, effective and functioning state. But the democratic center itself is also called upon to clearly distance itself from anti-human attitudes.