Update (20:55) In MV liegt die CDU in den Rohzahlen bei 4,75%, offen sind noch 84 Briefwahl- und 92 Urnenwahlbezirke. Wenn ich wetten müsste, schafft sie es nicht.
Manès Weisskircher
@manesweisskircher.bsky.social
Head of the Research Group REXKLIMA at TU Dresden & Visiting Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University | Researching far-right politics, social movements, political parties, climate politics & democracy
After Saxony-Anhalt, next Sunday's regional vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania could be even more devastating for the Christian Democrats. If current trends continue, the SPD may end up in first place, ahead of the AfD. The Greens and BSW are struggling to clear the electoral threshold, but...
Are you interested in the #RadicalRight in Austria? → M. Weisskircher. “A Normal(ised) Far-Right Party? A Long-Term Perspective on the FPÖ's Electoral Strength in Austria”. In: The Political Quarterly 96.4 (2025), pp. 635-644. dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.13556.
In diesem in der @pvs-journal.bsky.social veröffentlichten Aufsatz verorte ich Manows Buch "Spaltungslinien" in der Debatte zum Postliberalismus. Der zentralen Annahme, dass rechtspopulistische Parteien heute wirtschafts- und sozialpolitisch links stünden, widerspreche ich. rdcu.be/swtwc7WqF9ta
Reading: a 2020 article about why the far right is on the rise in eastern Germany.
Reading: Why is AfD strong in eastern Germany?
This 2020 article in PQ by Manes Weisskircher reviews the research on why the far right is strong in eastern Germany. The answer is multi-faceted. There is the reality of economic decline, particularly for those of working age since the welfare state gives people past retirement age an income on which they can live easily -worth noting that in the Saxony-Anhalt results yesterday, the older voter cohorts, past retirement age, were more likely to vote CDU than AfD, despite the CDU's terrible showing in the region.
anthony.zacharzewski.eu
What do yesterday’s ST results imply for liberal democracy? In our ongoing nationwide survey, we asked about support for liberal democracy (following doi.org/10.1177/0010...). Acceptance of & ambivalence toward illiberal action are worryingly widespread, though majorities reject each transgression.
Some context for today's election: Why is the #AfD so strong in eastern Germany? Check out our special issue, with great contributions on youth voters, climate obstruction, anti-LGBTQ+ mobilization & the #BSW. With @asheinze.bsky.social, @gertpickel.bsky.social. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The AfD and its Electoral Persistence in Eastern Germany. Causes, Issues, and Implications
This Special Issue examines the persistence of AfD's electoral success and the party's strong regional entrenchment in Eastern Germany more than a decade after its foundation. Bringing together ten...
tandfonline.com
Why is the #AfD so strong in eastern Germany? And what does this say about Germany's enduring east-west divide? Some context for today’s election in Saxony-Anhalt: my 2020 article for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social - unfortunately, still highly relevant. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
The Strength of Far‐Right AfD in Eastern Germany: The East‐West Divide and the Multiple Causes behind ‘Populism’
This article sheds light on one of the key developments in recent German politics and relates it to the broader debate on the electoral success of the far right. The rise of the Alternative für Deuts...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Here are some people you should follow to help make sense of AfD and Saxony-Anhalt election. @mquent.de @asheinze.bsky.social @manesweisskircher.bsky.social @kai-arzheimer.com @leoniedejonge.bsky.social @steffenmau.bsky.social @mlewandowsky.bsky.social & @sarahwagner.bsky.social (on BSW)
🎉 Absolutely chuffed to have been awarded the ‘Pietro Grilli di Cortona’ Best Book Prize of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP) for ‘Movement Parties of the Far Right’ (@academic.oup.com)! A huge honour—we’re over the moon! Many thanks to the jury and everyone who made it possible. 🙏
📚 Hot off the press: In this new piece, Gabriele Abels and I look at the role of Germany’s #federal electoral system in the rise of the #AfD – a particularly relevant question ahead of the upcoming elections in #SaxonyAnhalt and beyond. 👉 doi.org/10.5771/9783...
💔 Do you ever feel lonely – and have you ever thought of #loneliness as political? I’m super excited about this new publication with @mlewandowsky.bsky.social in @electoralstudies.bsky.social, in which we examine the relationship between loneliness and voting. 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Lange Zeit unterschied sich das Wahlverhalten in Berlin vor allem zwischen Ost und West. Im @tagesspiegel.de zeigen wir, dass eine andere Trennlinie immer wichtiger wird: Innenstadt vs. Außenbezirke. Unsere Datenanalyse von 30 Jahren Wahlergebnissen und 1500 Wahlbezirken 👇 shorturl.at/js5Rz
Mit @volksverpetzer.de habe ich über "den" Osten gesprochen & dabei mit einigen Vorurteilen aufgeräumt. Natürlich gibt es bis heute Unterschiede - politisch, zivilgesellschaftlich, wirtschaftlich -, doch helfen plumpe Pauschalisierungen nicht weiter. Ein ungewöhnlicher, aber detaillierter Artikel. 🔎
Der Volksverpetzer@volksverpetzer.de · 4w agoZu den Wahlen liest man es überall: "Dunkeldeutschland", "am besten die Mauer wieder hochziehen": Ost-Bashing ist nicht nur falsch, es schadet sogar dem Kampf gegen die AfD Drei wenig bekannte Erkenntnisse dazu, die jeder Antifaschist lesen sollte. volksverpetzer.de/analyse/uebe...
Satisfaction with the way democracy is working in one's country over the last 50 years in Western European countries. Pooled data from the Eurobarometer.
Out now, mein Literaturbericht in der ZfVP 🥳 Es geht um politikwissenschaftliche Kritiken an der Demokratiemessung von V-Dem & die Frage, was daraus für die breite Debatte über die (vermeintliche) Krise der Demokratie folgt. Den Text gibt es hier in Open Access: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🎂 So happy to learn that our article on young #AfD voters is now fully grown up, with proper volume/page numbers. 🙃 I'm even happier to see that it's the most-read article in #GermanPolitics. 🤩 Thank you all for your interest! 💘 doi.org/10.1080/0964... For our main findings, see the thread below. 👇
Growing Up Far Right? Youth Support for the AfD in Eastern Germany
The far right is gaining increasing traction among young voters – an age group that constitutes the future electorate. Yet, the underlying drivers of this trend remain insufficiently explored. This...
doi.org
Orbán governed Hungary for 16 years with more centralized power than most governments. The international far right copied him. He still failed at development, and then he lost. My new open-access piece in New Political Economy explains the rise and fall of Orbanism. 1/3 doi.org/10.1080/1356...
Die @katrin-praprotnik.com hat auf politikmonitor.at den aktualisierten Stand der Umsetzung von Wahlversprechen der Regierungsparteien veröffentlicht: Insgesamt 27% (teilweise) umgesetzt (= 38% jener, die im Koalitionsabkommen stehen) ÖVP: 33% (38% aus KoalAbk) SPÖ: 18% (31%) Neos: 27% (42%)
'How Place-Based Policy Could Counter Populist Discontent' Our latest essay on place and discontent is out today in @politicalquarterly.bsky.social Free to read ➡️ doi.org/10.1111/1467...
Our article on the discursive coherence of populist radical right parties' economic agendas is out now with @spsr.bsky.social (with Emmanuel Dalle Mulle, Koen Abts, and @caterinafr.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1111/spsr...
A Joint Venture? The Ideological Foundations of the Populist Radical Right's Economic Agenda Beyond Welfare Policies
Recently, the socio-economic agenda of populist radical right parties (PRRPs) has attracted growing scholarly interest, yet many studies focus specifically on positions on welfare policies. It is oft...
doi.org
For instance, "Polarized Equality? Ideological and Affective Divides Over Gender Equality in Europe" by @cyrillotteni.bsky.social polarization.wiki/usecases/ott...
Polarized Equality? Ideological and Affective Divides Over Gender Equality in Europe
Abstract Objective This study examines polarization over gender equality in Europe, an issue that has received limited attention in the polarization literature despite growing politicization and oppos...
polarization.wiki
We (@felixgruenewald.bsky.social and our RA Tom Anderer) have once again updated our Encyclopedia of Polarization! The update features several new contributions on polarization research. You can find the newest entries on polarization.wiki and some of them listed below:
Encyclopedia of Polarization
An Encyclopedia of Polarization
polarization.wiki
We now have the first part of the provisional (i.e. still being developed) party manifesto of General Vannacci's Futuro Nazionale, now polling at circa 7/8%. As expected, they position themselves as the "pure" Right, on the right of both League & Brothers of Italy. Thread.
📣 New paper (cond. accepted at CPS)! ⚡ What happens politically when household energy becomes more expensive? In our new paper (with bluesky-less Sophia Wang) we show that even before the energy crisis (2016–2021), increases in household energy burden erode SWD, particularly among renters. 🧵 1/4
📣 @manesweisskircher.bsky.social: Wie mobilisiert man gegen #Regierungspolitik, ohne mit der größten #Oppositionspartei zu kooperieren oder von ihr vereinnahmt zu werden? Das hat schon manche soziale Bewegung vor Probleme gestellt. @fr-zeitung.bsky.social:
Wo bleiben die Proteste gegen den Sozialabbau?
Die Regierung zerlegt den Sozialstaat – doch massiver Widerstand regt sich kaum. Warum? Protestforscher Manès Weisskircher zählt dafür gleich mehrere Gründe auf.
buff.ly
Ein paar Einschätzungen von mir zu den momentanen Kabinettsumbildungsprozessen in @zdfheute.de.web.brid.gy 👇 www.zdfheute.de/video/zdfheu...
"Kabinettsumbildungen sind eine heikle Sache"
Politologe Debus sieht Merz trotz des Personalchaos "gefestigt". Es komme nun darauf an, wie schnell man aus Fehlern lerne, sagt er bei ZDFheute live.
zdfheute.de
🧵 Neu & Open Access: Mein Kapitel in der Neuauflage des Handbuchs Vergleichende PoWi zur Entwicklung der Wahlforschung – von US-zentriert zu global & vergleichend 📚👇
Wahlforschung in der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft
In den 1970er-Jahren hat sich die bis dahin US-amerikanisch geprägte Wahlforschung internationalisiert. Seit den 1990er-Jahren ist der Mainstream der Wahlforschung vergleichend ausgerichtet, da sich die Wirkung institutioneller und anderer kontextueller...
link.springer.com