The article explores the extent to which Europeans’ welfare attitudes explain (trans)national sol... more The article explores the extent to which Europeans’ welfare attitudes explain (trans)national solidarity behavior. We set our analyses against the backdrop of the broader debate of welfare state consequences: Does a strong welfare state that is considered to take care of those in need diminish or strengthen citizens’ motivations to become engaged in helping others? We distinguish individuals’ solidarity behavior toward others within the welfare state, that is, citizens within one’s country, and outside the welfare state community of the respondents’ particular country. We further distinguish different others outside the welfare state, that is, between refugees, taking the refugee crisis in the European Union (EU) as a prime example, and citizens living in other countries—in EU countries and non-EU countries. As far as the main explanatory variables are concerned, we derive from the concept of “multidimensional welfare attitudes” and focus on five crucial dimensions of these attitude...
Medien- & Kommunikationswissenschaft, Dec 31, 2022
The Extreme Right and Conspiracy Ideological Telegram Scene in Saxony Supply and Demand of a Loca... more The Extreme Right and Conspiracy Ideological Telegram Scene in Saxony Supply and Demand of a Locally Embedded Movement In the course of the Covid 19 pandemic and building on conspiracy theories, a strong far right mo bilization and radicalization has been observed, which crossed existing milieus and brought known right-wingers and previously politically inactive people together to take the streets. Social media played a major role in this, with the platform Telegram standing out in Germany. Political entrepreneurs and the extreme right used the crisis to build up a supply of topics, ideas and orientation via channels and by directly addressing their audience. At the same time, there is a considerable demand for such a supply, as follower and view figures show. In this paper, we use a quantifying distant reading approach to investigate how supply and demand in the far right and conspiracist Telegram scene in Saxony developed within half a year. In doing so, we elaborate on different communication patterns and-with the Covid 19 pandemic and especially the measures subsiding-identify a large thematic heterogeneity. The local Telegram groups in particular have established themselves as part of the reality of people's lives on the ground. The conspiracist content shared there poses a challenge to the democratic public sphere.
Zeitschrift für Rechtsextremismusforschung, Oct 17, 2023
This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarianism, conspiracy mentality and ri... more This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarianism, conspiracy mentality and right-wing extremist attitudes based on a secondary analysis of a German representative survey and using structural equation modeling (N = 2.312). Empirical research has revived the concept of authoritarianism to explain right-wing extremist attitudes – as well as right-wing extremist violence and electoral behavior. Conspiracy mentality only recently gained importance as a predictor for right-wing extremism. We argue that projective thinking – be it antisemitism, racism or conspiracy mentality – is central for understanding right-wing extremist attitudes. This study shows, that authoritarianism is not only an important predictor for right-wing extremist attitudes. Beyond that, our findings indicate that the effect of authoritarianism on right-wing extremist attitudes is mediated by conspiracy mentality. This suggests to reconsider psychodynamic processes as one possible explanatory approach. Moreover, our findings suggest that conspiracy mentality, while providing additional explanatory power should be considered a factor for radicalization into right-wing extremism distinct from authoritarianism.
Saxony remains a hot spot for far-right mobilization making it a prominent case for studying Neon... more Saxony remains a hot spot for far-right mobilization making it a prominent case for studying Neonazi-networks as well as broader issues of challenges for democracy. Local and regional mobilization has intensified during the political contestation of migration 2013ff. with Dresden’s PEGIDA becoming a benchmark for regional regressive movements. During the pandemic, we observed yet another uptick in far-right mobilization, again deeply rooted in local networks that existed before the crisis and leading to a specific dynamic distinct from other regions in Germany. To explain this phenomenon, it is important to consider regional and local characteristics of identity formation, perceptions of ‘winner-and-loser’ dichotomies, and the broader challenges of global and European inequalities. As this contribution argues, here lie yet idle potentials for the comparative study of Euroscepticism and place.
Zusammenfassung Extrem rechte und verschwörungsideologische Akteure konnten während der Corona-Pa... more Zusammenfassung Extrem rechte und verschwörungsideologische Akteure konnten während der Corona-Pandemie neuen Zulauf generieren. Die Online-Mobilisierung war vor allem über die Plattform Telegram erfolgreich. Inzwischen prägt der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine bzw. dessen Auswirkungen die Diskussionen in dieser spezifischen Teilöffentlichkeit. Unser Kooperationsprojekt zwischen dem Else-Frenkel-Brunswik-Institut an der Universität Leipzig und der Amadeu Antoni Stiftung setzt seit Ende 2021 ein umfassendes, computergestütztes Monitoring der extrem rechten und verschwörungsideologischen Szene in Sachsen um. In diesem Beitrag rekonstruieren wir auf dieser umfassenden empirischen Basis die Rolle, die der Begriff „Frieden“ als leerer Signifikant für die Mobilisierung spielt. Mit dem allgemein positiv besetzten, aber für Interpretationen offenen Begriff lässt sich offenbar ein breites, anti-demokratisches Spektrum ansprechen. Gemeinsamer Nenner der Szene ist die Ablehnung der d...
Zusammenfassung In der Aktuellen Analyse stellen Oliver Decker, Johannes Kiess, Ayline Heller, Ju... more Zusammenfassung In der Aktuellen Analyse stellen Oliver Decker, Johannes Kiess, Ayline Heller, Julia Schuler und Elmar Brähler zentrale Ergebnisse der Leipziger Autoritarismus Studien 2022 (LAS) vor. Diese untersuchen rechtsextreme Einstellungen in Deutschland im Langzeitverlauf. Seit 2002 wird im Zweijahresrhythmus eine repräsentative Stichprobe der deutschen Bevölkerung zu einer Bandbreite politischer Themen befragt. Bekannt wurde die Studienreihe bis 2016 unter dem Namen Leipziger »Mitte«-Studien. Seit 2018 erscheint die Studie unter einem neuen Reihentitel, der eine Fokusverschiebung von der Problemanzeige zur Problemanalyse markiert. Die Studie zeigt auf, wie weit verbreitetet antidemokratischen Ressentiments in der Bevölkerung sind und sie rekonstruiert über die Jahre die Entwicklung der psychosozialen Dynamiken, die diesen antidemokratischen Reaktionen zu Grunde liegen. Der Beitrag fasst die zentralen Ergebnisse der diesjährigen Erhebung und Veränderungen in den letzten 20 Ja...
Political participation and party attachment in Western democracies have become more and more vol... more Political participation and party attachment in Western democracies have become more and more volatile. In turn, political campaigns seem increasingly dependent on short-term discursive windows of opportunity opened by dynamic debates on issues such as migration, climate, employment and economic policies. Based on panel data from nine European countries, we investigate how patterns and changes in the materialist and postmaterialist concerns of respondents affect electoral turnout and party switching. By relating these variables, we aim to uncover whether and to what extent underlying concerns – and thus short-term politicization – account for short-term patterns of electoral volatility. We pay special attention to young respondents, who are often framed as being particularly dynamic and less bound to traditional political loyalties. Our findings offer insights into short-term change in discursive opportunities for political mobilization and broader democratic engagement.
Die Zeiten sind unsicher: Klimawandel, COVID-19-Pandemie, der Angriffskrieg Russlands gegen die U... more Die Zeiten sind unsicher: Klimawandel, COVID-19-Pandemie, der Angriffskrieg Russlands gegen die Ukraine, Energiemangel und Inflation bestimmen in dichter Folge die öffentliche Debatte und das Leben in der Bundesrepublik. Welche Auswirkungen haben diese Herausforderungen auf die politische Kultur und die Gesellschaft? Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse der seit 2002 zum elften Mal durchgeführten repräsentativen Bevölkerungsumfrage zeigen die Autorinnen und Autoren, wie die Deutschen diese unsicheren Zeiten wahrnehmen, wie sich ihre Krisenwahrnehmung auf die politische Einstellung im Allgemeinen und auf autoritäre Dynamiken im Besonderen auswirkt. Mit Beiträgen von David Aderholz, Inken Behrmann, Sophie Bose, Elmar Brähler, Kazim Celik, Vera Clemens, Oliver Decker, Marius Dilling, Jörg M. Fegert, Natalie Gittner, Ayline Heller, Nele Hellweg, Charlotte Höcker, Valentin Ihßen, Fiona Kalkstein, Johannes Kiess, Johanna Niendorf, Laura Pfirter, Gert Pickel, Susanne Pickel, Clara Schließler, Andr...
This study investigates whether European reference frames – the rating of living conditions in ot... more This study investigates whether European reference frames – the rating of living conditions in other countries – affect the prevalence of xenophobia among respondents in different European countries. For justifying such assumption, the author builds on two literatures: a large body of literature investigates the effect of individual and collective relative deprivation on xenophobia. Moreover, studies in the field of European sociology show that, in light of deepening European integration, people compare living conditions in different European countries. The author argues that such European reference frames matter for the development of stereotyped categorization processes and thus xenophobia. Based on original survey data, the author shows that country comparisons matter at least indirectly and he points at apparently important country differences, indicating the salience of the respective countries in public debates and warranting further research. With these insights, this article...
The article explores the extent to which Europeans’ welfare attitudes explain (trans)national sol... more The article explores the extent to which Europeans’ welfare attitudes explain (trans)national solidarity behavior. We set our analyses against the backdrop of the broader debate of welfare state consequences: Does a strong welfare state that is considered to take care of those in need diminish or strengthen citizens’ motivations to become engaged in helping others? We distinguish individuals’ solidarity behavior toward others within the welfare state, that is, citizens within one’s country, and outside the welfare state community of the respondents’ particular country. We further distinguish different others outside the welfare state, that is, between refugees, taking the refugee crisis in the European Union (EU) as a prime example, and citizens living in other countries—in EU countries and non-EU countries. As far as the main explanatory variables are concerned, we derive from the concept of “multidimensional welfare attitudes” and focus on five crucial dimensions of these attitude...
Medien- & Kommunikationswissenschaft, Dec 31, 2022
The Extreme Right and Conspiracy Ideological Telegram Scene in Saxony Supply and Demand of a Loca... more The Extreme Right and Conspiracy Ideological Telegram Scene in Saxony Supply and Demand of a Locally Embedded Movement In the course of the Covid 19 pandemic and building on conspiracy theories, a strong far right mo bilization and radicalization has been observed, which crossed existing milieus and brought known right-wingers and previously politically inactive people together to take the streets. Social media played a major role in this, with the platform Telegram standing out in Germany. Political entrepreneurs and the extreme right used the crisis to build up a supply of topics, ideas and orientation via channels and by directly addressing their audience. At the same time, there is a considerable demand for such a supply, as follower and view figures show. In this paper, we use a quantifying distant reading approach to investigate how supply and demand in the far right and conspiracist Telegram scene in Saxony developed within half a year. In doing so, we elaborate on different communication patterns and-with the Covid 19 pandemic and especially the measures subsiding-identify a large thematic heterogeneity. The local Telegram groups in particular have established themselves as part of the reality of people's lives on the ground. The conspiracist content shared there poses a challenge to the democratic public sphere.
Zeitschrift für Rechtsextremismusforschung, Oct 17, 2023
This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarianism, conspiracy mentality and ri... more This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarianism, conspiracy mentality and right-wing extremist attitudes based on a secondary analysis of a German representative survey and using structural equation modeling (N = 2.312). Empirical research has revived the concept of authoritarianism to explain right-wing extremist attitudes – as well as right-wing extremist violence and electoral behavior. Conspiracy mentality only recently gained importance as a predictor for right-wing extremism. We argue that projective thinking – be it antisemitism, racism or conspiracy mentality – is central for understanding right-wing extremist attitudes. This study shows, that authoritarianism is not only an important predictor for right-wing extremist attitudes. Beyond that, our findings indicate that the effect of authoritarianism on right-wing extremist attitudes is mediated by conspiracy mentality. This suggests to reconsider psychodynamic processes as one possible explanatory approach. Moreover, our findings suggest that conspiracy mentality, while providing additional explanatory power should be considered a factor for radicalization into right-wing extremism distinct from authoritarianism.
Saxony remains a hot spot for far-right mobilization making it a prominent case for studying Neon... more Saxony remains a hot spot for far-right mobilization making it a prominent case for studying Neonazi-networks as well as broader issues of challenges for democracy. Local and regional mobilization has intensified during the political contestation of migration 2013ff. with Dresden’s PEGIDA becoming a benchmark for regional regressive movements. During the pandemic, we observed yet another uptick in far-right mobilization, again deeply rooted in local networks that existed before the crisis and leading to a specific dynamic distinct from other regions in Germany. To explain this phenomenon, it is important to consider regional and local characteristics of identity formation, perceptions of ‘winner-and-loser’ dichotomies, and the broader challenges of global and European inequalities. As this contribution argues, here lie yet idle potentials for the comparative study of Euroscepticism and place.
Zusammenfassung Extrem rechte und verschwörungsideologische Akteure konnten während der Corona-Pa... more Zusammenfassung Extrem rechte und verschwörungsideologische Akteure konnten während der Corona-Pandemie neuen Zulauf generieren. Die Online-Mobilisierung war vor allem über die Plattform Telegram erfolgreich. Inzwischen prägt der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine bzw. dessen Auswirkungen die Diskussionen in dieser spezifischen Teilöffentlichkeit. Unser Kooperationsprojekt zwischen dem Else-Frenkel-Brunswik-Institut an der Universität Leipzig und der Amadeu Antoni Stiftung setzt seit Ende 2021 ein umfassendes, computergestütztes Monitoring der extrem rechten und verschwörungsideologischen Szene in Sachsen um. In diesem Beitrag rekonstruieren wir auf dieser umfassenden empirischen Basis die Rolle, die der Begriff „Frieden“ als leerer Signifikant für die Mobilisierung spielt. Mit dem allgemein positiv besetzten, aber für Interpretationen offenen Begriff lässt sich offenbar ein breites, anti-demokratisches Spektrum ansprechen. Gemeinsamer Nenner der Szene ist die Ablehnung der d...
Zusammenfassung In der Aktuellen Analyse stellen Oliver Decker, Johannes Kiess, Ayline Heller, Ju... more Zusammenfassung In der Aktuellen Analyse stellen Oliver Decker, Johannes Kiess, Ayline Heller, Julia Schuler und Elmar Brähler zentrale Ergebnisse der Leipziger Autoritarismus Studien 2022 (LAS) vor. Diese untersuchen rechtsextreme Einstellungen in Deutschland im Langzeitverlauf. Seit 2002 wird im Zweijahresrhythmus eine repräsentative Stichprobe der deutschen Bevölkerung zu einer Bandbreite politischer Themen befragt. Bekannt wurde die Studienreihe bis 2016 unter dem Namen Leipziger »Mitte«-Studien. Seit 2018 erscheint die Studie unter einem neuen Reihentitel, der eine Fokusverschiebung von der Problemanzeige zur Problemanalyse markiert. Die Studie zeigt auf, wie weit verbreitetet antidemokratischen Ressentiments in der Bevölkerung sind und sie rekonstruiert über die Jahre die Entwicklung der psychosozialen Dynamiken, die diesen antidemokratischen Reaktionen zu Grunde liegen. Der Beitrag fasst die zentralen Ergebnisse der diesjährigen Erhebung und Veränderungen in den letzten 20 Ja...
Political participation and party attachment in Western democracies have become more and more vol... more Political participation and party attachment in Western democracies have become more and more volatile. In turn, political campaigns seem increasingly dependent on short-term discursive windows of opportunity opened by dynamic debates on issues such as migration, climate, employment and economic policies. Based on panel data from nine European countries, we investigate how patterns and changes in the materialist and postmaterialist concerns of respondents affect electoral turnout and party switching. By relating these variables, we aim to uncover whether and to what extent underlying concerns – and thus short-term politicization – account for short-term patterns of electoral volatility. We pay special attention to young respondents, who are often framed as being particularly dynamic and less bound to traditional political loyalties. Our findings offer insights into short-term change in discursive opportunities for political mobilization and broader democratic engagement.
Die Zeiten sind unsicher: Klimawandel, COVID-19-Pandemie, der Angriffskrieg Russlands gegen die U... more Die Zeiten sind unsicher: Klimawandel, COVID-19-Pandemie, der Angriffskrieg Russlands gegen die Ukraine, Energiemangel und Inflation bestimmen in dichter Folge die öffentliche Debatte und das Leben in der Bundesrepublik. Welche Auswirkungen haben diese Herausforderungen auf die politische Kultur und die Gesellschaft? Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse der seit 2002 zum elften Mal durchgeführten repräsentativen Bevölkerungsumfrage zeigen die Autorinnen und Autoren, wie die Deutschen diese unsicheren Zeiten wahrnehmen, wie sich ihre Krisenwahrnehmung auf die politische Einstellung im Allgemeinen und auf autoritäre Dynamiken im Besonderen auswirkt. Mit Beiträgen von David Aderholz, Inken Behrmann, Sophie Bose, Elmar Brähler, Kazim Celik, Vera Clemens, Oliver Decker, Marius Dilling, Jörg M. Fegert, Natalie Gittner, Ayline Heller, Nele Hellweg, Charlotte Höcker, Valentin Ihßen, Fiona Kalkstein, Johannes Kiess, Johanna Niendorf, Laura Pfirter, Gert Pickel, Susanne Pickel, Clara Schließler, Andr...
This study investigates whether European reference frames – the rating of living conditions in ot... more This study investigates whether European reference frames – the rating of living conditions in other countries – affect the prevalence of xenophobia among respondents in different European countries. For justifying such assumption, the author builds on two literatures: a large body of literature investigates the effect of individual and collective relative deprivation on xenophobia. Moreover, studies in the field of European sociology show that, in light of deepening European integration, people compare living conditions in different European countries. The author argues that such European reference frames matter for the development of stereotyped categorization processes and thus xenophobia. Based on original survey data, the author shows that country comparisons matter at least indirectly and he points at apparently important country differences, indicating the salience of the respective countries in public debates and warranting further research. With these insights, this article...
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