Parties In Germany Research Articles

Limited Congruence: Citizens’ Attitudes and Party Rhetoric About Referendums and Deliberative Practices

Both citizens and political parties refer to novel participatory practices in the contemporary crisis of representative democracy. Survey data indicate a growing demand for such practices within the electorate, while political parties have also begun discussing them more frequently. However, previous studies on citizens’ attitudes and parties’ discourse on democratic innovations rarely speak to each other. It remains unclear whether citizens’ attitudes and parties’ discourse are congruent. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature and analyses the extent to which political parties reflect citizens’ attitudes towards referendums and citizens’ deliberation in their manifestos. We cover 15 political parties in Germany and the UK. Our analysis uses party manifesto data between 2010 and 2024, and data from surveys conducted on national representative samples. Our findings reveal that political parties and citizens rarely have congruent approaches towards referendums and deliberative practices. People’s enthusiasm about referendums is hardly reflected in parties’ rhetoric, but the latter reacts gradually to the public appetite for deliberation. There are visible differences between opposition parties and those in government.

Theorizing Far-Right Foreign Policy: Insights From Germany

What is the far-right’s foreign policy outlook? Although International Relations scholarship has provided important insights into the foreign policy preferences of far-right actors, it has predominantly analysed these political actors under the label of populism and focused on the effects of populism on foreign policy positions. Consequently, we lack a clear understanding of the impact of far-right ideology on foreign policy beliefs and preferences. This article provides a theorization of far-right foreign policy by deriving its key characteristics from far-right ideology. It tests this theoretical framework through a comparative analysis of the foreign policy preferences of the populist radical-right Alternative for Germany and the extreme-right, Neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany. The comparative analysis of primary textual data reveals a shared far-right foreign policy outlook characterized by (1) ultra-nationalism, (2) group-based enmity, (3) authoritarianism, (4) revisionism and reactionism and (5) producerist-nationalistic economic positions, but also some important variations in the pursuit of these positions.

EVOLUTION AND PROSPECTS OF THE «ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY»

In recent years, the populist Alternative for Germany (AfG) party, which systematically opposes the ruling mainstream parties, has become active on the German political scene. In contrast to the approach of the mainstream parties, the AfG’s views on governance and engagement with the European Union now pose a threat to the coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Alliance 90 / The Greens because of the increasing popularity of right-wing populists among the German electorate. In autumn 2025, Germany will hold federal elections to the Bundestag, which will determine the political course of the country for the next 5 years. The purpose of this article is to assess the prospects of the Alternative for Germany party in the Bundestag elections in 2025.A significant part of the article is devoted to reviewing the ideological evolution of the party, which has gone from a minor moderate party to the leading opposition force in the country. This is essential in order to understand the implications of the current rise in social tensions and scandals around Alternative and how this may affect its future political sustainability. Authors provide a forecast of the party’s chances of success in the parliamentary elections and assess the risks that the AfG may face during the electoral struggle. The conclusion is made that the chances of the Alternative for Germany party to enter the government in 2025 will depend on its capacity to timely eliminate the accumulated internal contradictions, such as the excessive radicalisation of the party and the lack of a unified ideological component among its leaders.

Ensuring Military-Political Security in USSR and FRG Dialogue (1987–1989)

This article is dedicated to the examination of the diplomatic efforts undertaken by the USSR and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to ensure military-political security during the period from 1987 to 1989. It explores the factors that contributed to changes in security policy. The analysis focuses on several under-researched aspects, including the strengthening of constructive forces within the federal government in 1987; the convergence of positions between the USSR and the FRG regarding disarmament and arms control; and the process of solidifying a positive trend in Soviet-West German political dialogue. Special attention is given to the role of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in reorienting the governing coalition of the FRG from a policy of confrontation towards seeking compromises with the USSR in the realm of security. The evolution of Bonn’s official stance on the elimination of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles is also examined. It is demonstrated that, during 1988–1989, the course of the federal government became less dependent on the line of its key ally, the United States, thereby allowing for a consideration of the national interests of the FRG in addressing the issue of “nuclear rearmament”. The relevance of this study lies in its exploration of mechanisms through which the degradation of dialogue between the Russian Federation and Western collective countries in the sphere of security may be halted in contemporary times.

Navigating Conflicting Incentives: Discursive Strategies of Political Parties in Germany’s Cooperative Federalism

Abstract Federal systems create complex institutional settings that foster and encourage cooperation while also enabling self-serving and even opportunistic political behavior. Focusing on parliamentary discourses, we argue that political parties can navigate these conflicting incentives skillfully, employing a set of five distinct discursive strategies that integrate both the need for cooperation and the possibility of self-interest. Leveraging a qualitative content analysis of 212 German parliamentary debates and 4,524 manually coded statements, we demonstrate that the use of these discursive strategies is shaped by parties’ level of integration into federal institutions. The data reveal that parties which are more strongly involved in intergovernmental bodies uphold a more cooperative discourse, while refraining from confrontational strategies toward federal institutions and actors. We also find that the linkage between the vertically integrated party system, which incentivizes co-partisans to stick together across levels and constituent units, and multiparty coalition governments, counteracts federal blame games.

Ready, Steady, No? The Contested Legitimacy of Weapon Deliveries to Ukraine in German Foreign Policy Discourse

AbstractHow were arms deliveries to Ukraine (de)legitimized in the German Bundestag? This paper is based on a discourse analysis of parliamentary debates held between December 2021 and January 2023 on the question of military support for Ukraine. It shows how the legitimization of arms deliveries and various identity narratives of German foreign policy are mutually constitutive but also reconfigured. Members of Alliance 90/The Greens, the Free Democratic Party, and the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union legitimized arms deliveries by referring to Germany’s identity as a European “shaping power” from which a “responsibility” to provide military support was derived. Ukraine had become part of the Western European community; therefore, arms deliveries were necessary to defend the European “we” against the Russian aggression. Criticism of arms deliveries was voiced by The Left, who emphasized Germany’s pacifist identity, which had been established as a lesson from National Socialism and should not be abandoned. The Alternative for Germany party also rejected any military support, pointing to the negative consequences for economic relations with Russia and openly questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian statehood, as Putin derives geopolitical claims over Ukraine that “must be respected.” The most radical change was observed within the Social Democratic Party parliamentary group. Just a few weeks after his appearance in the Bundestag, Scholz and his parliamentary group mobilized a vocabulary that was less associated with “Zeitenwende” and more with Germany’s traditional identity as a “civilian power” in order to legitimize a “balanced” approach so that “Russia does not win” but Germany is not dragged into the war either.

X. „Eycke von Repkow war kein Revolutionär“ – Festrede von Hilde Benjamin am 28. Juni 1959 im Eike-von-Repgow-Dorf Reppichau

Summary The village Reppichau in Sachsen-Anhalt, situated near the towns Dessau, Köthen and Aken (former principality of Anhalt), is closely connected with Eike von Repgow – the author of the most famous mediaeval German law book “Saxon Mirror” (Sachsenspiegel). The law book was written by him between 1220 and 1235. Based on this fact, representatives of science, politics and justice periodically organized in collaboration with the villagers anniversary celebrations, for example 1934 (700st year of the death of Eike von Repgow) and 1959 (800st year of the first documented mention of the village Reppichau). So it happened that the minister of justice of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Hilde Benjamin (1902–1989), held a keynote speech in Reppichau on 28 June 1959. She was one of the leading representatives of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany during the early years of the GDR. She became famous as a presiding judge in political show trials with court rulings including exceptionally harsh punishments up to the death penalty. This women, who was also known as “Red Hilde” or “Bloody Hilde”, used the opportunity of her speech in Reppichau in order to integrate Eike von Repgow, the Saxon Mirror and the villagers into the ruling ideology of the early GDR. Furthermore, she attacked the NATO in general and the Federal Republic of Germany in particular with propaganda phrases. The text of this speech, representing an interesting example of contemporary legal history, is edited here for the first time based on an original copy.

The socio-economic policy of the Breuning government (March 29, 1930 - May 30, 1932) in the coverage of the Soviet newspaper Pravda

The article examines the socio-economic policy in the Weimar Republic under Chancellor Heinrich Breuning from 1930 to 1932 through the prism of the Soviet newspaper Pravda, which is the main source of expression of the official position of the Soviet Union on the issue of international relations. In addition to evaluating the Chancellor's activities and the events taking place in Germany, the newspaper's materials highlight the specifics of the development of the German communist movement during this period. The authors also highlight events related to the development of the National Socialist movement in Germany during the period under review in the context of the strengthening of the political influence of the National Socialist Party of Germany and the development of government interaction with its leaders. It is concluded that the newspaper Pravda in its publications about the events in Germany during this period focused on the proletarian struggle and did not differ in an analytical approach.The following research methods were used: analysis of special sources and materials, including archival ones; method of classification and systematization; content analysis of materials of the newspaper Pravda. The main conclusion of the study is that the ambiguous and contradictory policies of the Breuning cabinet led to a new political crisis in the country. Instability and the lack of socio-economic and political prospects led to an increasing polarization of German society and its inclination towards the right-wing radical party of the National Socialists.In addition, the publications of Pravda, reflecting the events in Germany during this period, were more tendentious in the nature of the proletarian struggle and did not differ in analytics.

Sergei Chakhotin against the Swastika: Mass Psychology and Scientific Organization in the Iron Front's Three Arrows Campaign

Abstract This article details the influence of Russian psychologist Sergei Chakhotin on the propaganda of the Iron Front, an antifascist organization that resisted the rise of the Nazis in the dying days of the Weimar Republic. Notably the creator of the Three Arrows symbol, Chakhotin espoused theories and methods that used Ivan Pavlov's notion of the conditioned reflex and Fredrick Taylor's theory of scientific management to transform socialist propaganda to better combat the rise of fascism. By scrutinizing Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) periodicals and Iron Front propaganda, I argue that Chakhotin's ideas played a crucial role in catalyzing changes in the form and content of street campaigning throughout 1932. Chakhotin provided a scientific lens through which his allies in the SPD could view and understand the mass appeal of the Nazis, as well as the necessary changes in party tactics that were required in the age of mass media, popular spectacle, and emotional struggle.

Building Party Support Abroad: Turkish Diaspora Organisations in Germany and the UK

This article covers a unique form of political mobilisation within the Turkey-originated diasporic community in Europe that formed after Turkey introduced external voting in 2012. Although existing literature has paid attention to the impact of homeland political parties on external voting rights and diaspora organisations’ role in electoral campaigns, these organisations’ impact on members’ mobilisation capacities for certain homeland parties remains understudied. This article tackles this topic by first comparing Turkey-originated diaspora organisations in Germany and the UK. Secondly, it guides future empirical work on the impact of the diaspora organisations on remote partisans’ political orientation by taking the dominant emigrant profile in a residence country dimension into the study of external voting. Focusing on eligible Turkish citizens, the findings of this article are based on participant observation and 60 in-depth interviews conducted with remote voters who participated in the mobilisation of Turkey-based political parties in Germany between 2018 and 2023 and in the UK between 2021 and 2023 through diaspora organisations.

Chilean experiences of exile in the “socialist brotherhood” negotiating solidarity, belonging and change in the German Democratic Republic

Based on the empirical material collected in lifetime-narrative interviews, the article illuminates the multiple experiences of Chilean exiles between solidarity, belonging, Othering and foreignness in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The focus of the biographical case reconstruction based on Rosenthal is the individual negotiation of Othering practices and narratives, which the interview partners rejected, reinterpreted or strategically used for themselves. The results are biographical snapshots which show that not only encounter with (everyday) racism, but also experienced help and solidarity actions could cause discomfort among the Chilean political exiles, since they reflected the hegemonic conditions underlying their stay in the GDR. The interviewees experienced how state-institutionalised solidarity was linked to the political conditions of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and had its limits where individuals deviated from the behaviour expected of them. Throughout their lives, the interviewees are torn between Chile and the GDR (and later Germany): Confronted with feelings and constructions of foreignness and belonging(s) in relation to both countries they find different and changing ways of dealing with them over the course of their lives. What they have in common is the impossibility of deciding on a single national identity.

Revisiting“Liberal Democratic Basic Order”:Focus on the Prohibition of Political Parties in Germany

Revisiting“Liberal Democratic Basic Order”:Focus on the Prohibition of Political Parties in Germany

How do intra-party dynamics impact the party elite’s immigration policy manoeuvres? The case of German Social Democrats

AbstractThis article examines the Social Democratic Party of Germany’s (SPD) approach to immigration and the role of party activists in shaping its policies. The article delves into the party’s response to the 2015 refugee crisis and its aftermath, utilising the discourse taken by the party’s leading figures and interviews with party elites, exploring their perceptions of activists and their constraints on immigration policies. The findings reveal that the influence of party activists is beyond their official power within the organisational structure, and their nestedness within the party affects the party elite’s policy- and decision-making on immigration. Given the potential backlash from activists, the study underscores the party elites’ cautious approach to policy shifts and emphasises the significance of leadership skills, the party’s image and electoral motivations in navigating intra-party dynamics and policy-making. Ultimately, the research highlights the delicate balance SPD elites seek in addressing immigration issues within its party structure.

The costs and benefits of governing in a multi-level system

ABSTRACT In recent years the ‘cost of governing’ has significantly increased for some mainstream political parties. In a context of financial uncertainty, multiple crises and growing constraints exerted by global forces, being a ‘natural’ party of government is no longer regarded as an electoral advantage. This is particularly true for parties that have moved from a position of clear dominance within ruling coalitions to a more subordinate role. In this article, focusing on the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and using an original dataset, we aim to provide a more nuanced assessment of the effects of incumbency by examining regional electoral performance since 1990. It appears that sub-national incumbency can be beneficial in regional elections, especially when a party faces significant costs of governing at the national level. However, this advantage is only applicable if the party holds a leading position in the regional executive. On the contrary, being a junior coalition partner at both national and regional levels may further exacerbate electoral decline for the party.

Судето-немецкая партия в Чехословакии: на пути к объединению с нацистской Германией (1933–1938 гг.)

The history study of nationalist parties in the 20th century is the subject of close attention of many researchersgermanists. However, the history of the Sudeten-German party in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s does not often become an object of research. The purpose of the article is to consider the activities of the Sudeten-German party, to highlight the key reasons for its emergence. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of the party leaders' views on the way to unification with Nazi Germany. Also, the work proposed, if possible, an objective analysis of the essence of Henlein movement. The urgency of the problem is substantiated, first of all, by the fact that according to a similar scenario events, developed and continue to develop on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, especially in the Baltic countries, where the Russian-speaking population makes up a significant part, like the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia at their time, however, they are also targeted by the discriminatory policy of the authorities. The source base was made up of the documents collected by the Czechoslovak researcher V. Kral and published by him in 1964. As part of these materials, a large group of sources can be distinguished, which make up materials at the meetings of the main leadership in the Sudeten German Home Front - the Sudeten German Party in the period from 1933 to 1937, early 1938 and the speech by the leader of the Sudeten German Party K. Heinlein. Since the early 1990s we can talk about the renaissance of the historiography of the Sudeten-German history, mainly due to the development of archives in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The First World War did not contribute to the resolution of national contradictions. After the end of the First World War the Sudeten Germans were also included in Czechoslovakia at the behest of the Entente. The Sudeten-German party of K. Henlein took an active position in this struggle. Summing up, the authors conclude that the question of the nature of Henlein movement is controversial. Henlein movement really resembled the Nazi party in Germany, but at the initial stage of its activity in 1933-1936. However, as the Czechoslovak authorities opposed, pressure from the Nazi party in Germany and the strengthening of the right-wing radical branch, the Sudeten German Party practically lost its characteristics and turned into an analogue of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. This fact largely predetermined the radical solution of the Sudeten-German question through the Munich agreements on September 29, 1938, when the border regions of Czechoslovakia were annexed to Germany. Undoubtedly, these agreements were in the interests of the majority of the Sudeten Germans, who, however, once again became victims of the big European politics.

A comparative study of the electoral rhetoric of extreme right-wing parties in Germany and Russia

This article compares the electoral rhetoric of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) parties through the prism of the level of antagonization and the parties’ point of view on topical social issues. Discourse analysis is conducted using discourse frames and blocks, allowing formalizing the comparison between texts in different languages. The sample is based on party videos published online in April — May 2021 in the run-up to the upcoming federal elections in both countries. The LDPR uses more antagonistic rhetoric, especially against Western countries and Ukraine. The AfD uses we to unite its electorate, seeing the German and European establishment as its opponents, as well as organizations with an international agenda, including the Greens and the Antifa movement. Both parties raise important social issues such as immigration, digitalization, political freedoms, and national identity, but differences in emphasis emerge. The AfD is more likely to raise issues of economic freedom for business and the defense of German burgher culture against the leftist agenda, while the LDPR is focused on supporting Russian foreign policy and Russian culture against Western globalism. The authors also emphasize that modern far-right parties support democratic principles. Nationalism remains central to far-right ideology, but it is drifting towards democracy under the influence of sociocultural processes. The study aims to improve understanding of the dynamics of far-right political discourse in Germany and Russia. The theoretical developments allow us to expand the application of discourse analysis of political rhetoric.

Features of the legal status of political parties as legal entities: comparative-legal characteristics

In the article, the author examines political parties as subjects of civil relations. The characteristics of political parties as legal entities are analyzed: organizational unity, which is expressed in the fact that parties, as organizations, have a certain structure and a system of bodies; the sign of separate property of political parties has a certain specificity, with peculiarities in the ways of acquiring ownership rights over the property of political parties. Political parties, as legal entities, bear civil liability, and they can independently appear in court as defendants.
 The author also examines the doctrine and legislation of Western countries regarding the concept, creation, and activities of political parties in Germany, the United States, Great Britain, and Serbia. The concept of a political party in Western countries is considered, with a political party in Serbia, understood as a voluntary association of citizens, created with the aim of achieving political goals through the democratic formation of the political will of citizens and participation in elections. A political party in Serbia is granted the status of a legal entity from the date of its entry into the register of political parties.
 A distinctive feature of political parties in Germany is their ambiguous legal status. By their legal nature, they are private organizations, created in accordance with the norms of private law; however, they also possess a public character due to certain constitutional privileges, granted to them.
 The article explores the issue of the legal nature of political parties in Ukraine and the features that distinguish political parties from other public associations. The author examines the issue of the legal personality of political parties and points out that they possess two components - social and political.
 Furthermore, the article analyzes the criteria for categorizing legal entities as either private or public law entities in the law of Ukraine and in the law of France. In French law, such criteria include the following: the establishment of a legal entity originating from public or private initiative, the rules governing its creation, operation, and oversight by public authorities, the method of financing (public subsidies or mandatory payments), and the presence of public authorities

Protecting Australian democracy: From attempting to ban the Communist Party to resisting foreign interference

The article analyses the shift of the limits of democratic tolerance in Australia. In 1950, the Australian Parliament passed an Act under which the activities of the Australian Communist Party were outlawed, and the party had to be dissolved. One year later, the High Court of Australia struck down the Dissolution Act and indicated that the "militant democracy" concept had never been a part of the Commonwealth Constitutional architecture. Thus, the interpretation of the judicial system of Australia went contrary to the findings, for instance, of the German Federal Constitutional Court, which dissolved the Communist Party of Germany in 1956. The latest developments in Oceania, such as a ban on foreign donations and the threat of foreign interference through political parties, require a new examination of the status quo of the limits of democratic tolerance in Australia and whether it has been subject to changes since the establishment of a highly liberal pathway to democratic competition.

Birleşme Sonrası Almanya’da İdealist Avrupa Yanlılığı ile İç İdeolojik Öncelikler Arasında Alman Sosyal Demokrat Partisi

The main thrust of this article is to examine the evolution of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands – SPD)’s Europhile position since German reunification from a broader ideological perspective. To this end, this study rests on the field research that entails 16 semi-structured interviews with high-profile SPD political elites and archival research on key official party documents. Based on this analysis, the main argument of this study is that the SPD encountered a growing tension between idealistic and domestic views of European integration since 1990. Under the impact of the post-reunification domestic problems and Chancellor Schröder’s assertive European policy line, the German Social Democrats’ ideology-driven doubts about European integration increased at the expense of their idealistic pro-Europeanism. Over time, this tension led to the greater prominence of ideological pragmatism in the SPD’s official European Union (EU) narrative, rendering Europe a politically and ideologically salient issue for the party.

Między potępieniem a (n)ostalgią

BETWEEN CONDEMNATION AND (N)OSTALGIA: ON THE POLITISATION OF THE LEGACY OF GDR IN REUNIFIED GERMANY Reunified Germany emerged on the map of Europe in 1990. At first, settling an account with the communist Germany proceeded in a simplified way – everything about them seemed evil. Over time, this judgement became less biased and more comprehensive. At the beginning of the 21st century, the “trend for the East”, which was called Ostalgie, prevailed. From that point forward, dealing with their past balances between a sentimental journey to the time of the German Democratic Republic and a harsh assessment of that reality. Until this day, modern Germany constitutes two unequal parts, as the polls confirm. They continue to be divided by a mental barrier — an invisible ‘wall in people’s heads’, and many residents of the new lands still feel foreign in their own country. Their dissatisfaction is consciously and effectively exploited by the populist Alternative for Germany party. How the East German heritage becomes an instrument of political influence is the leading question of this article. The sources, mainly German, consist primarily of subject literature, documents, statistical reports and analysis of public opinion research centres, as well as comments of experts and press.