Germany’s Populist Surge: The Globalization Effect
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2025-06-13
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en
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For the first time since the Second World War, a different party than the CDU or the SPD became the second largest party in the German parliament. With the far-right populist AfD proclaiming the spot of second biggest German party, the question begs how even Germany, often considered as one of the most stable and least fragmented European nations, fell for the trap of what is called populism. This thesis investigates how individual-level perceptions of globalization, namely economic insecurity and cultural backlash, shape populist voting behavior in Germany. Motivated by the recent rise of both far-right (AfD) and far-left (Die Linke and BSW) populist parties, this research explores whether Germany reflects a broader international populist trend. Using multinomial logistic regression, the study examines the impact of globalization-related attitudes and the East-West divide on populist voting behavior. The results show that economic insecurity significantly predicts far-left populist support, while cultural backlash is a strong and consistent predictor of far-right populism. The former East-West divide that divided Germany during the Cold War emerges as a contextual factor influencing support for both populist orientations, underscoring the persistent regional cleavages in German politics. Ultimately, this thesis argues that populism in Germany is driven by a complex interplay of global anxieties and deeply rooted regional contexts, positioning the country within a broader global populist wave.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen