Representative democracy gives voters the right to influence who governs but its influence on policy making is only indirect. Free and fair referendums give voters the right to decide a policy directly. Elected representatives usually oppose referendums as redundant at best and as undermining...

Es braucht intelligente Digitalisierung, damit eine Demokratie in der Pandemie handlungsfähig bleiben kann.

European democracies have experienced drastic changes in electoral competition. Voter support for insider parties that have traditionally governed has declined while support for radical and populist parties has increased. Simultaneously, citizens’ declining political trust has become a...

For the personal vote to be cast in a meaningful way it is a minimal condition that voters recognise candidates. However, from earlier studies we know that there is huge variation in the number of candidates recognised. Little to nothing is known about candidate recognition and its determinants....

Over the past half century, the behavior of German voters has changed profoundly. After a long period of stability, elections have dramatically altered their character—at first rather gradually, but during the past decade at an accelerated speed. Voters' decision-making has become much more...

This concluding chapter discusses changing German voters' behavior in the context of changing parties, campaigns, and media during the period of its hitherto most dramatically increased fluidity at the 2009, 2013, and 2017 federal elections. It summarizes the book's findings on three questions:...

Nach der Bundestagswahl 2021 kam es in Deutschland zum ersten Mal seit den 1950er-Jahren zu einer Drei-Parteien-Koalition. Was bedeutet das für die politische Repräsentation der Wähler*innen? Und wie wurden die Wahlversprechen in das Regierungsprogramm übersetzt? Die Autor*innen gehen diesen...

This chapter aims to answer two general questions: Is there conflict on certain core issues relating to globalization within societies; and does the context of globalization matter for the strength of this conflict? Results show quite strong aggregate correlations between economic and cultural...

Before making it into the Bundestag in 2017, the party “Alternative für Deutschland”(AfD) had been present in 13 state parliaments. This study focuses on the AfD parliamentary groups profiles, on AfD’s parliamentary performances and the impact they have on their respective parliaments as...