Modernisation: the formula of success for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)?

Motivated by the dramatic outcomes of the 2017 German federal election, this thesis essentially investigated how the significant discrepancies in the electoral support of the right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) across the sixteen German federal states in this election can be explained. In particular, it could be observed that the party could attain exceptionally high electoral results predominantly in the eastern states of the country while its electoral performance in large parts of the West was significantly weaker. In the search to explain this pattern, the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory generally appears as a promising approach as it highlights the factor of socio-economic deprivation as one of the main causes for the success of right-wing populist parties, such as the AfD. And, indeed, when evaluating the geographic patterns of the party’s results in the respective election, it stands out that the electoral strongholds of the AfD in the eastern states...Show moreMotivated by the dramatic outcomes of the 2017 German federal election, this thesis essentially investigated how the significant discrepancies in the electoral support of the right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) across the sixteen German federal states in this election can be explained. In particular, it could be observed that the party could attain exceptionally high electoral results predominantly in the eastern states of the country while its electoral performance in large parts of the West was significantly weaker. In the search to explain this pattern, the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory generally appears as a promising approach as it highlights the factor of socio-economic deprivation as one of the main causes for the success of right-wing populist parties, such as the AfD. And, indeed, when evaluating the geographic patterns of the party’s results in the respective election, it stands out that the electoral strongholds of the AfD in the eastern states of Germany appear to be less wealthy and economically productive than their Western counterparts. As a consequence, in order to test the explanatory validity of the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory in understanding the electoral success of the AfD in 2017 German federal election, this thesis poses the following research question: To what extent do factors of socio-economic deprivation explain the electoral success of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the 2017 German federal election? In a nutshell, however, the findings of this thesis emphasised that the ‘losers of modernisation’ theory does not possess the explanatory validity to explain the electoral results of the AfD in the 2017 German federal elections and that the factor of socio-economic deprivation had no significant impact on the party’s electoral performance in this respective election.Show less

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Modernisation: the formula of success for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)?