Critical Junctures of Modernity: Societal Transformation and Right-Wing Extremist Attitudes in East and West Germany

Personal and societal distress are commonly considered to foster the emergence of anti-democratic attitudes. Is this simple relation sufficient? On the basis of bi-annual surveys conducted since 2002 and additional qualitative material we can develop a more nuanced picture. Empirically, the most striking result is the steep increase of anti-democratic attitudes in the young East German cohorts. We argue that this is due to an interplay of diverse factors: economic distress and xenophobic fears have an impact, but our observation leads us also to a further line of argumentation leaning on earlier work on authoritarianism. While social crises and transformations like the German reunification pose challenges for the individual, nationalism and the downgrading of others may provide a source of psychological strength and reassure the self. These insights have implications for the Eurocrisis: the social and social-psychological consequences of this recent critical juncture might not have fully unfolded yet. Panel5