From Pandemic Protest to Political Persistence: The Transformation of the Querdenken COVID-19 Movement

This paper examines the ideological evolution and strategic realignment of the Querdenken movement, a case study emblematic of protest movements facing the decline of their core issue, whilst still proving surprisingly resilient. Originating in Germany and Austria as a response to COVID-19 containment measures, Querdenken (‘Lateral Thinking’) presents a compelling case for analyzing the post-crisis evolution of protest movements. The core of this analysis is a detailed examination of Querdenken’s ideology and strategies, primarily through its weekly magazine Demokratischer Widerstand (‘Democratic Resistance’), which the movement has been publishing continuously since its emergence in April 2020. Employing both qualitative and quantitative content analysis, we investigate the movement’s strategies in adapting to changes in issue saliencies following the decline of its core issue. We outline three theoretical pathways for populist movements facing such a challenge: (a) ideological diversification, whereby the movement expands its ideological scope and substitutes some of its previous issues and positions, (b) issue transformation, wherein a movement seeks to maintain its crisis-focus yet attempts to reframe the crisis through its turn to new socio-political issues to ensure engagement and continued relevance, and (c) institutionalization, which has a movement adhere closely to its core agenda but involves adopting more structured, party-like forms of organization and shifting focus to a different arena. Investigating these respective strategies empirically, this study contributes to the discourse on the adaptability of populist movements in post-crisis scenarios. The Querdenken movement thus serves as a paradigmatic example of how populist movements can evolve beyond their initial impetus, presenting new challenges and opportunities for democratic engagement and policy response.