The Wall in the Mind - Revisited Stable Differences in the Political Cultures of Western and Eastern Germany

Do lasting differences in the political cultures of social subgroups call into question the legitimacy of democracy? This danger has been discussed for three decades now, always in the run up to German Unity Day, which marks the reunification of Germany in 1990. Is there still a 'wall in people's minds', as postulated in the late 1990s? This article examines the question comparatively and over time: Do political cultures and their main political attitudes still differ between Western and Eastern Germany 30 years after reunification? And, if so, to what extent? Using an extended concept of political support, we analyse East-West differences by drawing on different data material from representative surveys. What we show that there is no deficit of legitimacy in Eastern Germany in terms of democracy. Nevertheless, there are consistent East-West differences in terms of people's satisfaction with democracy as it is currently practised. These differences can be explained neither by existing socio-economic and socio-structural inequalities between Eastern and Western Germany, and nor by feelings of nostalgia for socialism. Rather, they are due to a combination of feelings of disadvantage, of a lack of recognition, and corresponding narratives that can draw on objective manifestations of inequality

Nicht nur die Politiker zählen: einige vergleichende Ergebnisse über die Demokratisierung in Osteuropa im Zeitverlauf mit Hilfe der Central and Eastern Eurobarometer

'Seit dem Umbruch in Osteuropa gilt die Aufmerksamkeit vieler Wissenschaftler der politischen und wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung der neuen Demokratien in dieser Region. Eine große Zahl an einschlägigen Publikationen unterstreicht dies. Bemerkenswerterweise existieren aber nur begrenzt empirische Vergleichsanalysen zur Situation und Entwicklung des Demokratisierungsprozesses in der Phase der Transformation. Insbesondere die Einstellungsstrukturen der Bevölkerung in den neuen Demokratien Osteuropas und ihre politische Unterstützungsbereitschaft werden nur in wenigen Forschungsprojekten näher behandelt. Daß es sich dabei nicht unbedingt um einen Mangel an vergleichendem Datenmaterial handelt, zeigt beispielsweise ein Blick auf die Central and Eastern Eurobarometer Reihe, welche zeitlich vergleichende Analysen zum Demokratisierungsprozeß in fast allen osteuropäischen Ländern zuläßt. Als Beispiel kann die für eine stabile Demokratie essentielle Bereitschaft der Bevölkerung, ihr politisches System zu unterstützen, anhand der politischen Legitimität (Demokratiezufriedenheit) und der Einschätzung der wirtschaftlichen Effektivität (Einschätzung der wirtschaftlichen Lage) dargestellt werden.' (Autorenreferat)'Since 1990, the beginning of the transformation process in Eastern Europe, many scientists have taken into account the political and economical development in the new democracies. A large number of books and publications about this topic illustrate this. But, on the other hand, there exist only a few comparative empirical investigations of the situation and the development of the process of democratization during the transition period. Especially the attitude structures and the political support of the population in the 'new democracies' are investigated only in a small number of research projects. This is not a result of a lack of comparative data - the view at the 'Central and Eastern Eurobarometer' series illustrate this idea. These data provide the opportunity to take investigations in comparative research over time and over countries. The fundamental readiness of the citizen to support his/her 'new' political system, illustrated by the indicators of political legitimacy (satisfaction with democracy) and economical efficacy (expection of the economical situation), is used as an exaaple.' (author's abstract)

Covid‐19‐Related Conspiracy Myths, Beliefs, and Democracy‐Endangering Consequences

Since late 2020, protests against government measures to contain the Covid‐19 pandemic have swept across Germany. At the forefront of these protests was the Querdenker Movement, a heterogeneous alliance of ordinary citizens, hippies, esotericists, opponents of conventional medicine, Christian fundamentalists, and right‐wing extremists bonded by their shared belief in conspiracy myths. This contribution draws upon the theoretical framework of the studies on the authoritarian personality to dissect the nature of this heterogeneous alliance and the democracy‐endangering potential of conspiracy myths. We present three key insights based on an analysis of representative public opinion surveys conducted by the Leipzig Authoritarianism Study. First, we demonstrate that susceptibility to conspiracy myths in the public mood occurs in waves that coincide with times of crisis. In this regard, the Covid‐19 pandemic is a catalyst of conspiracy myths as it has induced existential and epistemic insecurities amongst many citizens. Second, it is shown that there is an elective affinity between superstition, esotericism, and a conspiracy mentality, which can be cited as one explanation for the heterogeneous alliance during the protests. On the other hand, the nexus between religion and the conspiracy mentality depends on an individual’s interpretation of religion. It is literalist fundamentalism that fosters susceptibility to conspiracy myths. Third, we highlight the democracy‐endangering consequences of a conspiracy mentality. Its manifestations include resentment and hostility toward minorities, an alienation from democracy, an increased likelihood of voting for right‐wing authoritarian parties, and an affinity for violence

Politische Unterstützung und Demokratisierung in Osteuropa

"Seit 1989 ist die Entwicklung demokratischer Regierungen in Osteuropa dauerhafter Gegenstand politischer und sozialwissenschaftlicher Diskussionen. Im Mittelpunkt steht dabei die Stabilität und die zukünftige Entwicklung der Demokratie innerhalb der gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozesse dieser Staaten (Huntington 1991), die einerseits auf der Institutionalisierung der Demokratie, d.h. der Internalisierung demokratischer Verhaltensweisen in der Bevölkerung und der Ausbildung demokratisch legitimierter politischer Institutionen (Lipset 1981), andererseits auf der Unterstützung des politischen und wirtschaftlichen Transformationsprozesses durch die Bevölkerung (Easton 1979) beruht. Die Unterstützung und das Vertrauen der Bürger zeigt sich ihren Einstellungen zu den Maßnahmen, dem Erscheinungsbild und den neuen demokratischen Repräsentanten ebenso wie in der Beurteilung des neuen demokratischen Systems und seiner Institutionen. Substantielle empirische Ergebnisse zur politischen Unterstützung folgen einer vergleichenden Betrachtungsweise und reflektieren Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen den Staaten. Um einen Überblick über den zeitlichen Verlauf und die Situation des Demokratisierungsprozesses anhand der politischen Unterstützung in den verschiedenen osteuropäischen Staaten geben können, werden drei zentrale Zugänge miteinander verbunden: a) eine quantitativ-empirisch komparative Betrachtungsweise über verschiedene osteuropäische Staaten b) eine Betrachtung der Entwicklung von Indikatoren politischer Unterstützung seit 1990 c) eine sozialstrukturelle Verortung der politischen Unterstützung in den Bevölkerungen. Durch diese Kombination von Daten der Makro- und Mikroebene einerseits und der Verbindung von Zeitverlaufs-, Vergleichs- und Sozialstrukturdaten andererseits, ist es möglich, ein fundiertes Bild der Entwicklung politischer Unterstützung und Demokratisierung in den neuen Demokratien zu geben." (Autorenreferat

Attitudinal and socio-structural determinants of cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination uptake: a quantitative multivariate analysis

Aim: The introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine enables for the first time in the history of cancer prevention the possibility of combating the major cause of a cancer even before its onset. The secondary prevention measure of cervical cancer screening has thus been complemented by a primary prevention measure. The aim of this study is to analyse the determinants of uptake of preventive measures against cervical cancer as a basis for comparing the determinants of screening attendance with those of HPV vaccination attendance. Subject and methods: A population-based representative survey comprising 760 randomly selected women aged 14 to 65 was performed in the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Prevention behaviour, attitudes towards cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination, and knowledge about cervical cancer and HPV were investigated by means of a structured questionnaire. Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the determinants of screening and HPV vaccine uptake. Results: Attendance both at screening and at HPV vaccination was best predicted by attitudinal factors. Positive connotations of cancer prevention measures and utility expectations, fear of cancer and high subjective risk perception were conducive to attendance at screening and HPV vaccination. Screening attendance was less regular among women of lower socioeconomic status. In contrast, HPV vaccination uptake was higher for young women with lower educational attainment and lower social class. Knowledge did not impact prevention behaviour significantly. There is no trade-off between screening and vaccination attendance; the vast majority of respondents was aware of the necessity of regular screening attendance even when vaccinated against HPV. Conclusions: Uptake rates for existing primary and secondary prevention measures against cervical cancer can be enhanced by fostering perceptions of utility and positive connotations of regular screening and becoming vaccinated against HPV. Elderly women in particular should be encouraged to attend screening by means of a recall system. Given the low overall level of knowledge about cervical cancer and its risk factors, there is a need for education about the necessity and utility of prevention to reach women of all social classes

Measuring the quality of democracy: Why include the citizens' perspective?

New indices measuring the quality of democracy constitute a significant innovation in comparative political science. They might, however, provide a biased perspective because they largely focus on macro-level criteria. Thus, the question is whether the measurement of the quality of democracy can be improved by complementing the evaluations of these indices with assessments based on individual-level survey data. Using data from 20 established democracies in the European Social Survey 2012 and the Democracy Barometer, we compare the understandings and evaluations of the quality of democracy underlying these two measurement approaches. We demonstrate that while the results coincide to a certain extent, individual-level data provide an important complementary perspective that adds to the validity of the measurement of the quality of democracy