The ‘Party for Immigrants’? Social Democrats' Struggle with an Inconvenient Electoral Issue

Schmidtke, Oliver

doi:10.1080/09644008.2016.1182992

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…In sum, despite changes in the governmental coalitions, there was continuity in the effort to maintain the status quo, and even a push for further restrictions to keep asylum-seeker numbers low. Indeed, over the last fifteen years of the Grand Coalition, the SPD and CDU (and to some extent the CSU) aligned their positions more closely in the area of migration, making the Grand Coalition particularly costly for the SPD in electoral terms (Schmidtke 2016). These dynamics became particularly evident after 2015, when the renewed increase in numbers again brought the issue of restriction to the top of the electoral agenda.…”

Section: Domestic Actor Constellations and The Role Of Political Parties In Germany's Formulation Of Positions On Eu Asylum Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

One step forward, two steps back: the ambiguous role of Germany in EU Asylum policies

Zaun

Servent

2021

Journal of European Integration

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Drawing on the Core State Power framework, this paper assesses Germany's ambiguous role in EU asylum policies from signing of the Maastricht Treaty to the present. It demonstrates that Germany has neither taken on the role of a leader nor pursued any consistent course regarding the institutional setup or content of EU asylum policies. However, this does not mean that Germany does not have any preferences in this area. Overall, German governments have supported whatever policy would decrease the country's share of asylum-seekers vis-à-vis other European countries, in order to achieve two core goals: first, to avoid the material costs resulting from high numbers of asylum-seekers, a preference that is common among state elites; and second, to avoid audience/electoral costs resulting from the comparatively restrictive preferences of the public, especially when these are mobilised by right-wing populist parties.

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Section: Domestic Actor Constellations and The Role Of Political Parties In Germany's Formulation Of Positions On Eu Asylum Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

One step forward, two steps back: the ambiguous role of Germany in EU Asylum policies

Zaun

Servent

2021

Journal of European Integration

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“…Thus, the topic of fears regarding individual progress and societal decline are at the fore in this contribution because both realities are often framed differently. And in this context sociological as well as psychological studies have shown that at least within the middle classes there is often a clear distinction between a personal future which appears positive and under control and a societal one which is viewed more critically and perceived to be uncontrollable (Dörre et al 2011, p. 46;Skeggs 2013, p. 15;Schmidtke 2016;Fritsche et al 2017).…”

Section: Perceptions Regarding Social Integration and The Future-explmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, when it comes to people living at the bottom of society, additional restrictions in objective living conditions may come to the foreground (Schmidtke 2016;Fritsche et al 2017). Thus, these groups often perceive their own life chances as limited and are susceptible to deprivation.…”

Section: Perceptions Regarding Social Integration and The Future-explmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Austrians’ expectations for the future

Prandner

Aschauer

Moosbrugger

2020

Österreich Z Soziol

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Building on the knowledge that Europe is currently experiencing a high level of pessimism about the future, this article seeks to explain why Austrians view their own future as well as the country's future with either pessimism or optimism. Both "futures" are often framed differently: A personal one that still seems to be under control and a societal one, which is perceived to be uncontrollable. Thus, social unease is higher than personal unease. Using structural equation modelling and data from the "Sozialer Survey Österreich", indicators of social integration were found to be influential predictors. Results furthermore indicate an underlying explanation, tied to perceptions of societal malaise vs societal wellbeing, driving the opinions on the future in specific directions.

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“…In this role, the German center-left party has struggled to live up to its own claim to be the “party of social justice.” While the SPD could introduce legislation to address issues of austerity and social inequality (such as a raising minimum hourly wages, providing more affordable child care, implementing initiatives for a basic income, etc. ), its profile in this respect has been overshadowed by the image of a government that has lost its willingness or ability to take on challenging decisions and develop daring policy initiatives (Schmidtke, 2016 ). Having the Grand Coalition in power for such a long time has provided the ground for the popular perception of a power monopoly of the main parties and the lack of an effective opposition (Bremer, 2017 ).…”

Section: Left Vs Right-wing Populism: Contextualizing the German Casementioning

confidence: 99%

Politicizing Social Inequality: Competing Narratives From the Alternative for Germany and Left-Wing Movement Stand Up

Schmidtke

2020

Front. Sociol.

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This article investigates the link between rising levels of social inequality and years of austerity on the one hand and the rise of populist, anti-establishment protest on the other. This connection is explored by analyzing the discursive practices of activists as a way of reconstructing the key argumentative and emotional structures organizing actors' understanding of politics. Empirically the article is based on 40 narrative interviews with supporters of the German right-wing, anti-immigrant party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the newly established left-wing movement Stand Up. The findings of the discursive analysis point to a profound sense of exclusion amongst left-and right-wing populist affiliates defined both in socio-economic terms and with a view to being deprived of a proper political voice. At the same time, the results show that the supporters of the AfD, in contrast to those from Stand Up, develop a strong, mobilizing collective identity that is instrumental in popularizing their discontent with the political establishment: The dramatized conflict between the virtuous German people and the threatening Other-manifested primarily by immigrants and the European Union-provides an emotionally charged binary that is at the core of the contemporary populist resurgence across Western democracies. In addition, the collective identity is instrumental in offering a particular interpretation of the origins of and desirable response to growing inequality that rely more on culturalist rather than traditional class-based arguments. Building on this analysis, the article offers an interpretation of the relative weakness of the populist left that, in the German context, so far has not succeeded in using deepening socio-economic cleavages for their political mobilization effectively.

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The ‘Party for Immigrants’? Social Democrats' Struggle with an Inconvenient Electoral Issue

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

One step forward, two steps back: the ambiguous role of Germany in EU Asylum policies

One step forward, two steps back: the ambiguous role of Germany in EU Asylum policies

The Austrians’ expectations for the future

Politicizing Social Inequality: Competing Narratives From the Alternative for Germany and Left-Wing Movement Stand Up

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