How populists’ election results lead to far-right demonstrations

In liberal-leaning municipalities, there is an increased probability of far-right demonstrations in the wake of unexpectedly strong election results by right-wing populists. This is one of the insights from an investigation based on electoral results of the AfD party in Germany. The study reveals a surprise effect on the part of people who previously believed that their attitudes were less socially acceptable. Social norms are highly dependant on people's assumptions about what others think. That also means that norms can change with new information on the attitudes of others, for example with the publication of election results. The impact of electoral successes of right-wing populist parties in this regard has previously been studied primarily in connection with rises in hate crime and changes in future voting intentions. Dr. Felix Hagemeister of the Hochschule für Politik (HfP) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now investigated the link between electoral results of the German party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the frequency of demonstrations by right-wing extremists.