New research project on motivations in electoral decision making in European elections
The European elections 2024 raise exciting questions for political scientists. Current forecasts see Eurosceptic and populist parties on the left and right of the political spectrum making significant gains. This is a development across Europe which is currently particularly visible in Germany and Austria. The right-wing parties Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are expected to increase their share in these elections. At the same time, the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) are new players that have so far either played a subordinate role or – with regard to the BSW – have only recently been formed.
Against this background, the team at the Chair of Comparative Politics was able to raise funds to conduct a population survey in Germany and Austria in the run-up to the European elections. The aim of the project is to get to root causes of this development. The research team is focusing on voters’ satisfaction with democracy and their trust in political institutions at European and national level.
The research project »The European Elections as an indicator of political trust? Comparing Germany and Austria« is conducted by Prof. Dr. Sandra Eckert, Prof. Dr. Constantin Wurthmann and Dr. Simon Primus at the Institute of Political Science. The project is funded by the Universitätsbund Erlangen-Nürnberg e. V., the Luise Prell Foundation and the International Association for the Study of German Politics (IASGP).