Publications

The prospect of enlargement has provided a push for new ideas and has invigorated debate

on EU institutional reform. Besides internal institutional transformation, enlargement opens

a window for another crucial step: the EU must transition from being a Union of citizens in...

Just under eight percent of all eligible voters in Germany have manifest right-wing extremist attitudes. Among populist voters, however, the proportion is more than twice as high, and among AfD supporters it is almost four times as high. More than half of AfD voters hold...

A large majority of Germans are calling for less national egoism and more international cooperation in solving global problems. The UN plays an indispensable role in this, but it is too intangible for many.

Turnaround in public opinion:

populist attitudes have become much less pronounced and widespread, above all in the political center. As populism declines, populists have been put on the defensive. At the same time, further radicalization on the right is

becoming a more...

More than two-thirds (68%) of all people in Germany currently regard the state as being strong and capable of acting. Seven in ten (70%) are satisfied with the way the government has been dealing with the corona crisis. This means that the interim assessment of its first...

Are Eastern Germans “wired” differently? The results of the recent state elections in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony appear to support this hypothesis. But, more than anything, they reflect new lines of conflict in society that are very similar in Eastern and Western...

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a two-year Conference on the Future of Europe. Even citizens ought to participate. But how? In order to make participatory democracy a reality, it is essential to avoid only paying lip-service to the idea of...

In the first 15 months of its government activity, Germany’s grand coalition has already fulfilled or started on more than 60 percent of its 296 promises.

This points to a record-breaking mid-term balance for the current government. At the same time, only ten percent of all...

Representation gaps cause populism: those who feel that they are poorly represented are more populist in their thinking and at the polls. The same also applies to the 2019 European elections. However, the populist citizens only agree on two things: they are sceptical towards...

The vast majority of people expect countries to work together to solve global problems. But they only reluctantly support the G20 and its role in this effort. People don’t know enough about it, and many haven’t formed an opinion of its work.