{"id":12386,"date":"2018-03-15T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T11:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?post_type=publication&p=12386"},"modified":"2022-10-05T10:45:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T08:45:31","slug":"return-to-the-politically-abandoned","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/publication\/return-to-the-politically-abandoned\/","title":{"rendered":"Return to the politically abandoned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Summary<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This study demonstrates that many people who live in structurally weak regions with a high proportion of right-wing populist voters feel like they have been abandoned by politics. The 500 door-to-door interviews that were conducted for the study highlight the challenges that the respondents face in their everyday lives and demonstrate that current socio-political conditions \u2013 and not factors such as xenophobia \u2013 are often at the root of their anger and concerns about the future. This study uses the authentic views of the interviewees to decode the ways in which they think. The aim is to enable the views of this section of the population to be employed in the development of recommendations for action that would help regain their trust. The study the first of its kind to have been undertaken on the elections that took place in 2017 in Germany and France.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important results from Germany and France<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a considerable discrepancy<\/strong> <\/strong>between the issues that people view as the \u2018biggest problems\u2019 facing their country (which are immigration and the economy) and the challenges that they face in their everyday lives (precarious working conditions, worries about money and declining social infrastructure). Media and politics at the national level are criticised for not having properly adopted this \u2018citizens\u2019 agenda\u2019. This problem also results in a sense of unfairness and disadvantage. As such, when people in these regions devalue others, especially migrants, they do so as a reaction to their own experiences of devaluation (this follows the \u2018logic of comparative devaluation\u2019). Importantly, the interviews demonstrated no intrinsic patterns of xenophobia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central narratives employed by the populists<\/strong> <\/strong>are far less prevalent in their strongholds than is generally assumed. When people are asked to describe political contexts in their own words, issues such as Islamisation, Euroscepticism, sweeping criticism of the media and the emphasis on national identity hardly ever crop up. Instead, more often than not the European Union, for example, tends to be viewed as part of the solution, not the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationalist clamouring or demands<\/strong><\/strong> that include a \u2018Germany first!\u2019 approach, are ultimately based on the view that politics sets the wrong priorities and focuses on issues that do not reflect the realities of people\u2019s everyday lives. However, the interviewees did not necessarily view measures aimed at tackling the refugee crisis, or foreign policy commitments, as fundamentally wrong. Nevertheless, the interviewees often believed that a focus on immigration and foreign policy tended to result in less investment and fewer policy measures at the local level that would help tackle the tangible challenges that these people face in their everyday lives. This includes increased economic pressure faced by people on low incomes and the gaps in public services. Finally, many interviewees believe that politics has withdrawn from certain social and geographical areas. Importantly, this feeling has led to a strong sense of abandonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Areas now exist which are marked by \u2018political abandonment\u2019. To regain the trust of the people who live in these areas, it will be necessary to establish a local presence, provide recognition and resolve the problems that they face. This study outlines five relevant fields of action as a means of contributing towards this aim:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • solidarity<\/strong> with the resident population is essential if solidarity is to be expressed with newcomers;<\/li>
  • infrastructure<\/strong> as a means of promoting equal opportunities;<\/li>
  • strengthening structures through the presence of political parties at the local level<\/strong>;<\/li>
  • make structural change<\/strong> compatible with society;<\/li>
  • and confidence and assertiveness<\/strong> in the face of right-wing populist narratives.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    Short film: Les Oubli\u00e9s \u2013 The politically abandoned<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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