Disenchantment with Politics

Against the background of the Corona crisis, this study explored the causes, reasons and typical occasions for disenchantment with politics. In particular, the question was investigated of which developments those disenchanted with politics feel threatened by, what role the Corona pandemic and global trends such as migration, digitalisation and globalisation play in this, but also developments in society as a whole, fears of social decline and personal experiences. Prior to the population survey, a comprehensive qualitative survey in the form of online group discussions was conducted with people who are generally dissatisfied with politics in Germany. The results from this research step served as the basis for the development of the population survey instrument. The basic population for the representative survey was the German-speaking resident population in private households aged 16 and over with online access throughout Germany. A total of N = 2,015 people were surveyed between 11 and 18 September 2020. In order to identify the target group of those disaffected with politics, general attitudes towards politics, the political system and its protagonists were surveyed at the beginning of the survey. Another focus of the survey was on political information behaviour, media use and the assessment of the credibility of individual media. Dealing with so-called conspiracy theories and false news, especially about the corona virus, is also addressed.<br>1. General attitudes and satisfaction with current politics: satisfaction with politics in Germany; two most important problems in Germany (open); confidence regarding the solution of the problem named in rank 1 in Germany; attitudes towards individual policy areas and disenchantment with politics.

2. Life satisfaction and future prospects: Satisfaction with selected areas of life (life as a whole, income, health, relationship with family and friends); influence of politics on personal life satisfaction; deprivation; breaks in biography in recent years; reason for this change (open); satisfaction with politics on the basis of pairs of opposites (angry - calm, disappointed - satisfied, indifferent - interested, worried - optimistic); individual and political hopes and fears for the future with regard to the following aspects: personal future as a whole, development of personal financial situation, development of nature and environment, influx of refugees and migrants to Germany, dealing with the Corona pandemic in Germany, development of democracy in Germany as a whole, increasing digitalisation of life, globalisation and worldwide networking of the economy; comparison of the standard of living in the neighbourhood with that of people in Germany as a whole.

3. Attitudes to social order politics and democracy: assessment of democracy as a form of government; satisfaction with democracy in Germany; preference for state organisation (strong vs. liberal state); support for referendums on issues affecting the whole of Germany; assessment of the state of society; agreement of one´s own assessment with the majority opinion in Germany on this issue; justice in Germany today and in the 1980s; general development in Germany in the right vs. wrong direction.

4. Political participation: Participation in political activities in the last 12 months; forms of political activities; frequency of voting.

5. Institutional trust: Level of trust in institutions by sector (judiciary, environmental and aid organisations such as Greenpeace, federal government, politicians, media, police, science, local authorities, city administration, state government of the federal state, local politicians and mayors of the region, political parties, churches and religious communities); measures of the federal government for more trust (open);

Expectations of politicians based on pairs of opposites (e.g. should always speak their mind vs. should adapt their mind to new insights and situations, should try to push through their political positions with all their might vs. should also compromise sometimes, should speak directly to citizens more often vs. should take more time for substantive work, etc.).

6. Media use and their credibility: frequency of use of different media for information on local, national or international issues; assessment of the credibility of individual media.

7. Attitudes towards conspiracy theories and disinformation: attitudes towards information in alternative media; ability to distinguish between true and false news; agreement with common statements of typical conspirators (e.g. politicians don´t actually decide anything and are only controlled by lobby groups, refugee immigration is a strategy to abolish the German people, etc.); agreement with ‘alternative’ statements about the corona virus (e.g. the official data on infection figures with the corona virus in Germany are manipulated, etc.); evaluation of corona demonstrations; basic trust in people.

Demography: age (year of birth, average age, age groups); sex; education: highest school-leaving qualification and vocational qualification; employment; marital status; household size; number of children under 18 in the household; place of residence in 1989 (GDR, FRG, other country); federal state; if current place of residence Berlin: former West Berlin or East Berlin; place of residence West/East; size of place; urban or rural residential area; party preference; economic situation of the household; religious affiliation; self-assessment of social class; unemployment; years of unemployment; mother tongue; nationalities; migration background of the respondent or his/her parents; net household income.

Additionally coded were: Respondent ID; split coarse clustering not politically disenchanted/politically disenchanted; clusters (semi-satisfied political sceptics, rejecting political non-interested, rejecting political interested, satisfied political interested); media use: summary of frequency of use (classic media, print, digital information services, television, local, regional media); Nielsen areas; weight.