Satisfaction with democracy in Germany has reached its lowest level. At the same time, the past is being idealized and there is a desire for a radical break with the present. Anti-Semitic attitudes and a longing for a strong hand are also on the rise.
These are the main conclusions of a study on authoritarianism, the results of which were presented in Berlin. The study has been conducted every two years since 2002.
“Our democracy is under strong pressure”
For the representative survey, conducted between March and June 2026 by the Else Frenkel-Brunswik Institute for the Study of Democracy at Leipzig University, more than 2,500 randomly selected people were questioned.
For the first time since these surveys began, approval of democracy as an idea has fallen below the 90 percent threshold. This is primarily due to the massive loss of trust among respondents from East Germany (85.7 percent). The decline in approval of democracy as experienced in everyday life is even more serious: across the country, only one-third are satisfied, with the figures falling significantly both in East Germany (22.8 percent) and in the western parts of the country (36 percent).
The growing dissatisfaction with democracy is also reflected in the desire for a right-wing authoritarian dictatorship as a form of government—around one-quarter of respondents explicitly support the idea of “a single strong party that embodies the national community”. In the eastern part of the country, this figure is 30.9 percent, significantly above the average for Germany as a whole (22.3 percent).
“Our democracy is under strong pressure—it has lost the support of broad sections of the population. It is horrifying to see the extent to which the longing for authoritarianism is taking its place,” concludes the study’s director, Oliver Decker.
Chauvinism reaches record levels
Far-right attitudes have increased for the second consecutive survey. National pride expressed in the form of chauvinism is particularly noteworthy—with 19.9%, it has reached its highest level since this series of studies began. The proportion of people with a fully developed far-right worldview stands at 6.9%, the highest figure since 2014.
Nearly 15% of respondents are adamant that “everything must be destroyed so that something new can emerge in its place”. Almost one in three believe that “something radical is necessary to change the current situation”, while another 29.1% partly agree with this statement.
According to the study, people who share this apocalyptic longing are also significantly more anti-Semitic. The study notes that a large proportion of voters with such attitudes sympathize with the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Rise in anti-Semitic attitudes
As for the motives behind anti-Semitic attitudes, the policies of the state of Israel are a decisive factor for 16 percent of respondents. This is also a record figure in the long-term study.
While in 2020 this figure in East Germany was significantly higher than the figures in the western parts of the country (12 versus 8.4 percent), the percentages have since converged. Anti-Semitism related to Israel is even slightly stronger in the western states than in the eastern ones.
Hostility towards Muslims is also growing
Hostility towards Muslims is also on the rise. In 2018, it reached its highest level—over 40 percent—before falling to below 30 percent. It currently stands at 34.1 percent.
These figures are based on the following two statements, which receive approval in every survey: “Muslims should be banned from immigrating to Germany” and “Because of the large number of Muslims, I sometimes feel like a stranger in my own country”.
Misogyny is another characteristic regularly assessed in the study. In the current survey, 18.3% of respondents support anti-feminist statements. It is striking that over the two years since the previous study, the proportion of East Germans who view emancipation negatively has halved—from 34.6% to 17.8%.
A ray of hope
Despite the negative trend, there is also a ray of hope: although the findings are described as alarming, long-term data suggest that a reversal is possible. “In previous studies, far-right theses also received high levels of approval, but support for them subsequently declined. In addition to the impact of social crises, political action also plays a key role, as does the way it is perceived by society,” the study’s authors further write.