The Police and the Radical Right in Germany

• In Event: European Politics and Society Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Widespread sympathies within the police for radical right parties in Europe have been reported by previous research as well as by police insiders. This is a significant phenomenon because alignment with the police may have a legitimizing impact on the image of radical right parties and can help their electoral fortunes. It may also impact police work. It is therefore relevant to understand the drivers of this alignment. Existing explanations emphasize the demand-side. However, focusing on Germany and using existing survey data, I show that the ideology and attitudes of the police do not resemble those of the typical AfD-voter, suggesting that demand-side explanations do not tell the full story. Instead, I argue that strategic pandering of the AfD on topics important to the police can explain rising police sympathies for the radical right. Employing a text analysis of police union journals and parliamentary questions, I show that the AfD's attention to a topic rises after it becomes more salient for the police, whereas other major parties are not as responsive. In sum, the findings in this paper point to the importance of the supply-side in understanding police support for radical-right parties.

Author

• Jeyhun Alizade, Princeton University