Aggression and violence against politicians in Germany - First results of a qualitative interview study

• In Event: Violence and Victimization: Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Case Studies

Abstract

In recent years, the number of media reports about violence and aggression against politicians in Germany has significantly increased. Previous research on the situation in Germany has focused on small samples and single levels of political representation.

A research project conducted by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) addresses these research gaps. In the study, different research methods are combined. First, qualitative interviews with politicians of state, federal and local level (n=20-25) will be conducted regarding their experiences of violence and aggression. Subsequently, politicians of the three different levels will be questioned in a representative quantitative survey (n=22.600) about their experiences of aggression and violence, how they deal with them, and the consequences for their political work and commitment.

This presentation will focus on the qualitative interviews with politicians. First, the different types of victimization will be identified, including the various forms of violence and the situational context of those incidents. Another focus is on the target of the experienced violence: whether it was the politics of the respective party or the person themselves, e.g. their political views, gender or appearance. Finally, initial findings are presented on how politicians deal with the violence and what influence it has on their political participation or how they carry out their political work.

Author

• Philipp Müller, Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony