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<p>The article makes a&#xa0;theoretical and empirical contribution to the debate on the polarization of society and politics in Germany. From the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology and the further development of his theory by Michael Vester, the paper uses data from the European Social Survey 2002–2023 to examine—based on three fundamental dimensions of conflict (attitudes towards redistribution, sexual diversity and migration)—the question of how socio-political camps have developed in Germany, what socio-structural profiles they exhibit and which parties their members vote for. The article constructs eight types of socio-political camps, which are examined from a&#xa0;multidimensional-relational perspective on polarization tendencies: (1)&#xa0;by comparing the actual empirical sizes of the theoretically possible camps, (2)&#xa0;through a&#xa0;socio-spatial analysis of the camps, and (3)&#xa0;by investigating of the dynamics of their historical development from 2002 to 2023. Methodologically, the article proceeds as simply as possible: The types are formed through a&#xa0;simple combination of the response patterns across the central conflict dimensions. The comparison over time is presented using descriptive statistics. The socio-spatial relationships are illustrated in a&#xa0;socio-political space using multiple correspondence analysis for the most recent data (ESS 11, 2023). On the one hand, the results confirm previous findings that there is a&#xa0;relatively broad consensus and a&#xa0;rather progressive long-term trend among the population regarding attitudes; on the other hand, however, they also show that there are indeed differences between the transnational-egalitarian and the national-egalitarian camps—the two largest camps—, particularly where attitudes towards migration are concerned. Furthermore, the temporal development of the camps points to important relative shifts in size and attitudinal profiles. Taking them into account can contribute to explaining the difference between the public perception of a&#xa0;polarized society and previous findings by social science researchers that cannot identify such a&#xa0;polarization.</p>

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Sozialer Raum, gesellschaftspolitische Lager und Polarisierung im Strukturwandel

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月19日

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  • Tobias Rieder,
  • Christian Schneickert

摘要

The article makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to the debate on the polarization of society and politics in Germany. From the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology and the further development of his theory by Michael Vester, the paper uses data from the European Social Survey 2002–2023 to examine—based on three fundamental dimensions of conflict (attitudes towards redistribution, sexual diversity and migration)—the question of how socio-political camps have developed in Germany, what socio-structural profiles they exhibit and which parties their members vote for. The article constructs eight types of socio-political camps, which are examined from a multidimensional-relational perspective on polarization tendencies: (1) by comparing the actual empirical sizes of the theoretically possible camps, (2) through a socio-spatial analysis of the camps, and (3) by investigating of the dynamics of their historical development from 2002 to 2023. Methodologically, the article proceeds as simply as possible: The types are formed through a simple combination of the response patterns across the central conflict dimensions. The comparison over time is presented using descriptive statistics. The socio-spatial relationships are illustrated in a socio-political space using multiple correspondence analysis for the most recent data (ESS 11, 2023). On the one hand, the results confirm previous findings that there is a relatively broad consensus and a rather progressive long-term trend among the population regarding attitudes; on the other hand, however, they also show that there are indeed differences between the transnational-egalitarian and the national-egalitarian camps—the two largest camps—, particularly where attitudes towards migration are concerned. Furthermore, the temporal development of the camps points to important relative shifts in size and attitudinal profiles. Taking them into account can contribute to explaining the difference between the public perception of a polarized society and previous findings by social science researchers that cannot identify such a polarization.