Study on the Topic of Right-Wing Extremism in Dresden

Right-wing extremist structures, hostility to a particular group, and citizens’ engagement in anti-right-wing extremism in the state capital city of Dresden.

The study, “Right-wing extremist structures, group-specific hostility, and citizens’ engagement in anti-right-wing extremism in the state capital city of Dresden,” commissioned by the state capital city of Dresden, was conducted by the Institute for interdisciplinary Conflict and Violence Research (German: IKG) at the Universität Bielefeld, under the direction of Professor Wilhelm Heitmeyer, sponsored as part of the Saxon state programme "An Open-minded Saxony for Democracy and Tolerance” and the “Local  Action Programme for Tolerance and Democracy, Against Extremism.”

The first part investigates and describes right-wing extremist structures and their political relevance in Dresden. Right-wing extremist structures do not develop outside of a society; rather, they depend on the different attitudes. In order to learn about these attitudes, the IKG conducted a representative telephone survey. 594 people between 16 and 95 years old were surveyed between July 14 and August 9, 2010. In 9 different city districts, the extent of hostility towards particular groups was investigated, with its ideology of inequality as a central element of right-wing extremism. At the same time, willingness to engage in anti-right-wing extremism was also evaluated. With this approach, insight into the local political climate and extent of group-specific hostility in each district is possible. In this way, local profiles are created that make it possible to develop local and carefully targeted strategies for dealing with the study’s topics in each district. “Dresden is in a good position. The results of the study are generally under the national and regional averages,” says Dr. Dierk Borstel from the Universität Bielefeld.


Download the study at:

http://www.dresden.de/media/pdf/presseamt/studie_rechtsextremismus_110524.pdf