Research

Climate Change as a Threat to Representative Democracy

Starting point:

Views on anthropogenic climate change (ACC) as well as climate policy measures (e.g., wind turbines) have in recent years contributed to a polarization at the societal level (Otteni and Weisskircher, 2022; Zilles and Marg, 2022). Given the documented dangers of polarization for democracy, it is essential to examine the polarization of attitudes towards climate change and related policies. A significant yet underexplored question is whether the polarization evident in the general public also exists among (local) political elites, especially given the climate change skeptic views voiced by the AfD (Küppers, 2022).

Studying political elites’ views on ACC is, moreover, relevant for three practical reasons: 1) existing scholarship indicates that acknowledging ACC is a necessary precondition for supporting climate change mitigation policies (Fielding et al., 2012; Rapeli & Koskimaa, 2022; Tranter, 2011); 2) political elites are the primary decision-makers in climate change mitigation; 3) skeptical views held by political elites can influence the general public, potentially increasing climate change skepticism and policy resistance.

Climate change may challenge representative democracy in another way. Actions such as the blockades of highway exits and main traffic lines by the activists of the “Last Generation” may be regarded as an indicator of the lost faith in the effectiveness of conventional forms of political participation in parts of the climate movement. This discontent could indicate a broader dissatisfaction with the current state of representative democracy. Moreover, dissatisfaction with how political elites have handled the climate crisis thus far could lead to decreased support for (certain aspects) of representative party democracy.

Research question: How does man-made climate change challenge representative democracy?

Approach:

This project has two sub-projects. The first will study political elites’ attitudes towards climate change and specific climate policies through a web survey of local and regional MPs in the East German states of Saxony and Thuringia – both of which are strongholds of the climate change skeptic far-right AfD and battlegrounds for local conflicts over the energy transition. The second sub-project will examine how fear of climate change shapes attitudes towards and support for representative democracy.

Funded by: ProChance-career Research Grant, University of Jena.

Start date: 01.12.2022.

Project status: ongoing.