{"id":5374,"date":"2017-07-06T12:12:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T10:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.p438859.webspaceconfig.de\/?p=5374"},"modified":"2018-01-19T13:02:33","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T11:02:33","slug":"utopian-ideas-and-clear-outlines-against-political-disillusionment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/2017\/07\/utopian-ideas-and-clear-outlines-against-political-disillusionment\/","title":{"rendered":"Utopian ideas and clear outlines against political disillusionment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nAlready, the campaign for this year\u2019s parliamentary elections in Germany is looming. In order to inspire citizens, and especially young people, to get involved with politics (again) the Friedrich Ebert foundation and our local Member of Parliament, Svenja Stadler from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), decided to organize an alternative talk show. The subject: \u201cTalking to each other instead of complaining about one another – an alternative talk show on political disillusionment.\u201c<\/p>\n

Both the headline and the question of what exactly would be alternative about the event made me curious, so I decided to attend. The concept, as it turned out, was similar to that of the popular German television chat show \u201cHard But Fair\u201d. The discussion, in the northern German town of Buchholz, was streamed live to the Internet, with viewers being able to contribute to the debate. However, the interconnection between the actual live debate and the online chat didn\u2019t work out very well \u2013 the high number of verbal contributions on stage almost drowned out the live chat, all but turning the two into separate events.<\/p>\n

\"\"Nevertheless, the discussion itself proved informative: Dr Matthias Micus of the G\u00f6ttingen Institute for Democracy Research took the disillusionment of many citizens with politics, parties or politicians seriously. The dynamic, he said, had hollowed out the political parties as the most important pillar of the political system in Germany. As a result fewer and fewer eligible voters decided to lend their electoral support to the major people\u2019s parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipation\u201d, Micus said, \u201cdepends on interest, which in turn depends on the perceived effectiveness of one\u2019s own actions.\u201d Whenever people lost the belief that they could change or influence things, he added, participation waned. Although the overall level of voluntary engagement was on the rise, those who had already been sidelined could no longer be reached, even through new and unconventional instruments of participation. The resulting gap, Micus warned, was widening. On those occasions where people did end their personal passivity and were politically reactivated, they tended to do so in a pessimistic and distrustful manner. Micus then formulated a demand: \u201cThe established forces must better defend the political parties because they are filters against populism.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to inspire people to become invested in politics again, Micus believes, political parties have to reach out to them and initially kindle their interest with non-political offerings and without any self-interest, thereby lowering psychological barriers. This, he said, could eventually pave the way towards more political engagement. At the same time Micus called on the major people\u2019s parties to offer more utopias and visions: \u201cMobilisation is a result of clear political profiles and distinctiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how disillusioned is the population with regard to politics? The youngest member of the panel, Sophie R\u00f6hse from Buchholz youth council, said: \u201cI do believe that there\u2019s an interest in politics. But although it is very relevant to young people, they don\u2019t tend to feel represented.\u201d Even if this is the case, it means that there must be young people who actively get involved \u2013 otherwise, who will represent young people?<\/p>\n

Indeed some participants of the discussion were not perceived as much as they could have been and also didn\u2019t take part much in the debate \u2013 which, after all, is exactly what we don\u2019t want. Young Sophie R\u00f6hse for example was hardly included in the conversation, and local politician Martin Gerdau also didn\u2019t get the opportunity to contribute much. As mentioned above, the online chat also didn\u2019t figure very prominently, and didn\u2019t remain accessible for later reference.<\/p>\n

The idea of an alternative chat show is a good one, and the concept may indeed become highly participative. However, the actual realisation is something that requires some more work.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Already, the campaign for this year\u2019s parliamentary elections in Germany is looming. In order to inspire citizens, and especially young people, to get involved with politics (again) the Friedrich Ebert foundation and our local Member of Parliament, Svenja Stadler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[93,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-article","category-politics","entry"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-300x178.jpg",300,178,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"square-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-400x320.jpg",400,320,true],"vertical-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-400x320.jpg",400,320,true],"horizontal-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"blog-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

Already, the campaign for this year\u2019s parliamentary elections in Germany is looming. In order to inspire citizens, and especially young people, to get involved with politics (again) the Friedrich Ebert foundation and our local Member of Parliament, Svenja Stadler from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), decided to organize an alternative talk show. The subject: \u201cTalking to each other instead of complaining about one another – an alternative talk show on political disillusionment.\u201c Both the headline and the question of what exactly would be alternative about the event made me curious, so I decided to attend. The concept, as it turned out,…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"General Article<\/a>, Politics<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Monika Griefahn","url":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/author\/monika-griefahn\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-300x178.jpg",300,178,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"square-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-400x320.jpg",400,320,true],"vertical-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl-400x320.jpg",400,320,true],"horizontal-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false],"blog-entry-image":["https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/P1240881_podium_bea_kl.jpg",540,320,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Monika Griefahn","author_link":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/author\/monika-griefahn\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Already, the campaign for this year\u2019s parliamentary elections in Germany is looming. In order to inspire citizens, and especially young people, to get involved with politics (again) the Friedrich Ebert foundation and our local Member of Parliament, Svenja Stadler","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5374"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6183,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374\/revisions\/6183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monika-griefahn.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}