Eine neue Studie legt nahe, dass der Aufstieg des Rechtspopulismus teilweise eine psychologische Reaktion auf die Angst vor dem Unbekannten ist. Wenn Bürger Unsicherheit eher als Chance denn als Bedrohung betrachten, zeigen sie eine größere Aufgeschlossenheit gegenüber Diversität und neigen seltener dazu, rechtspopulistische Parteien zu wählen.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672251386487

From the linked article:

Your brain’s reaction to the unknown could predict how you vote

Political instability and rapid social changes often create a psychological environment where individuals crave security and predictability. A new study suggests that shifting how people perceive this sense of uncertainty can significantly influence their political behavior and social attitudes. Researchers found that **when citizens view uncertainty as an opportunity rather than a threat, they exhibit greater openness to diversity and are less likely to vote for right-wing populist parties**.

The authors argue that these findings highlight a potential strategy for strengthening democratic resilience. By helping citizens regulate their response to uncertainty, societies may be able to foster greater social cohesion. This approach focuses on how people process the unknown rather than directly attacking their political beliefs.

**The study implies that the rise of right-wing populism is partly a psychological response to fear of the unknown**. By reframing that fear, it may be possible to reduce the appeal of exclusionary ideologies. This offers a new perspective on how to address political polarization in unstable times.

Seems kind of like a circular syllogism.

It right wing populism is defined as favoring more conservative policies — literally attempting to conserve the state of things and limit change — then it makes sense that a rise in policies that produce rapid and unpredictable change would trigger a move towards conservatism.

Ah, redditor catnip. Wonder if we will have anyone nitpicking the methodology here

Now integrate this insight with a hypothetical about a two-party system in which the opposition to the right wing populist party is viewed as weak, feckless, disorganized and lacking in any really clear commitments to a positive policy agenda that can be easily identified by the population.

Fear of the unknown fueled by propaganda overload! I have never seen in real life anything that certain media puts out.

Red team blue team same team