PEGIDA – Political Protest Movement

Abstract

Abstract: The protest movements associated with the far right have functioned in Germany for many years. However, none of them has gained such publicity and support as anti-Islam PEGIDA . This protest movement, by its unconventional, but usually peaceful and legal protests concerning migration policy, integrated and mobilized thousands of dissatisfied Germans. It forced the political elites to react but also mobilized the PEGIDA opponents among German society. It revealed the large frustration and dissatisfaction of some of the citizens. It seems that deliberately exaggerated threat of Islamization of Germany and Europe is the pretext for the followers of PEGIDA to show, in a way typical for many political pro test movement, their anti-establishment views, their dissatisfaction with traditional ways of the German policy, with alienation of political elites, with arrogance of the authorities. In the programme and activity of PEGIDA , there is strongly present the populist distinction between “us”, that is the normal people and “them”, i.e. the representatives of elites who are detached from reality. The goal is to change the model of German democracy towards direct democracy in order to make the citizens’ voice more important than that of the elites.