(How) Perceived Descriptive Underrepresentation Decreases Political Support: The Case of East Germans

Abstract

This article asks whether the persistent descriptive underrepresentation of East Germans in Germany’s elite positions contributes to lower levels of political support in Eastern Germany. Based on a population survey including a survey experiment, it shows that citizens in both parts of Germany perceive a descriptive underrepresentation of East Germans. This perception remains stable, even when new information is provided. It is, however, not an attitudinal prejudice about decoupled elites but also based on citizens’ cognitions. Citizens assess this underrepresentation negatively drawing on its negative impact on legitimacy, efficiency, and substantive and symbolic representation. The interaction of perception and negative assessment decreases political support for community, regime and institutions. The perceived impairment of legitimacy and symbolic representation fuels the withdrawal of support more strongly than impaired efficiency and substantive representation. Since both East and West Germans’ political support is connected to descriptive representation, self-interest and sociotropic considerations are relevant. The contribution confirms that the descriptive underrepresentation of East Germans is one determinant of the lower levels of political support for democracy in Eastern Germany impairing the efficiency and legitimacy of democracy in the entire country.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For the definition of East Germans see endnote 3.

2 The survey was part of the research project ‘Social integration without elites? Level, causes and consequences of descriptive underrepresentation’ funded 2018–20 by the German Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth.

3 Despite other potential definitions based on region, origin or identity (see Reiter and Reiser in this issue), we followed a definition easily accessible in the questionnaire. This is further justified by their overlap in our survey: the vast majority of respondents in Eastern Germany were born there (78.3 per cent) and feel attached to it (86.9 per cent).

4 Before and after this request, we repeatedly defined elites as ‘occupants of the most important leadership positions in Germany’ in order align understanding of the respondents.

5 An estimation of 16 per cent resp. 18 per cent was also counted as descriptive representation, since we assume such small deviations as not causing consequences.

6 Non-responses were included in the experiments but excluded in the multivariate analysis, since the latter focuses on the initial perception.

7 The results are stable when testing the effect of awareness and information separately for respondents who perceive underrepresentation and those who do not.

Additional information

Funding

German Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth [3918SFP004].

Notes on contributors

Lars Vogel

Lars Vogel is research fellow at the Department of Political Science at Leipzig University. His research interests include elites, representation and political culture. He published recently: Vogel, Gebauer, & Salheiser (2018).