Pegida Goes Europe: Fear Is the Key

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In The Media

Carnegie Europe

Pegida Goes Europe: Fear Is the Key

The Pegida movement has awoken Germany, but Islamophobia is a Europe-wide phenomenon whose roots lie in the alienation of citizens from politics.

By Judy Dempsey

Published on Jan 22, 2015

Source: Deutsche Welle

Speaking to Deutsche Welle’s Quadriga, Judy Dempsey argued that the Pegida movement of “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West” has awoken German society.

“The public space is changing in Germany,” warned Judy Dempsey. “Germany is not unique. . . . There is the fear of the other, the fear of the foreigner. . . . This is a European phenomenon.” In fact, Germany is only the latest country in Europe to tap into the surrounding atmosphere of Islamophobia.

As for the underlying causes of this surge, Dempsey explained that one of the problems is that “with the bureaucratization of politics and globalization, the feeling of identity between politicians and citizens is widening.” The mainstream political parties “haven’t adapted to the postmodernization of Europe, to globalization, and to [the need to] adapt policies and politics to society and its citizens.” The question of alienation between the state, political parties, and society is one of Europe’s biggest problems today.

This broadcast was originally aired on Deutsche Welle.

About the Author

Judy Dempsey

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Judy Dempsey is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe

Recent Work

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Europe Needs to Hear What America is Saying
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Babiš’s Victory in Czechia Is Not a Turning Point for European Populists
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EU Security Europe Western Europe Germany Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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