Worldwide, autocracies are on the rise, populists are gaining momentum, democratic societies are under pressure. Wars, inflation and fear of economic decline are causing great uncertainty.

The "Germany-Monitor 2025" shows that the vast majority of Germans believe in democracy, and that support for democracy as a form of government is increasing, especially in the east of the country. This was announced by the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany, Elisabeth Kaiser, in Berlin on Thursday this week. "It is good that democracy as a form of government is fully supported by citizens. Even in the east," said Kaiser, who is a lawmaker with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Changes in democracy: That was the focus of the study, for which 4,000 representative people above the age of 16 were surveyed across Germany from spring 2025 to September. The representative study was conducted jointly by the Center for Social Studies in Halle, the University of Jena and the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS), and is funded by the Federal Commissioner for Eastern Germany.

Commissioner Kaiser, however, observed that while 98% of respondents said they believe in the idea of democracy, only 60% said it is currently working well. She noted a marked lack of knowledge about procedural basics of democracy: Only 68% correctly said that democracy means that the government must abide by parliamentary decisions and by the separation of powers.

Twenty-one percent of those surveyed were shown to be receptive to authoritarian rule. Researchers conclude that the high level of support for democracy does not mean "that no one supports an autocratic or authoritarian transformation of society."

Thirty-one percent of respondents nationwide agreed with the statement: "What Germany needs now is a single strong party that embodies the will of the people as a whole." In the eastern states that made up the communist German Democratic Republic before 1990, that figure even stood at 35%. However, only 4% said they'd agree with the statement "under certain circumstances, a dictatorship is the better form of government."

Germans accept change

Participants said they perceived the most significant change in attitude was towards defense. Since Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine almost four years ago, Germany has been talking about investing in defense, rearming the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, and reintroducing conscription. More recently, Germans have begun to feel that they can no longer rely on military support from the US under President Donald Trump.

Reinhard Pollak, a sociologist from Mannheim, conducted the study together with seven colleagues. At the press conference in Berlin, he summarized the findings: "A quarter of the population wants change. Another quarter says: We are skeptical, it's too fast and too far-reaching for us. And the broad middle ground is ambivalent and says, 'It depends.' What surprised us is that there is such a clear picture at all, and that people are not predominantly tired of change."

A nuanced view on the topic of immigration

According to the study, Germans also take a nuanced view the controversial issue of immigration, which the government headed by the center-right Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), has vowed to curb.

A broad majority of 68% said they believe Germany should recruit skilled workers from abroad. And 59% believe that the state should do more to promote the integration of immigrants. However, 28% said they believe that the increase in immigration since 2015 has led to many negative changes. This figure corresponds to the nationwide polling figures for the populist far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), which campaigns above all on an anti-immigration platform.

East-West divide

There are differences between East and West Germany. The research team found that in the West, optimism and willingness to embrace change do not depend on whether the respondent lives in a rich or poor area. In the East, however, they do: Respondents who live in less affluent parts of the country are more likely to express skepticism of the state and its institutions.

This is also evident in the evaluation of how people assess the process of German reunification since 1990: In the West, around 55% said they view reunification positively, while in the East, the figure varies between 72% approval in economically stronger areas, especially in cities, and only 49% in economically disadvantaged areas.

This article was originally published in German.

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