Article
Article name “The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice” and the Split of the Left-Wing Party Opposition in Germany: Crisis or Renewal?
Authors Spassky E.N. doctor of political sciences, associate professor, srs2@festu.khv.ru
Bibliographic description Spassky E. N. “The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice” and the Split of the Left-Wing Party Opposition in Germany: Сrisis or Renewal? // Transbaikal State University Journal. 2024. Vol. 30, no. 3. P. 126–137. DOI: 10.21209/2227-9245-2024-30-3-126-137.
Category Politology
DOI 329.05 (430)
DOI 10.21209/2227-9245-2024-30-3-126-137
Article type Original article
Annotation The paper is devoted to the emergence of a new German political party “Sarah Wagenknecht Union – Reason and Justice” (party “SWU”). The relevance of the study lies in the fact that the stated scientific problematic is of particular interest in the context of the current geopolitical situation, which dictates the need to take into account the positions of new groups through the prism of Russian national and foreign policy interests. The object of this study is the political party “SWU”. The aim of the research is to view the new party and the political consequences of its emergence for the left-wing party opposition. To attain the goal comparative and structural-genetic methods were used, allowing us to trace the dynamics of formation and development of left-wing groups in united Germany. The research tasks include the analysis of the political and ideological prerequisites for the SWA emergence; a study of the organizational and structural features of its formation; the identification of the political consequences of a new grouping both for the left-wing party opposition and the party system as a whole. The research results embrace the reasons for the emergence of the party “SWU”; the origins of the internal conflict in the Left party which led to the formation of a new political grouping; the program settings of the SWA and its electoral prospects; the consequences of the formation of a new party both for left-wing political forces and the party system as a whole. The research conclusions underline the following ideas. The emergence of a new party on the German political scene such as the party “SWU” marks a new stage in the development of both the left movement and its party system as a whole. For the Left, this means that the phase of their consolidation has been replaced by a phase of disintegration, which has taken the form of a party split. For the German party system, the creation of the party “SWU” can have two consequences. On the one hand, the emergence of a new left-wing party indicates further fragmentation and pluralization of the political system. On the other hand, it is becoming obvious that the impact of existing parties, primarily the “Alternative for Germany” and the “Left” is decreasing. For the “Left”, the activity of the party “SWU” is an existential threat and may lead to its disappearance as a pan-German parliamentary grouping. The prospects for the influence of the party “SWU” is related to the relevance of the political agenda that the new party will offer to voters as well as to its organizational stability.
Key words Federal Republic of Germany, political parties, party system, Bundestag, the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice, Left party, elections, voters, political competition, opposition
Article information
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