Yasemin Aydın*
As Germany heads to early elections in February, I find myself asking a question I never thought I’d consider: Could the Germany I call home become a place where I no longer feel I belong?
This is not an abstract concern. It is deeply personal. I am a proud German Turk, a third-generation citizen who has always believed in Germany’s promise as a nation that thrives on democratic values. But recent political developments have made me — and many others — question whether that promise is slipping away.
Germany is at a crossroads. The collapse of the government last November — the same day Donald Trump was re-elected in the United States — has left the country in political disarray. In less than a month Germans will go to the polls in an election that could profoundly reshape the nation’s identity. At stake is not just the balance of power between political parties, but the soul of Germany itself.
What concerns me most is the state of mainstream conservatism. Historically, Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been a cornerstone of stability, a party that upheld democratic norms and values while providing pragmatic leadership. But today it feels like that anchor is slipping. The CDU, under the leadership of Friedrich Merz, has abandoned its role as a stabilizing force. Instead of offering forward-thinking solutions to Germany’s challenges, it has leaned into the rhetoric of division and fear, echoing far-right populism.
Merz’s recent proposal to strip dual citizens with a migration background of their German citizenship if they committed crimes is a chilling example.
This policy, aimed at individuals with migration backgrounds like me, sends a clear and exclusionary message: You may have been born here, you may be a citizen, but you will never truly belong. For a party that once championed integration and unity, this marks a troubling departure.
But this is not just about Merz or the CDU. It’s about a broader crisis within conservatism. Across the globe, conservative parties have struggled to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Economic stagnation, demographic shifts and cultural anxieties have created fertile ground for fear-based politics. Instead of responding with courage and vision, many conservative leaders have chosen the path of least resistance, borrowing the rhetoric of the far right in the hope of quick electoral gains.
This shift is emblematic of what German philosopher Hannah Arendt described in her book “The Origins of Totalitarianism” as the manipulation of the “masses” through fear and propaganda. Arendt warned that populist movements often seek to undermine the trust between citizens and democratic institutions by simplifying complex realities into digestible but dangerous narratives of “us versus them.” Merz’s rhetoric reflects this tactic, tapping into cultural anxieties rather than addressing the structural causes of societal challenges.
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence is also instructive here. By framing certain groups — migrants, dual citizens or those with non-German backgrounds — as threats to national stability, this kind of narrative reproduces a form of symbolic domination that legitimizes exclusion. This rhetoric doesn’t merely alienate individuals like me; it reshapes societal norms, subtly redefining who belongs and who does not in Germany.
The public sphere, as German philosopher Jürgen Habermas envisioned, is a space for rational-critical debate where democratic values can flourish. Yet the CDU, along with other conservative parties, has retreated from engaging in such dialogue. Instead of fostering a discourse that resonates emotionally while remaining rooted in reason, it has ceded the public sphere to the far right, whose populist strategies dominate through polarization and emotional appeals.
This failure is not merely strategic — it has deep psychological and anthropological dimensions. As humans, we are wired to seek belonging and trust. When leaders fail to engage these fundamental needs, fear becomes the dominant force, and fear is easily manipulated.
The CDU, like many conservative parties, has the potential to offer solutions that resonate. It could address economic inequality, climate adaptation and the challenges of social cohesion in a way that reflects Germany’s democratic values. But it has failed to communicate these solutions in a way that connects emotionally with voters. Instead, it has allowed far-right narratives to dominate, ceding the moral high ground and undermining its own credibility.
As an anthropologist I see the cultural implications of this failure. Societies are built on shared stories — stories that define who belongs, what values matter and what the future holds. When those stories fragment, when they exclude rather than include, the social fabric begins to tear. This is the danger we face in Germany today.
But there is hope. Germany has been here before. After the horrors of the 20th century, the country rebuilt itself on the principles of democracy, inclusion and human rights. It became a beacon of stability in a turbulent world. That capacity for reinvention is still within us. But it requires leadership that is willing to reject fear and embrace solidarity.
The February elections are not just about party politics. They are about defining the kind of country Germany wants to be. Will it succumb to the divisive rhetoric of exclusion, or will it choose a path that reaffirms our democratic values.
*Yasemin Aydın is a social anthropologist and social psychologist in Germany.