DOI: 10.26650/jecs2026-1800197 ISSN: 2645-8772

A Social Movement Influencing Political Discourse in Germany: PEGIDA

Ahmed Ergün
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Building on Castells’ view that contemporary social movements are increasingly formed and spread through social media networks, this study examines PEGIDA as an empirical example of this process. Emerging from a Facebook group in Germany, PEGIDA rapidly expanded beyond national borders and, despite its dissolution after a decade, has come to symbolize right-wing populism in the German context. While the movement’s mobilizing capacity declined over time, its political and social repercussions remained significant. Rather than addressing PEGIDA solely as a social movement, this study focuses on its influence on political discourse in Germany, drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with nine German Turks. The findings indicate that levels of awareness about PEGIDA vary according to demographic factors such as age and occupation; however, irrespective of socioeconomic background, all participants demonstrate a basic familiarity with the movement and perceive PEGIDA as a symbolic representation of right-wing populist discourse in Europe. Accordingly, the findings indicate that German Turks perceive PEGIDA as being directly linked to racism and Islamophobia, while indirectly associating it with feelings of threat and fear.Keywords• • • •

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