After the elections in autumn 2024, some of the scenarios we researched in the Thuringia project have already come to pass: In the constitutive session of the state parliament in Erfurt on 27th September, the AfD and its "Alterspräsident" behaved exactly as we had predicted – a scenario that could have been avoided if our recommendations had been followed.
How can the institutions of democracy and the rule of law in Thüringen be abused for authoritarian-populist purposes? In the months leading up to the election, we held over 150 discussions with people working within these institutions – in politics, administration, the judiciary, academia, the media, schools and universities, the arts and culture, and civil society.
Together with these individuals, we analysed what could lie ahead if state power falls into the hands of authoritarian populists. We ran workshops. We delivered lectures and gave interviews. We generated and published answers to many unresolved legal questions. We recommended amendments to the constitution and laws to make the institutions more resilient to the strategies of authoritarian populists. We helped Thüringen and its people prepare.
This work is far from over!
In the elections, the authoritarian populists secured more than a third of the seats in the Thuringian state parliament. With this blocking minority, they hold a powerful lever to influence decisions in their favour. The prospect of power falling into their hands seems more real than ever.
We want to stay engaged. We want to continue and deepen our research. We want to further develop our scenarios and maintain a dialogue with the people of Thuringia. We do not want to abandon them.
For this, we still need your support. To fund a small team for 2025, which will deepen our research, monitor developments in Thuringia, refine our recommendations for the region, and extend our focus to include Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg, we need around €180,000.
Help us ensure this sum is reached!