Kryzys demokracji na wschodzie? Frekwencja wyborcza w nowych krajach związkowych RFN 25 lat po zjednoczeniu
Crisis of democracy in the east? Voter turnout in the new federal states of Germany 25 years after the reunification

Summary/Abstract: In the elections to the Bundestag and the parliaments of federal states the inhabitants of the socalled new federal states of Germany participate noticeably less frequently than people in Western lands. This is demonstrated by the analysis of the turnout in the elections that took place after the reunification of Germany. The differences are not visible only in case of the elections to the European Parliament, but these are of a specific character. The reasons for this are varied. They include different understanding of democracy, not fully developed civil society, a low level of trust in political parties, the outflow of population from the east and a higher level of unemployment there. In the author’s opinion, due to the lack of prospects for changes of these factors, the level of turnout in eastern Germany will probably not increase in the future.

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