Autor*innen: Helena Atteneder, Dr. Rolf Frankenberger, Bjarne Pfau
The study focuses on the spatial patterns of far-right mobilisation with a view to developing an explanatory model that is both theoretically and empirically sound. Based on the observation that common dichotomies such as urban versus rural or East versus West fail to adequately capture the complexity of political preferences, a relational approach to urbanity and rurality is proposed. These are not viewed merely as forms of settlement, but as social, cultural and media-shaped lifeworlds in which experiences of centrality, peripherality, visibility and marginalisation converge.
Spatial analyses and structural findings on the AfD’s electoral successes show that far-right mobilisation gains particular traction where socio-spatial disadvantage, infrastructural marginalisation and a lack of access to information overlap. In particular, the intertwining of lived experiences with media inequalities—for instance, in the context of local ‘news deserts’—thus emerges as a central factor in political polarisation. This approach offers an innovative perspective on the question of how spatial patterns of interpretation become politically effective.
The chapter was published in 2026 in the MOTRA Monitor 2024/2025 open access.
