What this means: narrowing gender gaps takes more than seats in parliament 🏛️. It needs civil rights ⚖️, women’s voices in society 🗣️, and visible role models in politics 👩‍🎓. When young women grow up in such an environment, they stay politically active for life 💪

Crucially: empowerment matters most during the formative years (adolescence & early adulthood).

Growing up in societies with empowered women leaves a long-lasting imprint on women’s political behavior, thereby closing the gender gap.

I argue that these gaps shrink as women gain political empowerment, defined broadly as:
1️⃣ Equal civil liberties
2️⃣ Presence & voice in civil society and public discourse
3️⃣ Political representation

▶️𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:

If BSW consolidates its presence, it could pull voters from 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐏𝐃 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐃𝐔 — but also open space for 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 with them.

Yet, alongside the AfD, BSW is 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 resonating with 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 and frustrated voters.

3️⃣Support for BSW is strongest among voters who are both 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 and 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 — though the economic dimension matters more.

4️⃣Dissatisfaction with democracy, political distrust, and populist sentiments 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 for BSW in both East and West.

▶️𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:

1️⃣BSW (and AfD) supporters show 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, especially on socio-economic left-right positions.

2️⃣Overall, BSW supporters lean 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 (like SPD voters) but are 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 (similar to CDU/CSU voters).

We ask: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐁ü𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐡𝐫𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐭 (𝐁𝐒𝐖)?

Using original survey data from early 2024, we examine the ideological profiles of BSW supporters—focusing on key differences between 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲.