Growing Up Far Right? Youth Support for the AfD in Eastern Germany

Abstract

The far right is gaining increasing traction among young voters–an age group that constitutes the future electorate. Yet, the underlying drivers of this trend remain insufficiently explored. This article addresses this gap by investigating why the ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD) resonates so strongly with young voters in eastern Germany–a region typical for the far right’s rise and consolidation. Drawing on established approaches from electoral sociology and contemporary insights from research on populism, the far right, and youth political behaviour, the study analyses original survey data collected during the 2024 state elections in eastern Germany. The findings reveal that support for the AfD among young voters is not only strikingly stable, but also closely linked to strong levels of party identification and pronounced nativist attitudes. These results point to a broader normalisation of far-right positions among younger generations and provide important insights for both political actors and future research.