The Development of PEGIDA: From a Movement of the Outraged to a Protest Ritual

Abstract

The Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident (PEGIDA) represented something unprecedented in the Federal Republic of Germany. Never before had there been a right-wing protest which could mobilise on a massive scale and bring thousands or even tens of thousands of supporters to the street. Hence, the demonstrations quickly attracted attention well beyond Germany and Europe. This chapter describes the emergence and development of PEGIDA as well as its transformation from an initially diffuse protest event to a radicalised anti-migration movement. The rapid rise in winter 2014/2015 was followed by a progressive erosion of support, so that in July 2015 it seemed that PEGIDA had already come to an end. Then, the refugee crisis of late summer 2015 provided the impetus for a veritable resurrection of the demonstrations, along with which a noticeable radicalisation also began. This change is also illustrated by the various position papers as well as the speeches that were held at the rallies. Finally, the techniques of staging the protest on the streets are described, as well as banners, flags and symbols that were put on display and PEGIDA’s usage of social media.