The Formation and Consolidation of a Motley Crew

A Mixed-Method Overview of Swiss and German Corona Protests

in German Politics and Society
Author:
Johannes Truffer Researcher, University of Basel, Switzerland

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Nadine Frei Researcher, University of Basel, Switzerland

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Iljana Schubert Researcher, University of Basel, Switzerland

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Annika Sohre Researcher, University of Basel, Switzerland

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Oliver Nachtwey Chair, University of Basel, Switzerland

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Abstract

The state response to the covid-19 crisis triggered fierce protests in German-speaking countries. Our study aims to provide an overview of the German and Swiss protest movement by examining the socio-structural make-up and worldviews of members of Corona-skeptical Telegram chats, the public appearance of protests, and the movement's collective identities. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed survey (n = 1089), interview (n = 45), and ethnographic data, all collected between 2020 and 2022. Our findings suggest a heterogeneity of Corona-skeptics, revealing three distinct worldviews that focus on esoteric, conspiracy, and right-wing topoi. We paralleled these patterns with qualitative data and linked them to three groups present at Corona protests. Additionally, we found that collective identities—specifically, the “critical expert” and the “heroic resistance fighter”—played a crucial role in unifying the movement.

Contributor Notes

Johannes Truffer is a PhD Candidate in the Sociological Seminar of the University of Basel. He studied Sociology and Philosophy at the University of Luzern and the University of Basel, and in 2021 earned his Master of Arts degree from the latter. He is currently working on his PhD within the project “Contentious Non-Compliance with Pandemic Response,” which analyzes everyday forms of protest, such as not wearing a mask or not getting vaccinated. Specifically, his PhD focuses on the contentious non-compliance of the rural population in Switzerland.

Nadine Frei is a Senior Researcher at the Sociological Seminar of the University of Basel, where she was previously a lecturer and research project manager in 2020–2022. After receiving her Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Bern in 2011, she received her PhD at MLU Halle-Wittenberg in 2020. Her dissertation “Deutungen des Geldes. Zwischen praktischer Notwendigkeit und abstrakter Möglichkeit” was published the same year. She is particularly interested in sociological theory, sociology of education and social inequality, sociology of culture and economy, and digital transformation. Her methodological focus is on qualitative methods of empirical social research.

Iljana Schubert is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Basel, where she has been working since 2016. She currently holds the same position at Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Her research focuses on sustainability transition, particularly in relation to behavior change in energy consumption and the role of social influence in behavior change. Before her current positions, she held research roles at Bournemouth University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, among others. She earned a postdoctoral degree in Sustainability Transition from the University of Basel, a PhD from Bournemouth University, an MA in Organizational and Educational Psychology from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Surrey.

Annika Sohre has been working as a Senior Researcher at the University of Basel since 2014. In 2022, she was appointed Management and Head of Knowledge for the Transfer Research Network Sustainable Future at the same university. She earned her PhD in Political Science from Free University of Berlin, where she graduated in 2012. She studied Environmental Sciences at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. In addition, she worked as a Researcher at both the Free University of Berlin and the University of Sussex.

Oliver Nachtwey is the Chair for the Analysis of Social Structure at the Sociological Seminar of the University of Basel. He holds a degree in economics from the University of Hamburg and a doctorate in political sociology from the University of Göttingen. With research experience at various universities and institutions, his interests lie in social modernization, individualization, the transformation of work, social conflicts, political representation, protests, social movements, and the social effects of digitalization. He has received multiple prizes for his book Germany's Hidden Crisis: Social Decline in the Heart of Europe (2018) and was shortlisted for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Gekränkte Freiheit: Aspekte des libertären Autoritarismus (2022, with co-author Carolin Amlinger). Nachtwey is also the Director of the Forum Basiliense at the University of Basel.

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