Determinants of violence against political candidates: Evidence from the 2021 German federal election

Violent acts against politicians and political institutions have dramatically increased in recent years, even in consolidated democracies. Although political violence can have corrosive effects on democracy, we know little about the causes of violence against political candidates. To help fill this gap, we analyze whether specific forms of political violence are used to target specific groups of politicians. We argue that politicians from parties with less centrist positions are more likely to be subjected to political violence. We also expect women to be more heavily targeted, as well as regional differences between East and West Germany. Using the 2021 German candidate study, we find strong support for our expectations. We find that political violence is far from an uncommon phenomenon in contemporary election campaigns. Candidates from Die Linke, the Green party and from the right-wing AfD are particularly affected by physical attacks, insults and property damage. East German candidates are more frequently targeted across the board. While most forms of violence affect both genders equally, women suffer particularly from sexual harassment. Finally, we show that acts of violence lead affected politicians to refrain from certain campaign activities.