The Connection of Local Infrastructure, Status, Deprivation, and Voting for Right-Wing Populists in Germany

Right-wing populism (RWP) is a political phenomenon that gained significant support in the past decade and understanding its origin and supporting factors is essential. Resentment with mainstream parties and the political system has been mentioned as one of the reasons for populists’ success but little is known about a specific mechanism connecting the two phenomena. We examine resentment with infrastructure quality as a determinant of RWP voting in Germany. Our theoretical framework connects two previously separate literature strands, subjective social status (SSS) and relative deprivation (RD). SSS is understood as a benchmark for RD perceptions, and we argue that infrastructure quality relates to the SSS of a person. The theoretical argument is tested using OLS regression, including various measures of infrastructure quality, and a novel spatial difference-in-differences design, with data on high-speed internet upgrades and election results on the municipality level for the 2021 federal election. Findings suggest an association between low infrastructure quality and RWP voting. Furthermore, we observe higher RWP voting in municipalities where fiber internet was not upgraded between the 2017 and 2021 federal elections.