Group-Focused Enmity Syndrome—Longitudinal Empirical Observation of Attitudes of Enmity in the Population

April 2002 to March 2012

The goal of this project is to analyze the distribution and growth over time of the syndrome of attitudes of enmity (racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, heterophobia, islamphobia, militant defense of rights of precedence) in the population of the Federal Republic of Germany, and to explain it on the basis of social-psychological and sociological concepts.

This goal possesses not only the scientific relevance of helping to fill in gaps in research but is also, and above all, of sociopolitical significance because of the way attitudes of enmity with their underlying ideology of inequality run counter to the major basic value of equal rights in our society and can be used to legitimize violence toward minorities and those who are weaker.

This project is intended to increase awareness of the problem through annual assessments and publications in popular and scientific media and also to encourage commitment in both government and civil society.

Through its general design as a joint venture between a scientific institute, a consortium of foundations led by the Volkswagen Foundation, and a print medium providing effective publicity (DIE ZEIT), this plan should itself become a civil-society project that documents and analyzes trends over a longer period of time.

Project Manager: Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Heitmeyer

Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Steffen Kühnel (Göttingen), Prof. Dr. Peter Schmidt (Gießen) and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wagner (Marburg)

Project Team: Dr. Kirsten Endrikat, Dipl. Soz. Aribert Heyder, Dipl. Psych. Hinna Wolf

Student Assistant: Anna Klein, Wiebke Fiedler

For further information see Heitmeyer, Wilhelm (ed.) (2002): Deutsche Zustände. Folge 1 [German Conditions. Series 1]. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp.

Heitmeyer, Wilhelm (ed.) (2003): Deutsche Zustände. FOlge 2 [German Conditions. Series 2]. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp.