Prof. Dr. Raj Kollmorgen, sociologist and Professor of Management of Social Change at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, has spoken as an expert in various media during the 2025 federal elections. In interviews with MDR and SPIEGEL, he analyzed the reasons for the historically high voter turnout and the success of the AfD in eastern Germany.

In an MDR report, Prof. Kollmorgen explained that the increased voter turnout was due to current social challenges that are making people more politicized. These include the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, migration issues and economic uncertainty. These crises would motivate citizens to cast their vote in order to influence the political process.

In the SPIEGEL interview, Prof. Kollmorgen emphasized that new parties with alternative programmes and new minds have contributed to the mobilization of voters. This expansion of the party spectrum has led to greater polarization, which in turn has brought more people to the polls.

Prof. Kollmorgen cited several reasons for the AfD's electoral success in eastern Germany. He referred to a different political culture and specific discussion patterns in East Germany, which favored the party's success. These factors were not fundamentally surprising, but had already become apparent in previous state elections.