What keeps Pegida together?

When hundreds of people come together shouting paroles, waving flags and demanding a “Fortress Europe” then another Pegida rally is on the streets. The German right populist movement launched in then fall of2014 in Dresden and has since spread to other cities and countries. With its emergence the question of coherence has appeared: What holds this group together?

The self-proclaimed ‘Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident’ (Pegida) movement declare themselves against the alleged Islamisation of Europe and demand a recollection of ones ‘own’ cultural values and norms. Religious wars on national soil, Angela Merkel’s migration policy, and a Muslim takeover undermining traditions and heritage are the main concerns of the movement which, after over one year, is still existing and holding rallies in Germany and other European countries. What is the reason of their coherence which draws people to the anti-immigrant populist collective?

To comprehend the phenomenon of the emergence and the continuance of Pegida, the term of collective identity has been raised. Collective identity serves as a basis and tool of collective movements in general and of Pegida in particular. Although the concept of collective identity is fragile and “slippery” it is important in order to understand the movement. In short, identity is a process that “provides categories by which individuals divide up and make sense of the social world”. People who share the same provided categories have a mutual perception of ‘reality’ and create a feeling of belonging. This feeling is the connection between the members of a movement and the core of a collective identity which can be understood as the factor that holds it all together.

What is the collective identity of Pegida?

The collective identity of Pegida  serves as political mobilisation and is based on two major juxtapositions. Both are constituted through the perception of ‘us’ against ‘them’ with the indication of ‘us’ being better then ‘them’, the Others. By arousing a mutual understanding as well as feelings of solidarity and belonging through defining such moral boundaries in a world which is perceived as chaotic and full of conflic, Pegida creates a cognitive map, a structure and understanding which binds and activates members of its social movement.

This boundary and structural work is the core of Pegida’s collective identity. Without 'the Others' there would be no ‘us’, so self-identification. It is a tool to establish who one is and who one is not. The definition of oneself is “relative to their opponents and broader society”. Pegida uses boundary work and especially a juxtaposition of oneself and the opponents, 'the Others, in order to create a definition and ultimately an identity for oneself. Without 'the Others' there would be no such social movement and no collective identity. Pegida’s identity only sustains due to the comparison and differentiation with 'the Others' and is therefore bound with the Others. This “idea of opposition” states that the characteristics of 'the Others', their values, norms, and behaviour, is incomparable and inferior to ‘us’. Their expression is mostly stereotypical and can be seen as frozen images of the Others. These oppositional frames serve to exclude and bond people as well as develop an “awareness of certain differences” and an “‘oppositional consciousness’”.

Who are the Others?

The two major juxtapositions extract a comprehension of ‘us’ and 'the Others'. Who are 'the Others'? The first juxtaposition is between ‘us’, the people, and ‘them’, the government. Concerns and Mistrust over the current government and their policies are aspects which are captured by the Pegida movement to engage people and create an oppositional consciousness. The government (or part of it) became one of the targets and is seen as cause of current struggles and demise. With paroles like “Merkel muss weg” (Merkel must leave) the group distances itself from the current establishment and therefore provides oppositional frame that explains the problem, Merkel’s policies ruling, and identifies the enemy, Merkel and her decision’s consequences the refugees and their Islamic culture. 

With slogans like „"Grenzen zu"“ (Close borders), they also provide a solution to the alleged problem that is the replacement of Merkel and the abolition of her politics, particularly the closing of the borders and therefore also an abolition of refugees. This demand of rectification of dominant structures is also based on the alleged recognition of injustice and falsehood within these structures.

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Through a clash of cultures boundaries emerged in people’s consciousness.

The arrival of thousands of migrants from outside of Europe gave way to another and probably even stronger oppositional frame in Pegida’s process of collective identity. It is the differentiation between the Occidental and Oriental culture. However, for the social movement’s purpose the culture of the Orient is broken down into a simpler version, which is the Arabic culture and finally the alleged inherent Islam. Through a clash of cultures cultural and moral boundaries emerged in people’s consciousness. Unknown people who do not share the same cultural background and thus heritage and identity allow a strong feeling of insecurity, forfeiture and to the erosion of the once stable concept of a unifying culture which used to vouch for identity to develop.

An alleged fear of losing one´s own national culture, identity alongside economic privileges has broadened. It goes together with the idea that ‘ours’ has to be “protected against the negative influences of the intruders, the immigrants, the conquerors of the national territory”. The awareness of certain differences in collective identities implies that one’s own characteristics are superior to the one of 'the Others'. One’s own culture is more progressed, more valuable, and all in all better than the Others’. The culture of 'the other' contains negative features that are allegedly dangerous, inferior, and not compatible with ‘our’ lifestyle.

What are ‘our’ and ‘their’ features?

Xenophobic and islamophobic slogans and banners among Pegida members as well as speeches show these sentiments and understandings. They promote the exclusion of aliens and a reversion to traditional and national circumstances. A certain discomfort and anxiety due to the presence of a foreign culture which is perceived as a threat to one´s own identity and which is therefore rejected are being addressed. In rallies all around Europe demonstrators held up signs such as “Mohammed not welcome”, “Rapefugees not welcome”, "Islamists not welcome. Stay back or we'll kick you back", "Multikulti stoppen. Meine Heimat bleibt deutsch“ (Stop multiculti. My home remains German) or “`Rape culture’ is being imported". “.

Rallies are filled with slogans and speeches stating what Pegida rejects. But what do they stand for? Basically it can be said that they allegedly are what 'the Others' are not – two of them being German (and European) and Christian. It is further understood that part of those two main characteristics are the principles of democracy, freedom, human rights, freedom of speech, security, monogamy, courage, and heroic deeds. These attributes are not only felt but also used by activists as strong and undeniable approving words to create an oppositional and positive framing for their cause. In contrast to those stand the cultural attributes of the Others, which include discrimination, oppression, tyranny, terror, darkness, and slavery – everything that is negative, untenable, and considered as part of an ancient time.

“Our own culture is the best culture there is”

Geert Wilder, Dutch Politician and leader of the Party of Freedom, visited Dresden in April 2015 to give a speech where he uses such oppositional framing phrases like “Unsere Freiheit und Demokratie muss verteidigt werden“ (Our freedom and democracy needs to be defended), “Wahrheit ist stärker als Lüge” (Truth is stronger than lie), “Mut ist stärker als Tyrannei” (Courage is stronger than tyranny), “Freiheit ist stärker als Unterdrückung” (Freedom is stronger than oppression) or “Kämpfen für unsere Freiheit” (Fight for our freedom). He continues saying that people coming into the country should adapt to ‘our’ culture and value and not the other way around because „unsere eigene Kultur ist ja die beste Kultur” (Our own culture is the best culture there is) and „Wir möchten bleiben was wir sind und wir möchten bleiben wer wir sind“ (We want to stay what we are and who we are). His words state clear boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’ and ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’, which relates to the collective identity of Pegida.

The emergence and coherence of Pegida is tied to its collective identity. This identity is a construction which is formed in the context of certain discourses, but nevertheless felt realistically by certain people. Pegida provides a cultural discourse which helps to create a sense of oneself and of 'the Others'. It builds an oppositional consciousness and framing that leads to a 'we-ness', with which the members can identify. The identification happens in a cognitive, emotional, and moral state and is “produced and reproduced in ongoing interactions between allies, oppositional forces, and audiences who can be real or imagined”. Shared meanings and interests as well as boundary constructions are the basis of a collective identity of social movements and serve as strategic activities. The collective identity of Pegida includes a feeling of belonging to the same heritage and culture, an oppositional consciousness towards 'Others, and a rejection of those in power which is created through an oppositional framing and eventually used for group mobilisation.