What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has significant implications not only for foreign, defence, economic and energy policies of European democracies, but also for their societal cohesion. While the debates about sanctions against Russia are mainly structured along partisan lines, with supporters of far-...

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Main Authors: Marc Debus, Julius Diener, Noam Himmelrath, Christian Stecker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-03-01
Series:Research & Politics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680251325428
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author Marc Debus
Julius Diener
Noam Himmelrath
Christian Stecker
author_facet Marc Debus
Julius Diener
Noam Himmelrath
Christian Stecker
author_sort Marc Debus
collection DOAJ
description The Russian invasion of Ukraine has significant implications not only for foreign, defence, economic and energy policies of European democracies, but also for their societal cohesion. While the debates about sanctions against Russia are mainly structured along partisan lines, with supporters of far-left and far-right parties tending to be against harsh responses, we argue that also a specific migrant background and an ethnic identity matter for the position on this highly salient and polarizing issue. Using original survey data from Germany, we find that respondents with a Russian or a Turkish ethnic background are less in favour of sanctions against Russia. This finding remains robust when considering respondents’ party preferences, education level, age, religious affiliation, and their region of residence, whether in Western or Eastern Germany. The results suggest that Russia’s war against Ukraine is likely to create tensions not only between individuals with different ideological orientations, but can also result in conflicts between citizens with and without a Russian or Turkish migrant background or identity.
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spelling doaj-art-ea67aa63d4094a84af61dafe655dbe942025-08-20T03:44:28ZengSAGE PublishingResearch & Politics2053-16802025-03-011210.1177/20531680251325428What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?Marc DebusJulius DienerNoam HimmelrathChristian SteckerThe Russian invasion of Ukraine has significant implications not only for foreign, defence, economic and energy policies of European democracies, but also for their societal cohesion. While the debates about sanctions against Russia are mainly structured along partisan lines, with supporters of far-left and far-right parties tending to be against harsh responses, we argue that also a specific migrant background and an ethnic identity matter for the position on this highly salient and polarizing issue. Using original survey data from Germany, we find that respondents with a Russian or a Turkish ethnic background are less in favour of sanctions against Russia. This finding remains robust when considering respondents’ party preferences, education level, age, religious affiliation, and their region of residence, whether in Western or Eastern Germany. The results suggest that Russia’s war against Ukraine is likely to create tensions not only between individuals with different ideological orientations, but can also result in conflicts between citizens with and without a Russian or Turkish migrant background or identity.https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680251325428
spellingShingle Marc Debus
Julius Diener
Noam Himmelrath
Christian Stecker
What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?
Research & Politics
title What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?
title_full What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?
title_fullStr What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?
title_full_unstemmed What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?
title_short What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?
title_sort what do germans of russian and turkish migration background think about sanctions against russia
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20531680251325428
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