Stiller Wandel, regressiver Umbau: Kommunale Verwaltungen als Kristallisationsorte demokratischer Erosion

43. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, ‘Zukünfte der Gesellschaft’, ‘Organisationen zwischen Rechsextremismus und Diversität: Arenen gesellschaftlicher Machtkämpfe’ panel, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 28 September–02 October 2026

The talk explored how municipal planning administrations in Germany deal with the growing presence of far-right actors in local decision-making on urban development. Drawing on Nicos Poulantzas’s understanding of the state as a relational terrain of forces, as well as qualitative data from municipalities across Germany, it looked at the everyday practices through which planners engage with this presence, from dialogue and professional neutrality to situations where established routines come under pressure. It asked what these practices show about planning as a discipline that aims to bring diverse interests together in space, and what such practices mean for how we understand regressive shifts in local statehood.

More information
https://kongress2026.soziologie.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Kongress/Programm/Programmdatein/DGS26-HP.pdf