ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Elections and Representation
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpos.2025.1562638
Transforming the centre right in Germany and the United Kingdom: The increasing prominence of identity politics and ‘culture wars’ narratives
Provisionally accepted
- University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This manuscript examines the transformation of centre-right politics in Germany and the United Kingdom, focusing on how ‘culture wars’ rhetoric and identity politics have influenced the political strategies of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and the UK Conservative Party. It explores how these parties have responded to the rise of right-wing populism, prominently through the framing of cultural issues such as migration, national identity, and gender politics. While the UK Conservatives have embraced nationalist-populist rhetoric, especially during the Brexit campaign, the CDU has maintained a more policy-driven, pragmatic approach. The article argues that while identity politics can be a powerful tool for voter mobilization, it risks alienating moderates and deepening societal divisions. Reflecting on the impact of the ‘cultural wars’ rhetoric on competitive party politics, the study highlights the challenge for centre-right parties in balancing the demands of an increasingly polarized electorate with the need to preserve their traditional policy-focused, moderate conservatism in the face of populist pressures.
Keywords: Conservative parties, Culture wars, populism, Germany, United Kingdom, electoral politics
Received: 17 Jan 2025; Accepted: 02 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Schmidtke. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Oliver Schmidtke, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.