On March 10, 2026, the Forum Deutschland Monitor 2025 took place at LEUCOREA in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, where key findings from this year’s study on the central theme “How ready is Germany for change?” were discussed with stakeholders from civil society, academia, and politics.
Professor Nadine Jukschat (HSZG) participated as an expert on Panel I, which was dedicated to the topic “Change without disruption: How can politics, business, and civil society bring citizens along with them through change?” Moderated by podcaster Nine Christine Müller, she discussed the topic alongside Dr. Reiner Haseloff, former Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, and Klemens Gutmann, founder and Chairman of the Board of regiocom SE.
Jukschat highlighted findings from the latest Deutschland Monitor, which indicate that people’s current willingness to embrace change is shaped by their past experiences with transformation: “In our own research within the BePart project (https://bepart-lausitz.de/), we also see quite clearly: Those who experienced the post-reunification transformation as something they could shape and felt self-effective within it also tend to view the current structural change more positively. Those who experienced past transformations as externally imposed tend to view current changes with skepticism.”
On the question of what people need to experience change as something they can shape rather than as a threat, Jukschat emphasized the importance of the social dimension of transformation processes. She highlighted how crucial genuine opportunities for participation are, in addition to transparent political communication and governance. Democratic civil society plays a particularly important role here. Strengthening it is of special significance in light of the findings of the Deutschland Monitor 2025 and many other studies, which indicate that democracy and its institutions are under pressure in Germany as well, particularly in the marginalized regions of eastern Germany.
The Deutschland Monitor 2025 focuses on the key question: “How ready is Germany for change?” The Deutschland Monitor (https://deutschland-monitor.info/) is a study commissioned by the Federal Government’s Commissioner for Eastern Germany, which has been conducted annually since 2023. It examines how social and political attitudes are evolving in eastern and western Germany.