As Germans head to the polls on February 23 to vote for a new government, heated media and public debates paint the picture of a polarized society that will deliver large wins to populist parties such as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the far-left Bündnis Sarah Wagenknecht (BSW). But is German society really that divided? And, if so, what has triggered these conflicts and impeded consensus?

In Trigger Points: Consensus and Conflict in Contemporary Society (Suhrkamp, 2024), Steffen Mau, together with co-authors Thomas Lux and Linus Westheuser, debunk the myth that Germany is more polarized today than at any other time in its post-war history. Winner of the 2024 Political Book Prize and a Spiegel bestseller, Mau’s analysis offers a 360-degree survey of the conflicts surrounding four areas of inequality – poverty and wealth; migration; diversity and gender; climate protection – and argues that, while there is much consensus within society on these issues, certain “triggers” ignite intense debates that blur the common ground and make consensus ever more difficult.