Rising Energy prizes and protest potential – Who are those willing to act?

The exploding energy prices because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine are at the top of the political agenda in Europe. Due to the high levels of inflation and the associated social and economic hardships for the population, it has been expected that the energy crisis would spark contention and result in mass protest. Based on a representative population survey in Germany, we investigate the current level of protest potential and how this potential is related to socio-demographic characteristics and political factors. Our analyses show that around every fourth respondent can imagine protesting because of the high energy prices. Our data suggests a strong mobilization potential for the radical right and an intersection of various conflicts. Among people who would vote for the AfD, the protest potential is almost twice as high as in the general population. In addition, the data depicts that those respondents who have protested against governmental corona measures in the past are three times more likely to protest in the energy crisis than the rest of the population.