The “Hottest Ever January” in Germany: Farmers’ Protests and the Discourse on Agriculture and Food Production

Abstract

Following the German Federal Government’s announcement of agricultural subsidy cuts in November 2023, farmers mobilized unprecedented protests, creating what their associations celebrated as a “hot January with more protests than the country has ever seen” (“Bauern wollen ‘Kampfansage’ der Ampel annehmen,” 2023). These actions ultimately forced the government to withdraw the proposed policy changes. Our study applies the politicization/depoliticization – policy change model to analyze the theoretical connections between politicization and policy change announcements. Using discourse network analysis, we examine the evolution of politicization/depoliticization dynamics through newspaper articles published between the initial subsidy cut announcement on November 17, 2023, and March 26, 2024. Our findings reveal a dynamic politicization process that farmers strategically amplified through protests to achieve policy reversal. Our research also identifies concerning behavioral patterns of right‐wing actors and ideological infiltration within these protests, opening avenues for further investigation.