Building movements on the doorstep: the case of Germany's Die Linke

This case study describes how the German political party Die Linke scaled up its grassroots outreach by conducting over 600,000 doorstep conversations before a snap election, leveraging techniques and volunteers from social movements to reach alienated voters.

• Die Linke conducted more than 600,000 doorstep conversations in a few weeks prior to a snap election. This effort reached demographics typically inaccessible through other means, including individuals who are alienated from the political system, those who do not use social media, and those who prefer verbal communication over digital text.
• The party utilized 'deep canvassing' techniques rather than traditional pre-election methods. Volunteers were trained to follow a '70% listening / 30% talking rule,' asking open-ended questions such as "if you were Chancellor, what would you change?" and "what are the most important issues for you?" to prompt reflection and listening.
• The scale of the operation was made possible by thousands of volunteers, many of whom were non-party members drawn from climate and housing movements. This indicates a shift in German political culture, where these organizing tactics are now viewed as credible by a majority of activists and institutions.
• The door-knocking initiative created a reciprocal effect between Die Linke and social movements. While the party benefited from movement tactics, participants from social movements gained practical training and confidence in 'beyond the bubble' organizing, which they have since taken back to their own groups.
• Movement Hub supported this scaling process by prioritizing 'structure based organising' to prevent the climate movement from being 'wedged' as a force that makes life more expensive for ordinary people. They focused on the intersection of decarbonisation and the cost of living to build a base capable of defending transition demands.

APA

Peterson, C. (2025). Building movements on the doorstep: the case of Germany's Die Linke. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/building-movements-on-the-doorstep-the-case-of-germanys-die-linke

Chicago

Peterson, Carol. Building movements on the doorstep: the case of Germany's Die Linke. Green Economy Coalition, 2025. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/building-movements-on-the-doorstep-the-case-of-germanys-die-linke.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Peterson |first1=Carol |title=Building movements on the doorstep: the case of Germany's Die Linke |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=7 April 2025 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/building-movements-on-the-doorstep-the-case-of-germanys-die-linke |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peterson2025building, author = {Peterson, Carol}, title = {{Building movements on the doorstep: the case of Germany's Die Linke}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/building-movements-on-the-doorstep-the-case-of-germanys-die-linke}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }