“Why Don’t You Just Kick Out the Foreigners?”: Authoritarian Answers to the Housing Question in Leipzig, East Germany

Abstract

When asked for their greatest fear, more than 50 percent of German citizens respond with “Loss of state control caused by refugees” and “Social tension caused by immigrants.” Forty-five percent, however, fear that “Housing in Germany becomes unaffordable” (R+V Versicherung 2019). How is the commodification of housing interrelated to the rise of racism and authoritarianism witnessed by many countries over the past years?