Beyond Proximity: Representational Isolation and Emotional Response in Climate Politics

March 31, 2026·
Frauke Riebe
,
L. Constantin Wurthmann
Lukas Hetzer
Lukas Hetzer
· 0 min read
Abstract
This paper examines how perceived political (mis)representation in climate policy is associated with citizens’ emotional responses. Using original survey data from Germany (N = 879), we analyse how preferences on a newly formulated climate-freedom trade-off – prioritising climate protection versus preserving personal freedoms – relate to climate anxiety. Beyond the established minimal-distance approach, we introduce the concept of representational isolation, capturing situations in which individuals place themselves outside the range of all perceived party positions. Our results indicate that minimal ideological distance is not significantly associated with climate anxiety, contrary to conventional expectations. By contrast, representational isolation is linked to distinct emotional patterns: individuals holding more climate-protective views than any party report higher levels of climate anxiety, while those prioritising personal freedoms more than any party report lower levels. These results are robust across model specifications and when replicated with the conventional climate-growth measure.
Type
Publication
Representation, 1–20
publications
Authors
Frauke Riebe
Authors
L. Constantin Wurthmann
Lukas Hetzer
Authors
Lukas Hetzer (he/him)
Doctoral Researcher

I am a doctoral researcher in Political Science at the University of Cologne, where I work on European politics, political behavior, political communication, and public opinion.

My research focuses on how citizens, political actors, and institutions respond to crises and broader political challenges. A recurring emphasis of my work is on democratic politics under pressure, with particular interests in European integration, crisis governance, institutional change, political representation, and the communication of political conflict.

Methodologically, I work at the intersection of political science and computational social science. I use large-scale text data, quantitative computational methods, advanced survey designs and (quasi-)experiments to study political discourse, public opinion, and political behavior. I am also interested in building, linking, and analysing large-scale political datasets, particularly institutional text data from parliaments and EU institutions.

I hold an M.Sc. degree in Social Sciences Research from the University of Amsterdam and a B.Sc. degree in Social Sciences from Humboldt University Berlin. Before joining the University of Cologne, I worked at GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences on election research and data-based knowledge transfer, and held research assistant positions at the University of Amsterdam, Ghent University, and Humboldt University Berlin. I also teach courses on quantitative methods, EU politics, and crisis politics.

Please feel free to explore my work and get in touch.