SP8 focuses on a political perspective, specifically the research question: 
To what extent do established political parties succeed in rural and peripheral areas in maintaining their role as the democratic infrastructure for political decision-making; what paths of adaptation do they pursue in doing so, and what are the consequences when this role is no longer fulfilled?

SP8 aims to better understand the interactions between sociotechnical infrastructure, political representation, and the maintenance of public services in rural areas. The focus is on the established parties in the districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald. TP8 views local party organization as political infrastructure and examines whether structural weaknesses in the region, such as demographic change or state withdrawal, are accompanied by a withdrawal of the parties, or whether the parties develop mechanisms to secure their organizational presence and responsiveness even in sparsely populated and geographically vast areas. To this end, the project analyzes the parties’ adaptation strategies since 1990, with the 2011 district reform serving as a critical turning point. Second, the parties’ programmatic positions on rural areas and spatial justice are examined based on the state legislative election platforms of the 13 non-city states from 1990 to 2024. Methodologically, SP8 combines qualitative expert interviews and document analyses with quantitative program analysis.

In addition, SP8 focuses on the cross-cutting theme of “Political Influences.” The study examines how parties incorporate the arguments of various stakeholders from the infrastructure sectors addressed by the other subprojects, how they negotiate conflicting goals (e.g., climate protection vs. species conservation or economic efficiency vs. security of supply), and how this interaction among district chapters, district council caucuses, and state and federal party organizations is reflected in political platforms.