Rechtsverschiebung

Rechtsverschiebung, literally “rightward shift,” is a German term used across disciplines to describe movement to the right along a defined axis or spectrum. The precise meaning depends on context, but it generally denotes a change toward higher values, more conservative positions, or a greater emphasis on right-hand attributes in the measured variable.

In political science and sociology, Rechtsverschiebung describes a shift of public opinion, voters, or party platforms toward more conservative or right-wing positions. It can arise from economic, cultural, or security concerns and may be temporary or long-lasting. Analysts distinguish it from a leftward shift (Linksverschiebung) and use polling data, election results, and party manifestos to assess its extent.

In statistics and data analysis, Rechtsverschiebung refers to a distribution that is skewed to the right, with a longer tail toward higher values. This positive skew affects the relationships among mean, median, and mode and has implications for modeling and interpretation. It is common in income data, response times, and other positively bounded variables.

In other scientific contexts, the term is used descriptively for rightward movement on an axis when reporting experimental results or model outputs. Depending on the discipline, more precise terminology (for example, positive skew in statistics or a rightward shift in political analysis) may be preferred.