Alternative für Deutschland. From the streets to the Parliament? (original) (raw)
The State of Populism in Europe in 2017
The year 2017 was marked by important symbolic changes in German politics. For the first time in the history of the Bundesrepublik, the right-wing populist party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland/Alternative for Germany) was able to enter the German federal parliament, the Bundestag, receiving 12.6% of the votes cast.110 However, in spite of the party’s aggressive propaganda touting its own success, and the temporary doomsday mood in the German and European public, the electoral support and political influence of right-wing populist players is far more limited in Germany than in several key western and northern democracies. On the one hand, AfD has definitely shifted the party-system’s and party competition’s centre of gravity to the right, and its parliamentary presence contributes significantly to the fragmentation of the party-system and to the increased complexity of government formation. On the other hand, AfD’s electoral support remained far below its high-water mark of 16-17%, measured in the polls during the summer and autumn of 2016. As it is effectively held in political quarantine by all other parties, and since those votes that express systemic protest remain divided between right-wing and left populist parties (Die Linke/The Left Party), the AfD’s influence on national politics remains modest in comparison with several other European radical right-wing populist parties. Although the German party system is definitely moving closer and closer to the Austrian model, instead of resorting to exaggeration or moral panic, the challenge posed by AfD should be treated with a sense of proportion. Radical right-wing populism in Germany is catching up, but it still plays only at the bottom of the European league.
The Political Quarterly, 2020
The article sheds light on one of the key developments in recent German politics and relates it to the broader debate on the electoral success of the far right. The rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, Alternative for Germany) is also a story about Germany's internal political divide three decades after 'reunification' as the party is about twice as strong in the east than in the west. The article analyses the country's east-west divide, strongly visible in widespread sentiments of societal marginalization among eastern Germans. The key socio-structural differences between the east and the west relate to matters of economics, migration, and representation-and provide a setting suitable to AfD strength in the east. In explaining the party's electoral success in eastern Germany, the article echoes recent scholarship rejecting narrow explanations for the strength of 'populism', and instead highlights its multiple causes.
The Role of Historical Memory: The Development of Populism in Germany and France
2017
This dissertation intends to explore possible reasons for the observed discrepancy between the popularity and electoral success of right-wing populist parties in France, from 1980 to 2017, and the relative failure of similar parties in Germany during the same period. To this end, the effects and persistence of populist parties in both countries will be compared, and it will be argued here that the main determining factor in the success of populist movements will be due to each nation’s historical context, the nature of each nation’s dominant historical discourse, and the manner in which national identity is constructed. In the extant literature, the rise of populism is generally attributed to either economic or sociological factors. By utilising Mill’s method of difference, this dissertation aims to show that neither of these previous explanations are useful for understanding the varying popularity of right-wing populism in two countries where the underlying economic and sociological conditions are essentially similar. In this dissertation, the method of process-tracing will be applied to these historical factors, in order to understand how the trauma of Nazism in Germany has come to stigmatize populist discourse, and how such stigmatization is absent in contemporary France. In contrast, the positive image that the French hold regarding the country’s colonial legacy, as well as the white-washing of the actions of the fascist Vichy Regime, have allowed right-wing populist movements to gain a far stronger presence in French politics, especially when compared to the situation in neighbouring Germany. In addition to this, an in-case comparison between the states of former East and West Germany, will be conducted in order to strengthen our understanding of the importance of common historical narratives for the rise of populism.
Let the people rule! Definitions and theories of populism (April 2017)
Liberal democracies are in a fragile state. Simplistic populist messages of us vs. them with often-xenophobic undertones and attempts to undermine the legitimacy of democratic institutions can count on a receptive audience and a transformed (social) media landscape in Europe. In some countries such as France and Austria populist parties have moved beyond the fringe and have run as serious contenders in nationwide elections, in Hungary and Poland they actually govern. A considerable part of the European population could imagine living in authoritarian systems. They find some aspects of such governance appealing, such as tight surveillance, compromised individual liberties, and uniform structures of society, and look admiringly for current and historical role models. For some this echoes the 1930s, when fascism in Europe was on the rise and received considerable support from sympathisers even within developed democracies, such as the British Union of Fascist of Oswald Mosley or Charles Lindberg, who played an influential role in the isolationist America First Committee in the USA. Nonetheless, to compare today’s populists with yesterday’s fascists is a stretch, though. One might argue that it is even slanderous, given their still limited role, more benign attitudes and some legitimate concerns they articulate. Still, the challenges for liberal democracies are real and are at the heart of the analysis in this collaborative volume by researchers from CIDOB and other think tanks and institutions.
The Female Face of the Populist & Far Right in Europe Triumph ——— of the ——— women
Our studies consider six countries in Europe with different baseline situations that have right-wing populist parties and movements of different strengths anchored in a variety of institutions. In Poland and Hungary, rightwing populist parties are in government. In Germany the AfD determines public discourse, while in Greece such parties play a lesser role. Despite these differences, our analyses form the basis for deriving action recommendations for progressive, civil society players. These recommendations for action are not universally applicable in all countries that find themselves confronted with the problem of right-wing populism, nor should they be seen as final. In order to develop effective counter-strategies it is always essential to take account of the situation in a particular country, the country's history, its political discourses, majorities and its support networks, along with the relevance and sphere of influence of progressive and feminist players locally.
2019
This study assesses if mainstream parties are increasingly using populist and nativist messages as assumed by several scholars. Conducting a quantitative content analysis, I investigate how populist and nativist communication in election manifestos develops over time by analysing 31 programs of mainstream parties in Austria, Germany, Spain and Italy. The findings provide hints for a populist contagion-except in Germany-due to the emergence or electoral success of populist parties and especially due to shifts in public opinion. Stronger hints are provided regarding a contagion of right-wing messages in all countries. Accordingly, mainstream parties seem to be more prone to adopt messages against immigration and outgroups than against the political elite. The article concludes claiming that the populist contagion does not threaten democracy since anti-pluralist and illiberal messages are not adopted by mainstream parties. The contagion of nativist statements should be considered the main challenge.
European Economic and Social Committee , 2019
This report analyses trade union strategies to address trade union members’ and workers’ growing likelihood to vote for Populism Radical Right (PRR) parties. The study focuses on four countries where PRR parties have different political stances and have achieved different levels of political support, namely Germany, Denmark, Spain and Hungary. These countries also have different patterns in their industrial relations and highlight distinctive features of national trade union movement. The report has been compiled based on desk research and individual national reports from national experts, involving semi-structured interviews with trade unions. The study shows that trade unions’ discourses and views on PRR parties differ in the countries studied. Overall, trade unions tend to be critical with PRR parties’ agenda. However, in some countries, notably Denmark, trade unions’ appeal to political neutrality means that critics are only focused on certain policy proposals or areas such as migration policies, and explicit critics toward PRR parties are not formulated. The study also identifies several trade unions’ direct and indirect actions against PRR parties, particularly in Germany, where the trade union movement has developed a comprehensive set of actions to counteract the rise of PRR parties and extremist movements.
The AfD and their Sympathizers: Finally a right-wing populist movement in Germany?
2014
Is the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) the exponent of a successful right-wing populist movement in Germany? By analysing the positions, the discursive links and the sympathisers of the AfD, this article aims to draw a comprehensive picture of the new party and its environment. The link to populism research offers a conceptual framework for a mixed-method study which focuses on important aspects of the party's history, self-description and position in Germany's public discourse as well as its supporters by analysing two sets of quantitative and qualitative data. We argue that the AfD follows a nuanced and diverse communication strategy and can be regarded as a functional equivalent for a right-wing populist party in a country where right-wing politics are strongly stigmatised.