Category: Political Science

A vast majority of Germans sees the AfD as a right-wing extremist party

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A vast majority of Germans sees the AfD as a right-wing extremist party

For the radical right in Europe, Alternative for Germany is an increasingly unusual case In a recent paper published in JCMS, I argue that unlike other German far-right parties, the “Alternative for Germany party” (AfD) managed to avoid being associated with Nazism. The strong presence of establishment figures that previously were (or could have been) members…

Frauke Petry’s Blue Party is over

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When former leader Frauke Petry left the AfD after the 2017 federal election, she kept her seats in the Bundestag and in Saxony’s regional parliament. These seats were meant to form the base for a new movement/party she quickly set up with friends and family. [caption id="attachment_29025" width="1200"] Image source: Wikipedia[/caption] The “Blue Party” was…

Another AfD leader speaks at a far-right “institute”

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The ‘Institut für Staatspolitik’ is a well-known far-right ‘think tank’. Their self-stated meta-political mission is to educate the future nationalist. The long-term objective is to achieve a stealthy transformation of German society. They have been around for a while, and there are books and chapters about them, written by people who study right-wing extremism for…

Video: The AfD’s transformation, 2013-2017

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The “Alternative for Germany” began its political life as a softly eurosceptic breakaway from the political mainstream but has changed beyond all recognition. Using a very large dataset covering the full 2013-17 period, Carl Berning and I trace the transformation of the AfD’s electorate, which now fits the somewhat stereotypical radical right template. Read the full article, or watch the highlights in just under 90 seconds.

How the AfD and their voters veered to the Radical Right, 2013-17
Watch this video on YouTube.

[button url=”https://www.kai-arzheimer.com/alternative-for-germany-voters” target=”blank” background=”#c8232b” size=”20″ center=”yes”]Read the full article (ungated)[/button]

Regional support for the “Alternative for Germany” varies wildly

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Regional support for the

The AfD was founded near Germany’s financial centre of gravity (Frankfort) by members of the old western elites. But early on, the eastern states of Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia became important for the further development of the party. It was here, during the 2014 state election season, that the AfD began to toy (very reluctantly…

4 quick takes on the result of the 2019 European Elections in Germany

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[caption id="attachment_28859" align="alignnone" width="884"] Results of the EP 2019 in Germany (exit polls as of 7pm)[/caption] It will take some time to get nearly-final results for Germany, let alone for the EU, but the picture emerging from the exit polls in Germany is reasonably clear. So, in time honoured tradition, here are my hot takes:…

The EP 2019 brings all the (neo-fascist) boys to the yard

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The EP 2019 brings all the (neo-fascist) boys to the yard 5

Germany – no EP electoral threshold for the last time There are currently 111 ‘political associations’ registered with Germany’s federal electoral commission. 41 of them (counting the CDU and the CSU separately) are fielding candidates in the upcoming European elections.Why are they doing it? Narcissism aside, this is a national election that is held without…