The far-right AfD party has been trying to exploit Russian-Germans feelings of neglect, nostalgia, and fear. They’re experiencing some success. “We open the borders for migrants, but the doors to Germany are closed for ethnic Germans in crisis regions.” This critical statement on Germany’s recent immigration policy came from Waldemar Herdt, an MP for the Alternative für… Continue reading “The German AfD Makes Appeals To Russian-Germans”
Military institutions and police forces are failing to contain right-wing extremism within their ranks, and the problem goes beyond just “a few bad apples.” After news coming from Germany that an elite military unit has had to disband and a local police chief has resigned due to right-wing extremism concerns, there seems to be legitimate questions about the scale… Continue reading “Militaries Around The World Have A Neo-Nazi Problem”
In the many instances where far-right activity attempts to exhibit solemnity, gravity, or strength, a well-aimed joke is a powerful act of resistance. Counter-mobilisation against far-right activism takes many forms, adopts many practices—but humour is one of the most persistent tactics. Time and again far-right movement organisations carry out actions laden with pretensions of gravity… Continue reading “How to laugh away the far-right: lessons from Germany”
Heidegger’s philosophy has legitimised the far right’s regional environmentalism, populism and cultural racism. On 28 May 2020, Björn Höcke, the leader of Germany’s far-right party Alternative für Deutschland in the state of Thuringia published a glossy picture of himself on his Facebook profile. On the photo, one can see him sitting on a park bench… Continue reading “Why did Heidegger emerge as the central philosopher of the far right?”
Right-wing terrorism is a growing threat for democratic societies globally. With rising numbers in death tolls and far-right narratives creeping into the mainstream, the extreme right assumed a new face through the digital dissemination of extremist propaganda and trivialising violence – thereby attracting new audiences. Greater cooperation is required between the state, researchers, and tech… Continue reading “A New Wave of Right-Wing Terrorism”
Germany’s far-right group PEGIDA is mobilizing weekly ‘virtual marches’ livestreamed on YouTube. On a Monday evening in early April 2020, around 1,000 users are waiting for a YouTube livestream, hosted by Lutz Bachmann, co-founder of the Dresden-based protest movement ‘Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Occident’ (PEGIDA). For the second time already, Bachmann’s YouTube… Continue reading “Under lockdown, Germany’s PEGIDA goes to YouTube”
Suggestions to make the 8th May a national German holiday on occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of Second World War have given the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) the opportunity to challenge dominant German memory culture by urging to remember German victims and offering alternative lessons to be learned from German history. What… Continue reading “An “ambivalent day”: How the AfD attempts to re-frame the 8th May as day to commemorate German Victimhood “
In the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, the threat posed by military personnel in radical right groups quickly became apparent to policy makers and military leaders worldwide before being eclipsed by the event of September 11 and the resultant ‘Global War on Terror.’ While this phenomenon has attracted little scholarly attention, with the… Continue reading “An Overview of the German Military Counterintelligence Service Report on Extremism Within the German Federal Defence Force”
On 5 February, the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) candidate, Thomas Kemmerich, was officially appointed to the position of Thuringia’s Minister-President, relying on the votes of both the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the populist far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. The latter congratulated itself for being at the bottom of concessions made by the… Continue reading “In Bed with the Far Right in Thuringia: A Watershed Moment for Muslim CDU supporters?”
COVID-19 has shutdown numerous activities in the public spaces of Europe—including far-right demonstrations. Yet the relaxation of protective measures will surely bring renewed far-right demonstration activity. In most European countries, protective measures against COVID-19 have dramatically reduced activities in public space. While these measures have wide-ranging and diverse impacts, a particular effect on far-right social… Continue reading “COVID-19 and the Pause of Far-Right Demonstrations in Germany”