The “Alternative for Germany:” Factors Behind its Emergence and Profile of a New Right-wing Populist Party

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Decker
Keyword(s):  
Social Issue ◽  
New Right ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Liberal Party ◽  
Alternative For Germany ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

Until 2013, right-wing populist or extremist parties were unable to establish themselves as a relevant political force in Germany. With the advent of the Alternative für Deutschland the party landscape has changed significantly. The window of opportunity for the newcomer was opened in 2013 by the Euro crisis. Combining euroskepticism with liberal economic policies and a conservative social issue agenda the AfD mainly capitalized on the neglecting of these matters by the liberal party and the Christian democrats. Controversy between the market-oriented moderate wing represented by party founder Bernd Lucke and the radical advocates of national populism led to the split off of the former in July 2015. Only with the refugee crisis did the AfD regain its electoral fortunes and obtained its best results thus far in the March 2016 state elections. Most probably, the party’s prospects will remain promising if one considers the voter’s side. The main risks lie in its own ranks, where ideological battles, personal struggles and the unresolved question of how to distance the party from right-wing extremism could further self-destruction.

Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-423
Author(s):  
Kathleen Webb Tunney
Keyword(s):  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

scholarly journals Kräfteverhältnisse in der Eurokrise

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (180) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Georgi ◽  
John Kannankulam
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Alternative Für Deutschland ◽  
The Social ◽  
Alternative For Germany

John Kannankulam and Fabian Georgi show, that the dominant authoritarian neoliberal fraction of the german Federal Government made a change of course in summer 2012. It quits with some ordoliberal principles and stops resistance against the mutualization of debt and expansive monetary policy. The alliance of a national-conservative and an ordoliberal fraction broke up. The contradiction within the (neo-)liberals and conservatives result in a foundation of a new right-wing party, the AfD, Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany). Anyway new conflicts arise and the Great Coalition of Merkel’s CDU and the Social Democrats hold on its hard-line (against greece): austerity. John Kannankulam and Fabian Georgi reconstruct the dynamics on the basis of four phases in which the authoritarian-neoliberal fraction prevail.

scholarly journals Westlessness? Challenges for the EU’s Soft Power Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ludewig
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The West ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

The West claims to be an economic and political power. However, its moral authority seems increasingly pilloried in many places. Some political scientists even speak of “Westlessness”: populism, nationalism, right-wing extremism, terrorism and democratic fatigue are some of the symptoms. This disunity of many people in Western industrialised nations is nowhere more evident than in relation to the contested topic of immigration. It polarises societies, as it is precisely here that legal convictions clash with ethical and moral ones and subsequently fail in the attempt to create Realpolitik. This article will trace the events that led to the neologism “Westlessness” being coined, before it will contextualise responses from within and without to this diagnosis and use the EU’s responses to the so-called refugee crisis from 2015 until the present as a test case for its future in solidarity and unity.

New Netherlands government will shift to the right

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Travel ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Liberal Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Market Participation ◽  
Heavy Goods Vehicles ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Right

Significance The change in composition from a coalition between the Liberal Party (VVD) and Labour Party (PvdA) to one involving the VVD, the Liberal Democrats (D66), the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Christian Union (CU) signifies a shift to the right of the political spectrum. Impacts Liberal economic policies are likely to increase labour market participation. New green policies such as investment in public transport and higher taxation on air travel and heavy goods vehicles' road usage are likely. The PVV is unlikely to return to previous levels of popularity as other parties have adopted more right-wing stances.

scholarly journals Wpływ mowy nienawiści zawartej w wypowiedziach przedstawicieli partii Alternatywa dla Niemiec na zmiany zachodzące w systemie zarządzania mediami w RFN

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kamińska-Korolczuk
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Media Management ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
The Media ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alternative For Germany

The impact of hate speech contained in the statements of the Alternative for Germany party representatives on changes taking place in the media management system in Germany The purpose of the article is to present the introduced legal solutions regulating the functioning and management of the media system in Germany, which came into force under the influence of changes in political communication. A case study is presented examples of hate speech in the discourse of the party of the new right-wing populism –Alternative for Germany (Alternative fur Deutschland, AfD). The party uses rhetoric which until now has been marginal in the German media and since the refugee crisis it has become an increasingly common form of expression. The analysis was conducted against the backdrop of events that influenced the Bundestags to adopted Law improving law enforcement in social networks (Gesetz zur Verbesserung der Rechtsdurchsetzung in sozialen Netzwerken, Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz, NetzDG). The analysis leads to the conclusions that the new right-wing populism changed the style of communication on the German political scene, which is not without influence on the decisions making by the legislator to introduce specific legal provisions regulating the management and framework of discourse in the social media in this state.

Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 1120-1121
Author(s):  
Kathleen Webb Tunney
Keyword(s):  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

STICKING TO HER GUNS OR GOING WITH THE FLOW

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-46
Author(s):  
Christian Schnee
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
German Politics ◽  
Turn On

This paper investigates levels of rigidity and flexibility in Angela Merkel’s decision making during her first three governments from 2005 to 2017. The study is a contribution to understanding German politics in the era of Merkel who has regularly been criticized for allegedly lacking a transformative agenda and ideological consistency. Methodologically this study draws on Jonathan Keller’s framework that differentiates between internally and externally validated leaders, with the latter seeking to appease and curry favor with stakeholders and the former committed to their personal believes. The study assesses Merkel’s decisions on fiscal and economic policies, zooms in on her u-turn on nuclear energy, touches upon her dithering during the Euro crisis and discusses at some length her protracted coming to terms with the refugee crisis. Findings suggest her flexibility to be predominantly a reflection of political expediencies and intended to preserve her party’s political compatibility with potentially supportive stakeholders. Her approach thus is in line with the agenda to manage coalition governments successfully, moderate and conciliate divergent interests and thus secure their position in power.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document