Die AfD und die Geflüchteten: Interview mit dem Handelsblatt

Wie wichtig war die sogenannte Flüchtlingskrise für die AfD? Wie hat sich die Partei entwickelt, und was ist für die Zukunft zu erwarten? Mit Dietmar Neuerer vom Handelsblatt habe ich ausführlich über diese und andere Fragen zur AfD gesprochen. [contentcards url="https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/interview-wie-angela-merkel-die-afd-vor-dem-untergang-bewahrte/26143854.html" target="_blank"]

Meinungsartikel: Die #AfD in schlechter Gesellschaft

Die meisten Rechtspopulisten in Europa versuchen sich von der Geschichte zu distanzieren. Die AfD hingegen umarmt den klassischen Rechtsextremismus. Das kann ihr langfristig schaden. [contentcards url="https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/die-afd-und-ihre-europaeischen-pendants-in-schlechter-gesellschaft/26034830.html" target="_blank"]  

Italian Populism, Trump’s voters, Germany’s Home Office, and Neo-Nazis in Russia : 4 links I liked

Italian Populism, Trump's voters, Germany's Home Office, and Neo-Nazis in Russia : 4 links I liked 1

A retired “general”, a symbolism that is borrowed from France’s Yellow Vests – what could possibly go wrong? Meet Italy’s latest populist craze, the Orange Jackets.

Germany’s Home Secretary said in an interview that the AfD wants to destroy the state and put this interview on the Home Office’s website. Now the FCC ruled that he was not allowed to do that. But the ruling does not say that Seehofer’s claim is factually incorrect. Like in previous cases, the judges upheld a kind of two-bodies-theory. As a politician, Seehofer was free to make this statement, but as a minister he was not allowed to use his official platform for distributing it.

Over at the Quantiative Peace, Joshua Zingher looks at Trump’s base. The bottom line? Trump’s 2020 path to the presidency is narrow. May he stray from it.

Why are German Nazis training in Russia“? That is a bit of a rhetorical question, but the article has at least some answers.

Bonus track: German IR theory-building kit (thread)

How important are Germany’s eastern states for the AfD?

What? I’m currently working on a paper that looks into the role that Germany’s eastern states (aka “the new Länder”, the ex-GDR …) played for the breakthrough and the consolidation of the “Alternative for Germany” party. This figure shows support for the AfD from 2013 to 2020. The graph is a teeny-weeny bit busy, so…

Gespräch mit dem “Kurier” über den Zustand der AfD

Die Umfragewerte der AfD sind vergleichsweise schlecht, in der Corona-Krise ist die Partei kein relevanter Akteur. Die Gründe dafür sind nicht ganz neu. Mit dem Kurier aus Wien habe ich über die strukturellen Probleme der Partei gesprochen. [contentcards url="https://kurier.at/politik/ausland/afd-alte-graeben-wieder-aufgerissen/400850855" target="_blank"]

AfD schließt Kalbitz aus: Gespräch mit dem Handelsblatt

Das Handelsblatt hat mit Politikern und Politikwissenschaftlern über den Ausschluss von Andreas Kalbitz aus der AfD gesprochen. [contentcards url="https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/alternative-fuer-deutschland-politiker-sehen-afd-trotz-kalbitz-rauswurf-weiter-auf-rechtskurs/25836914.html?ticket=ST-2246182-maKslMYbHt9tAcuXiagD-ap6" target="_blank"]

Who are the Germans protesting against the COVID-19 measures, and who is benefiting?

Who are the Germans protesting against the COVID-19 measures, and who is benefiting? 2

Last weekend, thousands of Germans took to the streets to protest against the anti-Corona policies. The scenes were quite extraordinary and were widely reported in German and in international media, not least because the rallies were attended by far-right actors and conspiracy theorists. The good folks at Handelsblatt interviewed some colleagues and me, and someone…

Die Proteste gegen die Corona-Maßnahmen und die Rolle der AfD

Das Handelsblatt hat mit Politikern und Politikwissenschaftlern darüber gesprochen, was hinter den Corona-Demonstrationen vom letzten Wochenende steckt und ob die AfD davon profitieren kann (tl;dr: vermutlich eher nicht). [contentcards url="https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/zunehmende-polarisierung-politik-und-bka-warnen-vor-radikalisierung-der-corona-proteste/25818722.html" target="_blank"]

For Germany, May 8 is a day of liberation, not of surrender

On May the 8th 1945, the Wehrmacht surrendered, bringing the war in Europe and the terror reign of the Nazis to an end.1 40 years later, then-president Richard von Weizsäcker, himself a former officer of the Wehrmacht and a scion of the same Prussian gentry that for centuries has supplied the army with cadets, kicked…

MPs under investigation, dying in Germany, quanteda goes 2.0, and academic chapters: 4 links I liked

MPs under investigation, dying in Germany, quanteda goes 2.0, and academic chapters: 4 links I liked 3

Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution (i.e. the spooks) begins to build dossiers on 3 sitting MPs for the AfD. All of them are prominent members of the most radical faction within the party (in German) In a landmark ruling, Germany’s highest court declares ban on assisted suicide unconstitutional. Judges say right to…