The Rise of the AFD: Navigating Far-Right Politics in Germany

As Germany heads towards elections on February 23, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) is polling in second place on 20% of the national vote. The AFD's roots are in nationalistic and racist movements. It continues to take an ultra anti-immigration stance and is calling for "demigration" – effectively the deportation of migrants. 

In this episode, Rolf Frankenberger, an expert on right-wing extremism at the University of Tübingen in Germany, talks to Laura Hood, senior politics editor at The Conversation, about where the AFD draws its support from and what type of Germany it wants to return to.

This episode was Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware with sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up for The Conversation Europe's newsletter to get the best from our European scholars in a weekly digest.

If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.

Further reading:

• What happened in the German parliament and why is the far right hailing it as a ‘historic’ moment?
• The far-right is rising at a crucial time in Germany, boosted by Elon Musk
• AfD: how Germany’s constitution was designed with the threat of extremism in mind