THIS IS REVOLUTION ＞podcast EP 829: Germany on the Brink: How the Far Right Went Mainstream
Jan 14, 2026
Explore the rise of the far right in Germany, focusing on the AfD and its appeal across generations. The discussion dives into the party's neoliberal roots and the influence of past events like PEGIDA and the 2015 refugee policy. Guests analyze the normalization of radical messaging and how established parties have shifted rightward. They also debate the memory of Nazism, explain why scapegoating is popular, and predict the AfD's future in German politics. Advanced digital strategies and youth outreach are highlighted as essential to their success.
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Neoliberal Roots Of Far-Right Appeal
- The AfD redirects economic anxieties from neoliberal failures toward migrants with an ethno-nationalist restoration fantasy.
- This reframing exploits decades of neoliberal policies that produced precarity, not immigration itself.
Gendered And Generational Support
- Young men show disproportionate support for the AfD, linked to anxieties about status and cultural change.
- Emotional and cultural grievances outweigh material-security critiques among these cohorts.
From Neoliberal Eurosceptics To Hard Right
- AfD began as a neoliberal, Eurosceptic formation before shifting rightward under figures like Frauke Petry.
- Early neoliberalism made the party ideologically compatible with conservative and far-right currents.