The New Nationalism?: Antecedents of the Alternative for Germany's Islamfeindlichkeit. Issue 4 (1st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sterphone, J
• Is Part Of: German politics and society. Volume 38:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 28
• Page End: 50
• Publication Date: 2020-12-01
• Subjects: Alternative für Deutschland -- civilizationism -- Islamophobia -- nationalism -- populism -- right-wing populist party -- veiling; Germany -- Civilization -- Periodicals; Germany -- Politics and government -- 1945-1990 -- Periodicals; Germany -- Politics and government -- 1990- -- Periodicals; 943.005
• DOI: 10.3167/gps.2020.380402
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1558-5441

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines the Alternative für Deutschland's (AfD) racist, nationalist, and far-right discursive strategies in the lead-up to the 2017 federal election. Rather than taking the approach that this party constitutes a "new nationalism" that is out of touch with mainstream conceptions of German nationhood, the article depicts the ways in which the recognizability of the AfD's anti-Muslim racism was predicated on mainstream civilizationist discursive repertoires and the rise of the populist-nationalist right. To do so, I compare themes presented by legal experts and mainstream politicians in favor of banning veiling in the mid-2000s to the civilizationist claims made by the AfD between 2015 and 2017. This article thus extends case analyses of contemporary right-wing nationalist and populist movements to Germany. It also emphasizes the antecedents of the "new nationalism" classification applied to such movements.