The Return of the Ethnostate? The Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Populist Tide

Abstract

Over the past decade, Europe has seen a rise in the popularity of right-wing populist parties and Germany has been no exception. While the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) began as an anti-EU party that opposed the so-called Greek bailout, after the refugee challenge of 2015, it became an ardent anti-immigration party and even aligned itself with the Islamophobic citizens group Pegida. What accounts for the sudden rise in populism and their challenges to globalization? What do they envision culturally for the German state and what does this mean for the project of the EU?