According to The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Germany qualifies as a country with full democracy, which means that “civil liberties and fundamental political freedoms are not only respected but also reinforced by a political culture conducive to the thriving of democratic principles”. From this index, Germany has a well-grounded system of governmental checks and balances, an independent judiciary with a system to enforce its decisions, there are government institutions that function adequately, and are diverse. Over the years, Germany has had a great record of full democracy because of the changeover of political culture, the conjoined possession, and the revamping of establishments. There was a removal of what earlier observers saw as the major obstacle to German democracy, Junker domination in the east, and that Germany was it no longer included in the east. However, countries like these have limited problems in democratic functioning and political Extremism is one of Germany’s democratic limitations. Some of these limitations are low political participation as a result of political extremism and unhealthy political competition.
Political Extremism has always been deeply rooted in the Democratic institutions of Germany and Right-wing extremism in various guises has troubled parts of Germany for decades and is still prominent until today. The rise of these extremists has made people believe these are threats of neo-Nazis which is gradually shaking up the democratic institutions of Germany. In 2019, the federal Minister of the Interior of Germany, Seehofer, said there are an estimated 24,000 heavily armed far-right extremists in Germany.
Recently, there was an attack on the local politician, Walter Lübcke, who was shot in the head at his home on June 2nd of 2019 and left him dead. sent shockwaves through Germany and raised questions about the country’s response to the rising threat of neo-Nazis. Before his death, Lübcke was a well-known and honest protector of Merkel’s decision to invite and welcome refugees and in 2015 this brought out the anger of right-wing extremists by telling Germans who objected that they could leave the country. The killing of Lübcke is one of several recent cases that have prompted questions as to how the German state combats right-wing extremism who attack government officials opposing their ideologies and how this affects the country’s democracy. These far-right extremists spread rejectionist philosophies, proffer illiberal policies and promote intolerance of targeted groups, therefore creating a dangerous atmosphere for anyone with a different ideology. All of which are against what a democratic government stands for, therefore these extremists pose as a bedeviling a challenge to democracies.
For decades, Germany’s inability to accept and deal with extremism that is facing its citizens and residents is why the issue of extremism may never be eradicated completely. These rightwing extremist attacks on refugee centers, hate-filled and racist agitation on social media, and in the rise of political movements is what question the values of the constitution and the country’s level of political participation and indirectly its democracy. A local politician, Henriette Reker, ran for mayor and was almost killed because of her pro-refugee stance. Five years later, Reker was able to run again. However, she is an exception to the many other politicians who have faced threats and attacks from the far-right extremists just because of their political stance. This low level of political participation because of the fear of being killed and attacked has made German cities and towns unable to produce candidates for elections. Two of Germany’s largest states, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia will hold municipal elections this year. But many are struggling to find candidates willing to take up the post of mayor. Not only politicians are being attacked but also German citizens who are politically open about their support for some political ideologies have been targeted for attacks and some killed. The right to freedom of German citizens is being taken away from them because of their freedom conflicts with someone else’s idea of freedom. This is not what a democratic society should be like and not expected from a country regarded as “Full Democracy”.
In conclusion, it is common knowledge that even in a “perfect’ world there are always extremes and there is always an exception to every general rule. Therefore, it is not particularly surprising that extremist groups exist in democracies. However, it is important that we take note and get a better understanding of the impact those extremist groups have on the behavior and positions of the people in the mainstream establishment. It is also important that we pay attention to the impact political extremism has on the health and direction of the country’s democracy. From previous issues of political extremism in Germany, we can note that the consequences of efforts to isolate suppress and dissolve these groups competing in the democratic marketplace be better understood and separated from the impulse to pursue them, as this may end up hurting the democratic system more.
I found this post very interesting because I’ve never thought of Germany as a nation with an eroding democracy. With Merkel’s approval ratings through the roof amid COVID-19, I never though of the German government as susceptible to right-wing extremism. Because Germany is such a major influence and power in Europe, it is hard to imagine this power as compromised to extremist groups. Like stated in the post, extremism exists even in a “perfect” world. I think it is especially interesting that extremism exists in Germany due to the fundamental structure of the German government that was supposedly restructured to limit the threat of extremism in the wake of World War II. Germany is a militant democracy, meaning it is illegal to be ideologically and in practice undemocratic. While this is paradoxically undemocratic to restrict the opinion of the people, this was established to prevent another rise of a fascist group like the Nazi party. It surprises me that even with a militant democracy, extremist groups are able to gain traction in Germany.
Finally, this post describing the far-right extremist groups reminded me of the Golden Dawn in Greece. The Golden Dawn’s blatant connections and support for the Nazi party has surprised the entire globe in their rise to some political power in Greece. The blatant acts by far-right extremist groups in Germany for killing a local politician parallels with the terrorizing done by the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn is responsible for the killing of a progressive rapper Pavlos Fyssas, and the leaders were convicted of running a terrorist organization this year.
I wonder, considering Germany’s militant democracy, if Germany will also charge these far-right organizations for being terrorist organizations or being undemocratic in the future.
Hi Fehintola
I think this is a very informative article. Modern German political polarization has been only a recent phenomenon. While you have had flare-ups of far-right sentiment in the 1990s and late 2000s, Germany hasn’t seen such a presence of the far-right in seventy years. Then came the refugee crisis of 2015, and much to the dismay of many traditionally CDU voters, Merkel didn’t handle it in the way they wanted. There was incredible division within the party, and with CDU almost splitting and the SPD slowly fading away, it seemed the two main parties of the last seventy years were crumbling. In fact, in eastern Germany, an openly far-right, borderline Neo-Nazi by the name of Bjorn Hocke (who is with the AfD) began gaining traction in the state of Thuringia. To many Germans shock in 2019, Hocke’s branch of the AfD is currently the second largest party in the federal state parliament. However, I think a change is occurring. With Merkel leaving and her most likely successor being Friedrich Merz, I think he would theoretically tack hard to the right given his positions, pushing the CDU toward the AfD in an attempt to recapture voters that have fled to the populist right in past elections. A similar thing has happened in Austria, where Sebastian Kurz’s OVP ended the rise of the far-right FPO by adopting some of their positions. At the end of the day, I think voters will prefer the mainstream parties (if they adapt) over those outside the mainstream, like the far-right. However, will this cause normalization of the far-right? A good question that is uncertain at the moment, but I doubt it. Especially in Germany, the Nazi past haunts all aspects of society, and I suspect the far-right and Neo-Nazi presence in Germany to shrink in the coming years under a Merz chancellorship.
Hi Connor and Fehintola,
I think Connor is on the right track about the CDU capturing some of the AfD. My family is German and whenever they talk about politics it is a reoccurring theme that generally AfD voters and supporters are moving towards the CDU party because their policies are becoming more right wing, but not right wing enough to be considered extreme. I think if the CDU party and the Merz chancellorship continue down this path, the AfD will lose just enough support that their seats in the Bundestag will lessen and the threat of right-wing extremism in Germany will decrease.