With many in Germany calling for a ban on Alternative für Deutschland, the far right and its fellow travelers are portraying themselves as victims of political persecution. But they are trying to conflate two different types of regime: constitutional democracy and authoritarian “people’s democracy.”
NEW YORK – The question of whether, and how, democracies should defend themselves against subversion has again become a hot-button issue. In Germany, a growing chorus is demanding legal proceedings that might result in a ban on the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Already, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution – a domestic intelligence agency – has labeled the party an extremist organization, which implies that it is unconstitutional.
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