Dealing with Radical Right Parties in Distinct Arenas
Party Responses to the Alternative for Germany in Parliament, Party Competition, and the Media
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Abstract
In this article, we develop and apply a typology of formal and substantive party responses to the radical right in three arenas: parliament, party competition, and the media. We argue that these provide distinct environments for parties’ scope of action, which is why responses must always be understood in the light of their respective context. Empirically, we focus on the case of the Federal Republic of Germany and illustrate the usefulness of our model by analyzing the responses of the largest conservative and social democratic mainstream parties in the Bundestag (CDU/CSU and SPD) to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) between 2017 and 2022. Although both coalition partners have primarily excluded the AfD at the formal and substantive level, we find crucial differences in their response patterns between the arenas and highlight future research perspectives.
Contributor Notes
Anna-Sophie Heinze is as assistant professor (Akademische Rätin) at the Department of Political Science and the Trier Institute for Democracy and Party Research (TIDUP), Trier University. Her work focuses on parties, democracy, populism, and the far right. She has published in journals such as West European Politics, European Political Science Review, and Party Politics.
Marcel Lewandowsky is an adjunct professor (Privatdozent) at the Institute of Political Science, University of the Federal Armed Forces, Hamburg. His research and teaching focuses on comparative politics with special regard to parties and party systems, populism in Europe, and the political system of Germany. His work includes numerous books, contributions to edited volumes, and articles in journals such as European Political Science Review, Acta Politica, and Representation.