We Are the People: The Rise of the AfD in Germany

Recent years have seen a surge of populism across the Western world, exposing the vulnerabilities of liberal democracy and driving the international political agenda to the right. In Germany in 2017 the recently founded far-right populist party—the Alternative for Germany (AfD)—swept into the Bundestag, claiming to be the voice of the people against a corrupt liberal elite and overturning the delicate postwar political consensus in Germany. We are the People analyzes the sudden growth and radicalization of the AfD, from its Euroskeptic beginnings in 2013 to its increasing extremism. Penny Bochum shows us how the leaders’ use of inflammatory, xenophobic, and even Nazi-era language mirrors that of emerging far-right forces across much of the Western world. At the same time, through a lucid examination of the group’s ideology, Bochum shows how their brand of populism is distinct and based on German experiences and history.