THE IDEOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF THE ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY (AfG) PARTY'S PROGRAM SETTINGS

International Relations
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Abstract:

The party “Alternative for Germany” became the third place finisher in the latest election to Bundestag. It became the biggest right-wing power. The growth of its popularity is based on the institutional crisis in the European Union, euroscepticism rise and migration sphere problems. “Shift to the right” like this has been observed in many countries of Europe and it could not have been attributed to marginal political groups only. Thus, Thus, it is necessary to analyze the values that have become the basis for the growing popularity of right-wing ideologies in modern conditions. The events taking place in Germany are extremely important in this sense, since, on the one hand, Germany is one of the leaders of the European Union and is perceived by many European countries as a system-forming force of the EU. On the other hand, the historical past of Germany makes us pay close attention to the growing popularity of the right-wing forces. Germany's Far-Right Nationalist Parties remained marginal for a long time but after German unification and increased migration flows their popularity began to grow In a sense, the AfG has become the successor of these parties and its ideological platform is based on the ideological attitudes of the extreme right-wing parties that intensified their activities at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries – the German People’s Union, Republicans, and the National Democratic Party of Germany in particular. The major part of the mentioned parties’ program objectives formally comply with the AfG spirit, nevertheless, it can be concluded that the triumph of the Alternative for Germany is due not only to the legacy and success of the radicals’ ideology but to the society response to specific problems and the inability of mainstream politicians to present an adequate program of exit from the crisis. Therefore it’s not that ideological “shift to the right” is of long-term nature and cannot be moved beyond within the boundaries of the traditional Western democratic governance.