The Alternative for Germany (AfD): Challenges to the German Political Party System amid the Resurgence of Far-Right Populism

On February 23, 2025, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland achieved the second highest number of votes in the German federal elections, marking the most successful election turnout for a far-right political party in Germany since the Nazi dictatorship. Since its establishment, the AfD has broadened its ideology from its Eurosceptic platform to include anti-Islamic and German nationalist messaging, now challenging the leadership of long-entrenched political parties such as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). This thesis closely examines the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and its rise as a major political party in German politics, seeking to address the specific conditions which permitted a rapid surge in the party's popularity among voters since its founding in 2013. First, I will outline the history and development of the German party system since unification, as well as sketching the transformation of the AfD into a right-wing 'protest vote' against establishment political parties and traditional institutions. After describing the populist nature of the movement, I will analyze the specific socioeconomic conditions and cultural factors which mobilize AfD voters against the political establishment, eventually displaying how the professionalization of the political environment and consequential breakdown of democratic channels under a catch-all party system enable the rise of far-right populist parties. Additionally, the issue is further complicated by anti-extremist laws targeting far-right politics in Germany, a problematic factor considering the potential normalization of far-right politics in the event of a hypothetical AfD victory. Although establishment parties have refused cooperation with the AfD's parliamentary bloc, the success of a far-right populist party in Germany signals a growing crisis in the ability of democratic institutions and traditional political parties to meet the needs of their constituents. With the AfD now the second largest political party in the Bundestag, the German political environment risks a prospective AfD electoral victory as the message of traditional political parties fails to resonate with an increasingly disaffected yet newly politically active sector of the population.