1st Edition

Testing Democracy How Alternative for Germany Crafted a Democratic Identity

By April L. Reber Copyright 2026
156 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

156 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

156 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book examines the relationship between democracy and extremism through Germany’s political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), focusing on how its members tested assumptions about democracy and redefined its norms. Through extensive ethnographic research with AfD members, this book reveals three methods they employed: disruption of memory politics, information and narrative control, and... Read more

Preface: Preserving Liberties Through the Last Generation

Introduction: Who Is Democratic? Who Is Extreme?

1 A Government Investigation and a Political Party

2 Sounding Disruption for Germany’s Future

3 Crafting the Image in the War on Information

4 Laughing With “Nazis” and the War on Words

Epilogue: A Homage to Democracy

Biography

April L. Reber is a political anthropologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Philipps-University Marburg. She researched the relationship between democracy and extremism and conducted fieldwork on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Germany. Her research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Fulbright Program, German Academic Exchange Service, and Shallit Fund.