Women and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:25th Aug '26
£171.99
This title is due to be published on 25th August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Women and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) sheds new light on aspects of women’s support for the far right.
Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) is the second largest party in Germany following the federal election in February 2025, and, like with its counterparts across Europe and elsewhere, women have been instrumental in securing the AfD’s ongoing electoral successes at both a state and federal level. Based on a period of overseas fieldwork during which the author interviewed female AfD members, this book explores how the development of their political subjectivity often intersects with key moments in Germany’s history and subsequent socio-political and economic transformations. The author casts a critical feminist eye over the ways in which women negotiate their own understandings of their AfD support which make it consonant with their own lives and experiences.
This book will be of interest to researchers of the far right, German politics, and gender studies.
“Women in the AfD is a thoughtful, reflective study that brings out some fascinating insights which complicate our understanding of the role of gender in support for the far right. By always centring power, Katherine Williams's book is a breath of fresh air in research on far-right activists.”
Aurelien Mondon, Professor of Politics, University of Bath
"Why do educated, professional women join an overtly anti-feminist and often more subtly misogynistic party such as the radical right-wing populist 'Alternative for Germany' (AfD)? Why can they (sometimes) thrive in this organisation? And how do they square their own political views with the party line?
Katherine Williams decided to let eight female AfD members answer these questions in their own words. The result is intriguing, if perhaps somewhat scary: these women remain active in a party that has come under observation by the intelligence agencies for its possibly extremist positions to further their own political agendas, and because it makes sense from their personal point of view. Fascinating reading for anyone who wants to understand the motivations of female far-right activists."
Kai Arzheimer, Professor of Politics, University of Mainz
ISBN: 9781041122739
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
123 pages