The New Right

Abstract

A survey of the right-extremist scene in Germany since the country’s unification in 1990 would not be complete without examining the intellectual contributions that New Right (Die Neue Rechte) academics, writers, publicists, and journalists have made. They number several hundred individuals, of whom many are organized in small discussion groups and projects. They have positioned themselves as a bridge between right-extremist parties and groups, on one side, and the conservative wing of the mainstream political parties, on the other.¹ They have provided some, but still limited, intellectual nourishment to the right-wing extremist cause since the 1960s, but particularly since the early 1980s. They have sought to make the right-wing extremist ideology and politics relevant and influential. They have had little in common with the Old Right generation that had enthusiastically supported Hitler and that after 1949 had received a number of important political posts in the West German establishment. However, the Old Right played no significant role in West German intellectual circles. In this chapter we examine how much influence the New Right adherents have had on both the right-wing extremist and the ultra-conservative groups. Have the New Right ideas and concepts percolated to these two groups? How successful have they been in making an impact on Germany’s domestic and foreign policies?