Alternative FÜR Deutschland’s Electoral Success: A Birth of a New Class in Germany?

Abstract

The issue of class division has been growing in importance as a common problem in modern society. This paper first synthesizes the results of existing research on the voter groups of the extreme right-wing political parties represented by the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and then, based on the existing theories of class division and the theory of "risk society", proposes a new explanatory framework for the traditional theory that the criterion of class division in the highly globalized developed countries has been gradually changed from wealth to risk, that is, the "risk class". The concept of "risk class" is then used to explain the results of previous studies. Finally, this study argues that the emergence of this "risk class" is a manifestation of Germany's democratic deficit, which indicates that Germany's democracy has not effectively reduced the inequality of social risks in recent years. The rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is a significant signal of this.