The far right in Germany seems divided: some are fighting alongside Ukrainian nationalists in the Ukraine war, while others are in favor of Putin’s war. Political scientist Hajo Funke explains why this doesn’t have to be a contradiction.
More and more people are fleeing the war in Ukraine. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 1.5 million Ukrainians have already left their homeland. But there is also a small counter-movement: people who voluntarily move to the war zone. As the Office for the Protection of the Constitution announced in the past few days, a few German right-wing extremists had made their way east to fight – some for the Ukrainian side, some for the Russian side.
But even those who don’t go to the front voluntarily are creating a mood for or against Ukraine via Telegram, for example. It quickly becomes clear that the extreme right in Germany seems divided. But what connects them to the Ukrainian or the Russian side?
War in Ukraine: German right-wing extremists cannot agree on one side
The political scientist and extremism researcher Hajo Funke has been observing right-wing extremist movements in Germany for decades. In conversation with the star He explains: There are parallels to earlier conflicts: “War is fascinating for the extreme right. You saw something similar in the Yugoslav war. Back then, too, it was divided – on the side of the extreme Serbs and on the side of the extreme Croats.”
But what unites the right-wing extremists with one side or the other? This is not so easy to answer in general. Although the views and ideologies of Ukraine and Russia differ widely, right-wing extremists can draw individual points from each that reinforce their ideology.
The struggle against supposed Bolshevism
In particular, those who side with Ukraine for ideological reasons often do so under false pretenses. As the “taz” reports, right-wing extremists have often ranted in Telegram groups in the past few days about the fight against “neo-Bolshevism”, which they wanted to support. Funke explains an argument that is difficult to understand: “It is not a question of a Bolshevist Russia. In this respect, the assumption that one is fighting Bolshevism when one thinks of Putin is not appropriate.” In this case, a much more important aspect counts:
“The fight of the ‘Germans’ against the ‘Russians’ is decisive for the ideological and emotional format of these right-wing extremists. History always plays a role. In this sense: the history of Germany. So the ‘winning and fighting side’, not the defeat side “said Funk.
In particular, small and splinter parties such as the NPD and the III. Weg are actively trying to create a mood online for participation in the Ukraine war, side by side with Ukrainian nationalists, such as the “Azov Battalion”, a combat group made up of voluntary Ukrainian right-wing radicals that was already active in the conflict on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
In this context, however, Funke emphasizes that the German extreme right cannot be divided equally between Ukraine and Russia: “Of course there are also Ukrainian nationalists who are fueling interest in the war. But I see a split in the extreme right not yet.” A few would go to Ukraine to learn the trade of war, says Funke. A large part is on the side of Russia.
German right-wing radicals on Putin’s side – how does that fit together?
Historically, one might think of this as a contradiction. For many right-wing extremists, however, ideology is much more decisive in this context, explains Funke: “Ideologically, it makes sense to see Russia as an opponent of the West, the Western elite and globalization. In Russia, many German right-wing extremists seem to have more intensive contact it, and you see this alternative to the West in Russia. At the same time, criticism of multiculturalism and the gender debate plays a role here.”
On closer inspection, many nationalists in Russia and radical right-wing Germans even share the same viewpoints. Putin is conjuring up a Great Russian imperial movement, similar to the ideological mastermind Alexander Dungin: orthodox, Christian, against Muslims. All of this impresses right-wing extremists, according to Funke.
Dungin is a politician and philosopher. He is seen as a neo-fascist and idea generator for the New Right in Russia. He promotes the position of “neo-Eurasism”, an anti-Western Greater Russian Empire as opposed to the United States of America. How close the ties between Dugin and Putin are is unclear. Nevertheless, it is striking that the ideologies of both overlap on many points. Funke emphasizes, albeit to different degrees:
“Putin has these great empire ideas, even if he’s not paranoid enough to blindly follow Dugin’s ideology. He’s even more radical and comprehensive and has already criticized Putin for being too liberal.” But the focus on a new big empire against the Western elite also fascinates the extreme right in Germany.
According to Funke, in addition to the ideological overlaps between Putin’s supporters and German right-wing radicals, there are also personal ties that ensure cohesion. “You have clear ideological points of reference and also organizational connections, for example through the NPD, which used to have contacts with Udo Voigt in Russia.” But even later, right-wing pioneers like Jürgen Elsässer or parts of the AfD under Frauke Petry had contacts in Russia, according to Funke.
It remains to be seen whether right-wing extremist splinter groups will be able to increase their influence in German society by propaganda for or against Ukraine. So far, Funke has not feared that these groups could exploit the conflict to convince people of their ideology, as was the case in some cases with protests against the Corona measures: “I’m not sure whether a powerful, broad narrative will be told The war, the destructive power of this war, is too unpredictable for that. I don’t think there will be a big run into the right-wing camps.”
The problem is that the effects of the war are not yet foreseeable for Europe and Germany in particular, according to Funke: “This war is a war in which you die.” The military situation could not be won by the brutal radicalization of the war by the Russian leadership. This is another reason why it is difficult to find a narrative for or against Ukraine that really convinces people.
Sources: , , with material from DPA
Source: Stern

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