On behalf of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
Is the AfD really a peace party? New analysis contradicts
AfD members like to portray themselves as peace-loving: Here you can see a flag with a peace dove at an AfD demo in Erfurt in 2023
© Karina Hessland / Imago Images
At least since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the AfD has styled itself as a peace party. An analysis reveals contradictions.
For peace and against arms deliveries: AfD members have been cloaking themselves in the garb of pacifists for about two years. According to a report “The Dove of Peace even adorns the AfD’s election poster in the EU election campaign. But how peace-loving is the party really? The Militarization Information Center eV carried out the security investigation on behalf of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, which is close to the Left party – and foreign policy positions of the AfD analyzed.
AfD: contradictory strategy
The conclusion: According to the authors of the analysis, the AfD’s peace policy demands are reduced to absurdity by the party program, by speeches and quotes from its officials and MPs as well as by its motions in the Bundestag. The AfD is a party of German national militarization. This is the conclusion reached by the paper with the title “Why the AfD is not a peace party”.
The analysis also looks at the AfD’s voting behavior. Accordingly, the party has approved most of the rearmament projects in the Bundestag’s Defense Committee in the past. The party was divided on the question of the Bundeswehr’s special assets: 33 AfD MPs voted yes and 35 voted no.
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Based on the analysis of various texts and quotes, the authors Alexander Kleiß and Merle Weber conclude: “Neither their attitude to the war in Ukraine nor their skepticism about foreign missions arise from a peace policy impulse. Anti-Americanism and racism are the driving forces of the AfD’s foreign policy. Behind the peace position of the The AfD has a German-national, power-political calculation: to join forces with Russia to get out of its dependence on the USA,” said Weber.
The authors also compiled information from the AfD members of the Defense Committee: According to them, they have a history of several years in the Bundeswehr. Half of the AfD MPs have close connections to the arms industry: Hans-Rüdiger Lucassen, for example, ran a arms company himself. Gerold Otten was sales director for the Eurofighter at Airbus Defense and Space for 20 years. “The AfD is not a peace party. It stands for rearmament, arms lobbyism and Prussian-style militarism. It is a soldiers’ party,” says Alexander Kleiß.
The authors see a major contradiction in the AfD strategy: On the one hand, the AfD would reject foreign missions or the war in Ukraine, but on the other hand it would support a strong army and the arms industry.
The Militarization Information Center is a non-profit organization financed by donations that critically examines militarization processes and regularly publishes studies, analyzes and information on various defense policy topics.