Populism and foreign policy in Germany

Abstract

The rise of populist parties of the extreme right and left poses serious challenges not only for democratic forces in Germany, but also for Germany's role in Europe and internationally. Their illiberal proposals and their nationalist and sovereigntist discourse are hardly compatible with multilateralism and Germany's traditional commitment to global governance. This paper will first provide the broad outlines of Germany's foreign policy. This is followed by an analysis of public opinion on receint foreign policy of the Federal govermet. The third section examines the positions of two populist parties on foreign policy outlines. Finally, it analyses whether the positions of these two populist parties have had an impact on the foreign policy approaches of the traditional parties and the federal government's own foreign policy.