Rechtsextreme Anti-Asyl-Proteste auf dem Höhepunkt der „Flüchtlingskrise“ Sachsen im interregionalen Vergleich

Abstract

In 2015/16 – at the refugee crisis’ peak – Germany was facing numerous demonstrations and acts of violence – such as arson attacks, common assaults, and verbal aggressions – directly or indirectly related to the social group of refugees, their shelters, and/or the federal government’s refugee policy. This article explores to which degree right-wing extremists – both partisan and non-partisan – were capable of instrumentalising the anti-asylum protests in all East German states for their own political purposes. After comparatively delineating the number of anti-asylum protests (as well as the number of participants) influenced by right-wing extremists, this contribution depicts the extremists’ strategies, their aims, and their mediate and immediate political impact. Unlike the majority of media coverage, the data seem to reveal that Saxony was far from being an exceptional case in Germany’s east, but an “average” region instead.