Der Brand hinter der Brandmauer: Zur politischen Epistemologie der Trampeltiergesellschaft

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Authors

It is not clear what books written by politicians are all about, except for being part of a broader trend of autobiographical writing. In his essay, Michael Koß argues that the reasons politicians give for their policy claims warrant scholarly interest for their books. A close reading of three such books suggests that leading AfD politicians (Alexander Gauland, AliceWeidel, andMaximilian Krah) primarily refer to myths andnaturalise political, social, andeconomic inequalities to justify their incommensurable claims. For wantof better arguments, Gauland, Weidel, and Krah perform the “god trick of seeing everything from nowhere” (Donna Haraway). This is the political epistemology of a party that broke with democratic norms and supports a static and hierarchic society. Democratic parties cannot cooperate with actors such as the AfD that deny giving reasons for their preferences. This is why the politics of anti-pacting with the AfD are justifijied.

Original languageGerman
JournalZeitschrift fur Religions- und Geistesgeschichte
Volume77
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)27-44
Number of pages18
ISSN0044-3441
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02.2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© MICHAEL KOSS, 2025.