Stadt von rechts?

Abstract

Ausgehend von der Kontroverse zwischen klassen- und identitätspolitischen Erklärungsmustern für den gesellschaftlichen Rechtsruck umreißt der Beitrag die Bedeutung raumbezogener Differenzierungen für die Ausbildung und Stabilisierung rechter Orientierungen. Damit einher geht die Klärung der im Gebrauch befindlichen Begriffe Extremismus, Rechtspopulismus, Konservatismus und neue Rechte. Auf urbane Räume bezogene Analysen werden darüber hinaus kritisch gegen Einwände diskutiert, etwa jene dass in den Städten eher ‘links’ gewählt werde oder dass rechte Strömungen grundsätzlich großstadtfeindlich seien. Schließlich gibt der Beitrag einen Überblick zu den Texten im Themenschwerpunkt des Heftes.

Urban conditions for the rise of the far right in the global city of Frankfurt: From austerity urbanism, post-democracy and gentrification to regressive collectivity

“…In this paper I focus on the argument of Nachtwey (2016) as well as Heitmeyer (2018), both of whom argue, by and large, in terms of economic insecurity . But I agree with Bernet et al (2019: 12f) that a strict division of the positions is not helpful for understanding the rise of the far right and that rather, arguments from both ends of the spectrum have to be taken into account and studied with a view to their interdependencies.…”

“…Finally, concerning gentrification, the housing question has historically been a fertile ground for political mobilisation also from the right. In the 1920s and 1930s, the shortage of affordable housing in German cities was used by the Nazis to propose a differentiation between Germans, who were seen as entitled, and the ‘others’, who were to give way (Bernet et al, 2019: 14). Housing is a crucial resource for this instrumental construction of entitlements, and it has been used by the far right repeatedly: in his analyses of The Republicans , Jaschke (1993: 129–136) emphasises that changes in urban everyday life, isolation and fragmentation influenced people to vote for the party.…”

“…Because of the electoral geography of the AfD and the geographies of hate crime, in public debates the rise of the far right in Germany is mostly associated with Eastern Germany and rural regions (cf. Bernet et al, 2019: 13; Förtner et al, 2019). In the general elections of 2017, for example, the party scored roughly 20% in East German states (but 27% in Saxony), and even achieved results of almost 40% in some smaller towns and rural regions.…”

“…However, the party made gains in every electoral district, including around 10% in each West German state. What is often neglected in studying the AfD’s success is that the party also gained relatively strong support in less privileged urban districts (Bernet et al 2019). In this paper I focus on the latter and discuss urban conditions for the rise of the far right, for three reasons.…”

“…Second, despite the first argument, in German urban studies efforts have only recently been undertaken to understand the rise of the far right in its interdependence with urban life (cf. Bernet et al, 2019; Bürk, 2012; Förtner et al, 2019; Grau and Heitmeyer, 2013; Podesta, 2018; Üblacker and Lukas, 2019). Third, critical urban theorists, including myself, have long emphasised the emancipatory potential of urban subjectification and everyday life (cf.…”