Is the AfD really populist?

Abstract

The Alternative for Germany entered into the Bundestag for the first time in September 2017 as a far right-wing party that garners most of its support from its opposition to Chancellor Merkel's "open door" policy for migrants. It has been described by the media and other parties as a rightwing populist party based on its ideologies and statements made by party leadership. This classification may be too broad due to the newness of the party and the extensive definitions for populism. This paper seeks to determine what type of party the AID can be classified as by laying out a standard definition of populism, and comparing the AID to the French National Front and the Freedom Party of Austria, two major right-wing populist parties in Europe.